A presentation from 2025–2026 Radcliffe Alumnae Professor Laura DeMarco

Patterns and numbers (and patterns of numbers) can arise in surprising ways when investigating chaotic dynamical systems. As a research area in mathematics, the subject of dynamical systems was initiated around 1900, growing out of attempts to understand the stability of the solar system. Nowadays, mathematicians explore systems as vast as the universe and as simple seeming as a quadratic polynomial equation. In this talk, DeMarco will show examples of systems that illustrate surprising connections between the theory of numbers and fractal geometry, with the hope of providing a glimpse into her own research on complexity in algebraic dynamical systems. This presentation is intended for a general audience. No mathematical experience necessary.