[Winter 1999 Colloquiums]
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COLLOQUIUM

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY
ROCHESTER, MICHIGAN 48309

Steve Wright
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Oakland University

Elliptic Curves, Modular Forms, and Fermat's Last Theorem:
Lessons Learned From Teaching
a Mathematics Course in the Honors College

Abstract

Mathematics is the queen of the sciences, and the
Higher Arithmetic is the queen of Mathematics.

- Gauss -

The year 1994 saw the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by Andrew Wiles and Richard Taylor, a truly monumental event in the history of Mathematics. As I prepared for and taught a course on Fermat's Last Theorem in the Honors College during the summer and fall of last year, the ideas that frame their arguments became fixed in my mind. This talk will outline the main themes of those ideas, which, having number theory as their ultimate goal, illustrate a deep, profound, and beautiful synthesis of geometry, algebra, and analysis.

372 Science and Engineering Building
Tuesday, January 19, 1999
3:00­4:00 P.M.

Refreshments at 2:30­3:00 PM in Room 368, Science and Engineering Building