The department of mathematics and statistics welcomes Professor Ernst Albrecht to Mississippi State University from Sept. 13-28 for the presentation of “Artists of the Renaissance as Mathematicians.” Albrecht, a mathematics professor, has taught at the University of Saarbruecken in Germany since 1975. He received his degree at the University of Mainz and the University Kaiserslautern, both in Germany.
“He is a specialist in functionalist analysis,” said Bruce Ebanks, an instructor in the department of Mathematics & Statistics. “He is also the author of over 50 publications in mathematics.” According to Ebanks, Albrecht has an interest in history mainly because his wife received a Ph.D in art history.
“I assume that Albrecht got interested in the connections between art and mathematics, since his wife Marianne holds a doctoral degree in history of art,” Michael Neumann said, a friend and co-worker who is also from Germany. “In fact, they often visit museums and places of historical interest in Italy, France and Portugal together.”
The abstract of the lecture will include painters such as Piero della Francesca, Jacopo de Barbari and Leonardo da Vinci and mathematicians such as Luca Pacioli. The lecture will describe the mathematical work of Francesca and explore the reasons why mathematics influenced such artists.
The “Artists of the Renaissance as Mathematicians” will be on Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m. in Allen 13, and is open to the general public. For more information about this event, call 325-7138.