John Conway, Princeton's John Von Neumann Professor in Applied and Computational Mathematics, spoke with attendees before the annual Pi Day recitation contest. The event took place in the Princeton Public Library as part of a series of Pi Day activities held throughout the local community and on the University campus.
Photos by Julia Hadinger
More than 6,000 members of the Princeton University campus and local communities kicked off the annual Pi Day events, which commemorate Albert Einstein's birthday through math-related activities. The celebration began with a series of events in the local community and on campus Friday through Sunday, March 9-11. Events will continue on Wednesday, March 14, with various activities including "Public Issue Day 2012," which is organized by Princeton graduate students.
Pi is the numerical value of the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter and is often abbreviated to 3.14. Einstein, who was born on March 14, 1879, shares the first three digits of his birthday (3.14) with pi.
Einstein lived in Princeton during the last 22 years of his life and had an office on campus, but was not a member of the University faculty. He was a faculty member at the neighboring Institute for Advanced Study and an important member of the larger intellectual community of Princeton. Read more about Einstein on the Mudd Library blog.
The Pi Day events are supported by local businesses and community groups along with the University's Office of Community and Regional Affairs and the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jayden Hunt, 4, won top prize in the youngest category of the Einstein look-a-like contest.
Juliette van Schaik, 13, won the pi recitation contest for her age group by reciting 1,705 digits.
Maya Lerman, 8, recited 77 digits of pi and encouraged her brother, Ezra, 4, to join in the fun.
Shotaro "Macky" Makisumi '12 (top) displayed his cube skills and taught tips during the Rubik's Cube Challenge.
