“In modern mathematics, the Riemann zeta-function, and its generalizations known as L-functions, have played a pivotal role in our understanding of the primes and many problems in number theory can be rewritten in terms of questions about L-functions.” “My joint work with Carneiro and Soundararajan studies properties of the Riemann zeta-function,” Milinovich said. Similar ideas in Fourier analysis recently were used to study sphere packing, finding the most efficient way to stack objects such as oranges and cannonballs. The paper, “Fourier optimization and prime gaps,” which was published in the journal Commetarii Mathematici Helvetici, uses a mathematical theory known as Fourier analysis and techniques originally developed to study signal processing and the spreading of waves. “My co-authors, Emanuel Carneiro, of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and Kannan Soundararajan, of Stanford University, and I studied this problem in a recent paper.” “Given a prime, how far forward in the list of integers do we have to go until we are guaranteed to find the next one?” he said. In Milinovich’s research, he has studied the complementary problem of how far apart primes can be. This is known as the twin prime conjecture.”ĭespite tremendous recent progress, the answer to this question remains elusive. “Mathematicians believe the list of these ‘twin primes’ should go on forever. For instance, the primes 5 and 7, 11 and 13, or 41 and 43 are all two integers two apart. Some pairs of primes can be close together. “No matter how long the list, there will be always be a bigger prime not on it.” “Unlike atoms, which can be listed in the periodic table, the ancient Greeks knew that the list of primes goes on forever,” Milinovich said. “So, we can think of primes as the ‘building blocks’ or ‘atoms’ of the integers.”ĭespite thousands of years of investigation, many basic questions about primes, such as how far apart primes can be or how often primes can be close together, remain unsolved and subject to conjecture. “It turns out that every positive integer can be written as a product of primes, much in the same way that molecules can be written in terms of atoms. “Since the time of the ancient Greeks, number theorists have tried to find patterns within the integers,” Milinovich said. Numbers such as 4, 12, and 26 are not prime. Within all integers is a special set of numbers called primes: numbers whose only factors are 1 and themselves, such as 2, 5, or 17. Milinovich’s award for “The Distribution of Zeros of L-Functions and Related Questions” supports his research in number theory, a branch of mathematics that studies properties of integers. A respected mathematician, the University of Mississippi professor of mathematics has spent years studying the properties of integers and recently was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to fund his research. Local sponsors contributing $500 or more include Stantec, Lumos & Associates, AMEC, American Public Works Association, CME, Harris & Associates, NV Energy, and Western Nevada Supply.Īdditional information on MATHCOUNTS is available at are Micah Milinovich’s passion. have participated in the MATHCOUNTS program. More than 6 million students across the U.S. students, MATHCOUNTS prepares students for future career opportunities and success. As a national math enrichment, coaching and competition program designed to improve math skills among U.S. In our increasingly technological society, those students who do not begin developing strong problem-solving, logical thinking and analytical abilities in middle school will face an uphill battle later in life if they wish to pursue a medical, scientific, mathematical, engineering or technical career. Most Improved Award went to Pine Middle School, Reno. These 3 teams will advance to the State Competition, to be held simultaneously in Reno for the Northern Nevada Chapter and in Las Vegas for the Southern Nevada Chapter on March 9, 2013Īdditional Individuals to advance to the State Competition are Galen Kimball of Davidson Academy of Nevada, Reno Justin Zeising of Swope Middle School, Reno Austin Miller of Mendive Middle School, Reno Ryan Regier of Kendyl Depoali Middle School, Reno Ryan O’Day of Billinghurst Middle School, Reno Ameen Homayoon of Davidson Academy of Nevada, Reno Kevin Gundlach of Mendive Middle School, Reno Yatin Chandar of Davidson Academy of Nevada, Reno and Joseph Watts of Dayton Intermediate School, Dayton. Third place team Coral Academy of Science with team members Alex Toller, Carla Ramazan, Ryan Olsesski, Yana Vincent and Coach Ozlem Idil.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |