“Mathematics – The Human Connection”

Music, Literature, Mathematics. I believe that it is the same muse that informs them all. The focus of this talk is on the aesthetic value of mathematics and the fact that too many of us “miss the boat.” It is rare for an educated person to be unaware that mathematics has great utility.  It is commonplace for its grandeur to remain undiscovered, perhaps because the rush to demonstrate its applicability occurs too early in a child’s life. It’s a loss for the adult that child becomes.  It’s not fair.

Mel Currie is a native of Pittsburgh.  He received a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Yale and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh.  After a seven-year stint in academia at Auburn University and the University of Richmond, Mel began a twenty-five-year career at the National Security Agency, where he served for a decade as Chief of the Cryptographic Research and Design Division (The Codemakers). Mel is the author of two books: Mathematics: Rhyme and Reason (2018), published by the American Mathematical Society, and a novel, Just Before Too Late (2019). He and his wife reside in Baltimore and have an adult daughter.  At present, he is wrapping up a three-year term on Baltimore’s Civilian Review Board.