HESBURGH LECTURE SERIES 2013 Program - Alumni Association ...

Alexander J. Hahn ’70 Ph.D.
Professor, Mathematics; Director, Kaneb Center for Teaching and
Learning
Biography
Alexander Hahn received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame in
1970 under the direction of Professor Timothy O’Meara (who would later serve as the Notre
Dame’s provost for many years). After a year as The National Science Foundation Postdoctoral
Fellow at the University of Zürich, and another as Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB) scholar at Categories
the University of Bonn, Hahn returned to Notre Dame in 1972 as a member of the faculty of the
Mathematics Department. He became a full professor in 1984, and served as the chair of the Art/Architecture, Notre
department from 1996 to 2000. Hahn’s research has focused on algebra and number theory, in Dame, Science
particular the theory of forms, group, and algebras. He has written two books and numerous
articles on these topics of mathematics. Hahn also has published his investigations into the history of science, in particular his
studies of the impact of Galileo’s experiments on his understanding of motion.
In 2000, Hahn was appointed to direct the Honors Program of the College of Science. In prior years, he had developed a twosemester
calculus sequence for the College of Arts and Letters. The subject matter of these courses later grew into a textbook
that has the two-fold aim of developing the basic elements of calculus from within their historical origins, and to illustrate the
power of calculus in a wide variety of different contexts of science and economics. This work was translated into Japanese by
Springer-Verlag, Tokyo (2001-02). Hahn’s ongoing interest in teaching led to his appointment to the directorship of Notre Dame’s
Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning from 2002 to 2009. Over the last several years, he has explored the connections between
architecture and mathematics. His book, Mathematical Explorations of the World’s Great Buildings, on this combination of
subjects, was published by Princeton University Press in 2010.
Lectures
Galileo and His Science in Images
In this lecture, participants will learn of the political and ideological dynamics of contemporary China by way of the history of its
relationship with two countries that it officially defines as part of the “motherland.” With the recent resurgence of anti-Chinese
unrest in Tibet and a democratic election in Taiwan that may shift the political balance of this country toward unification, it is
critical that we take stock of these current developments and their implications for the future of our relations with the second
most powerful country in the world. Participants will learn of the reasons for China’s claim of legitimate sovereignty over these
territories while also discovering the grounds of Taiwanese and Tibetan dissent, with an eye to imagining strategies for peaceful
resolution.
Truth in Numbers: From Notre Dame Football to The Da Vinci Code
To what extent do numbers capture the reality that generates them? When do they fail to do so? To what extent do they lie? This
PowerPoint presentation explores these questions both in the context of Notre Dame football statistics and the mathematics in
The Da Vinci Code.
44 The Hesburgh Lecture Series, 2013 Program