Our next talk:
Middlebury College
Department of Computer Science Seminar
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
MBH 538
3:00 PM:
Primality Testing
Jeffrey Wehrwein '08
Prime numbers have a very simple definition, but they inspire an abundance of interesting and complex theory. Originally a topic for pure mathematicians, primes have found an important practical role in our modern technological world. This talk will introduce some of the theory behind prime numbers and discuss several methods for finding very large primes. It will also explore some applications that are ubiquitous in today's technological world, and will conclude with a discussion of a recent theoretical breakthrough in primality testing and its implications for the field.
3:30 PM:
Hex Education: An Introduction to Computer Hex
Brendan Smith '08
Hex is a game of connections that has fascinated mathematicians and computer scientists for many years. This talk will introduce this exciting game and explore some of its history, strategy, and mathematical complexity. The talk will also feature an in-depth discussion of two of the most successful artificial Hex players including their evaluation functions, search algorithms and a comparison of their performances.
4:00 PM:
Blokus and the Monte Carlo Method
Sarri Al-Nashashibi '08
Blokus was released in 2000 by a French company and has won several awards since. The game includes a 20x20 board with 21 different pieces that can be placed on the board such that they are connected diagonally to each other, but not side by side. We will present algorithms that simulate intelligent play, including search and a machine learning technique called the Monte Carlo Method. We also describe how multi-threading can be implemented to execute the algorithms faster.