In 1202, Leonardo of Pisa (more commonly known as Fibonacci) proposed the following problem:
Suppose that rabbits live forever and that every month each pair produces a new pair which becomes productive after two months. Starting with one newborn pair, how many pairs of rabbits will there be in the nth month?
The sequence generated by the solution, called the Fibonacci sequence, has many fascinating mathematical properties, as well as surprising connections to other natural phenomena. We will explore some of the mysteries of the Fibonacci sequence, including its fundamental connection to the so called "golden rectangle" of ancient Greece.
This talk is accessible at all levels.
Joseph Petrillo is currently a doctoral candidate at Binghamton University whose research is in finite group theory. He received his B.S. and M.A. from Wilkes University (1998) and Binghamton University (2000), respectively. He is a fellow in the "Preparing Future Faculty" program in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.