Colloquium – Talk by Dr. Yvonne Lai(University of Nebraska-Lincoln): April 9, 2026
April 9, 2026 (Thursday) 4:10-5:00 PM SC 5211
Dr. Yvonne Lai– University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Unreasonably effective, and unreasonably taught?
When scholars wrote that mathematics is “unreasonably effective”, they meant the application of mathematical structure for the doing of the sciences and engineering; but what about for the teaching of mathematics in and for the sciences? In this talk, I will give (emerging) ways to view the time-and-again press for more applications in mathematics education. I will also address the question of what it means to know mathematics as a teacher, so as to set students up to see mathematics as connected to a science or engineering discipline. (The substance of this talk represents joint projects with Kristen Amman and Allan Donsig, and with Alon Pinto.)