Math Senior Seminar presents "The Athleticism of Group Theory," Tuesday, October 15.

Integrated Math Senior Brandi Scott will illustrate group theory using tournament elimination as an example. All are welcome to attend!

Math 450 Senior Seminar presents
"The Athleticism of Group Theory"

by Brandi Scott

Tuesday, October 15
3:05 - 3:55
in Patterson 324

Abstract: The idea behind playoffs in any sport is single-elimination knockout, where each team plays games in rounds and has to play each game as if it were their last. For one team, it will be. Knockout tournaments are played in several rounds and the number of rounds depends on the number of teams involved; each round cuts or "knocks out" half of the teams that played. Some teams may have a bye (not play in a given round). While this is easily understood with a little explanation, the group theory involved in the existence and underlying structure of the widely used tournament layout is anything but simple. In this particular talk, we will set our focus on the group theoretical properties of a very specific type of tournament, the unseeded single-elimination knockout tournament.