Mason Experimental Geometry Lab

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Mason Experimental Geometry Lab

MEGL is an experimental research lab in mathematics at George Mason University focusing on computati
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MEGL is an experimental research lab in pure mathematics at George Mason University (L106 Exploratory Hall) focusing on the interplay of geometry, topology, algebra, and dynamics. We develop alternative modes of experiencing mathematics and engage in grassroots public outreach that fosters excitement about mathematics. Our activities naturally lead to development in 3D printing, virtual reality, a

nd parallel computing. The idea of a Geometry Lab is directly inspired by the Geometry Center in Minnesota founded by A. Marden from 1994 to 1998, which produced a wealth of mathematical software (most notably the SnapPea hyperbolic analyzer) and influential mathematical visualizations (most notably, Not Knot, Outside In, and Shape of Space). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometry_Center and http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/. The first off-shoot of this, the Experimental Geometry Lab (EGL) at the University of Maryland (UMCP), was founded in 2000 by William Goldman (who was on the Geometry Center's governing board during its last two years) and Richard Schwartz. It has run since then and most present geometry labs descending from the EGL. Sean Lawton completed his doctorate in 2006 at UMCP, and returned in 2008 as a postdoc. His affiliation with the EGL began earlier, while he was a graduate student, helping with numerous outreach activities and managing the lab. He began speaking about "franchising" EGL at that point and began promoting this idea at conferences and during job interviews. During his post-doctoral year with EGL he and then graduate student Ryan Hoban ran an intensive summer REU-type project in the EGL. After that, he moved to the University of Texas (UTRGV) and established the first extension of EGL named the Experimental Algebra & Geometry Lab (EAGL) in 2009. In 2014 he moved to George Mason University (GMU), where he founded the Mason Experimental Geometry Lab (MEGL) with Chris Manon (who has now founded a lab in KY). Anton Lukyanenko joined the EGL at the end of his freshman year at UMCP, and soon he began supervising projects and administering the lab. After completing his Bachelors degree at UMCP, he stayed on and completed his Masters degree in 2008. He then moved to the doctoral program at the Univerity of Illinois (UIUC) in 2008, where he and Jayadev Athreya established the Illinois Geometry Lab (IGL) in 2011. This was extremely successful with enormous participation from many different faculty members and students. IGL remains the largest and most productive geometry lab in our network of geometry labs. After completing his doctorate in 2014 under Jeremy Tyson (who took over as director of IGL from 2014-2017), Anton moved to the University of Michigan as a postdoc where he started another geometry lab called Laboratory of Geometry at Michigan (LOGM). Jayadev Athreya has since moved to the University of Washington where he started another geometry lab called Washington Experimental Mathematics Lab (WXML). We are now at 13 labs internationally and growing; all part of Geometry Labs United: http://geometrylabs.net/

11/11/2024

This activity teaches students about shape classification, types of polygons, tilings, 4 color theorem, and more! A list of MEGL’s Outreach Activities can be found with the link in our bio 🔗📚

10/21/2024

Here to share another successful Monsters Activity today at Kings Glen Elementary School! We did a total of 6 sessions in one morning 📚✏️

10/20/2024

We had lots of fun teaching kids about mobius strips and other topology related tricks at the Spooky Mad Science Expo yesterday!

Big thank you to for having us!

10/15/2024

We are excited to be joining in their 2024 Spooky Mad Science Expo 🧪🥼Don’t forget to come visit us at the MEGL table this Saturday in Alexandria, VA 🎃

09/21/2024

A few flicks of our Monsters activity, suitable for grades 2-5! A fun way to learn about prime numbers and show off their artistic skills 🎨🖌️

Learn more at https://megl.science.gmu.edu/outreach/activities/

09/05/2024

Thank you to everyone who came to support MEGL and the Math Department at the College of Science Fair!

08/28/2024

Happy start of the semester to everyone from our MEGL Outreach team! ☀️

03/18/2024

Happy Pi Day from MEGL!

04/30/2022

STEAM night at Laurel Ridge Elementary was a major success! With Boba Fett and our very own Yoda harnessing the force to estimate π. Surrounded by a team that shares a passionate commitment binds the galaxy together!
To view our calendar: bit.ly/3s461Qe

04/27/2022

Today we ran 3 parallel You Can Count on Monsters activity sessions at Greenbriar East, to have reached every 2nd to 5th grade classroom this fall! We are always proud and taken by the creativity, enthusiasm, and curiosity of this ever growing community of young mathematicians. 💛💚

02/25/2022

Head over and celebrate the iconic irrational with us. We have prizes for jeopardy winners, pizza and pie for all!

Have a happy and remember to never round up numbers when you're counting cows in the field!

11/17/2021

This morning we celebrated Möbius’ 231st birthday by creating Möbius strip bagels with faculty and students from the math department.

11/12/2021

Why did the chicken cross the Möbius strip?
to get to the other, um,…

This Wednesday, our outreach director Dr. Bray, will demonstrate how we can slice bagels into two linked halves whose cutting surface is a two-twist Möbius strip. Come get your bagel!

11/08/2021

These fourth graders were exploring prime factorization of rectangular numbers at Forestdale elementary school. One of the students told the outreach intern “you’re lucky that you only study math.”

11/05/2021

The fourth graders at Greenbrier elementary school were exploring really big numbers and different types of growths with the MEGL outreach team today.

10/28/2021

Today the outreach team ran our You Can Count On Monsters activity at Centerville library. Our youngest participant sure enjoyed learning about prime numbers and him talking about patterns, rectangles, squares, and addition! “Thinking in your mind is thinking with the volume off”-little kindergartner.

10/24/2021

Wednesday October 27, MEGL Outreach is headed to Centreville Library to host our You Can Count on Monsters activity. All k-5th grade students welcome! Visit the library’s website for more information and registration links.

10/05/2021

We had a blast running the You Can Count On Monsters activity yesterday at one of the nearby elementary schools! Expanding our outreach team allowed us to run our activities at multiple classrooms simultaneously. Check out our activities on our website.

Address

L106 Exploratory Hall, 4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA
22030

Website

http://www.cos.gmu.edu/megl

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MEGL is an experimental research lab in pure mathematics at George Mason University (L106 Exploratory Hall) focusing on the interplay of geometry, topology, algebra, and dynamics.

We develop alternative modes of experiencing mathematics and engage in grassroots public outreach that fosters excitement about mathematics. Our activities naturally lead to development in 3D printing, virtual reality, and parallel computing.

The idea of a Geometry Lab is directly inspired by the Geometry Center in Minnesota founded by A. Marden from 1994 to 1998, which produced a wealth of mathematical software (most notably the SnapPea hyperbolic analyzer) and influential mathematical visualizations (most notably, Not Knot, Outside In, and Shape of Space).

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometry_Center and http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/.

The first off-shoot of this, the Experimental Geometry Lab (EGL) at the University of Maryland (UMCP), was founded in 2000 by William Goldman (who was on the Geometry Center's governing board during its last two years) and Richard Schwartz. It has run since then and most present geometry labs descending from the EGL.

Sean Lawton completed his doctorate in 2006 at UMCP, and returned in 2008 as a postdoc. His affiliation with the EGL began earlier, while he was a graduate student, helping with numerous outreach activities and managing the lab. He began speaking about "franchising" EGL at that point and began promoting this idea at conferences and during job interviews. During his post-doctoral year with EGL he and then graduate student Ryan Hoban ran an intensive summer REU-type project in the EGL. After that, he moved to the University of Texas (UTRGV) and established the first extension of EGL named the Experimental Algebra & Geometry Lab (EAGL) in 2009. In 2014 he moved to George Mason University (GMU), where he founded the Mason Experimental Geometry Lab (MEGL) with Chris Manon (who has now founded a lab in KY).

Anton Lukyanenko joined the EGL at the end of his freshman year at UMCP, and soon he began supervising projects and administering the lab. After completing his Bachelors degree at UMCP, he stayed on and completed his Masters degree in 2008. He then moved to the doctoral program at the Univerity of Illinois (UIUC) in 2008, where he and Jayadev Athreya established the Illinois Geometry Lab (IGL) in 2011. This was extremely successful with enormous participation from many different faculty members and students. IGL remains the largest and most productive geometry lab in our network of geometry labs. After completing his doctorate in 2014 under Jeremy Tyson (who took over as director of IGL from 2014-2017), Anton moved to the University of Michigan as a postdoc where he started another geometry lab called Laboratory of Geometry at Michigan (LOGM). Jayadev Athreya has since moved to the University of Washington where he started another geometry lab called Washington Experimental Mathematics Lab (WXML).

We are now at 13 labs internationally and growing; all part of Geometry Labs United: http://geometrylabs.net/