JOIN USThe department of mathematics at Jyoti Nivas College recently celebrated Mathematics Day with great pomp and show, by hosting an exhibition on the subject.
This was conducted because 2012 has been declared the year of mathematics in India, to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of the renowned Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujam.
The exhibition showcased various facets of mathematics — from the history and evolution of the subject to its application in various fields along with the inherent mathematical properties of music, art and nature.
Being a women’s college, there was a special feature dedicated to the women mathematicians of the world.
“Due to remarkable advancement in technology, women are now at par
with men in the field of mathematics. In fact, they have emerged as competent as their male counterparts,” says Rani Titus, a lecturer of the department.
She also stressed the importance of visual learning in this subject, as was demonstrated by the models designed by the students.
Jayanti Purandar, the head of the mathematics department, has been teaching the subject for more than 30 years.
“It is heartening to see how much women have achieved in this field, despite the lack
of opportunities and hurdles they faced in their path.
They serve as an inspiration to our students and we hope that we can create an interest in the subject by highlighting the lesser known aspects of it,” she says. The exhibits were diverse and vibrant, completely subverting the notion of athematics being a boring subject.
There were several different models on display, such as the tetrahedron and octahedron.
“Our first model ended up looking like a football instead of a rhomicosidodeca,” laughs Apoorva, a second-year BSc student.
“It was difficult initially, but our team was focussed and
determined to get it right. In the end, we used contrasting colours and pearl beads to highlight the vertices and it turned out really well,” she says with pride.
Another interesting feature of the exhibition was the philately display with stamps featuring famous mathematicians.
“It was interesting to see so many aspects of mathematics. We thought it would be boring but it was actually fun to learn the facts, as things were explained to us from the basics by the students themselves,” says Soumya R, a second-year BA student of the college.