Dr. Reza Sarhangi will discuss "The Art and Mathematics of Star Polygons," during a guest lecture, Friday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m., in Level A, Carlson Library, Clarion University. The presentation is free and open to all.

            Star polygons have been used by various cultures around the world from the time of the ancient Greeks, through the high points of Islamic art, to modern computer graphics. It was the young Gauss who finally solved the enigma of constructibility of polygons.

            In this lecture Sarhangi, professor of mathematics at Towson University, Towson, Md., will link the worlds of mathematics, art, music and science, offering a tour of the ever-recurring theme in mathematics and art.

            Sarhangi is a professor of mathematics at Towson University, Towson, Md.

            He received his B.S. in mathematics from Pars College, Tehran, Iran, and certificates in teaching methodologies in elementary and also secondary mathematics education from Teacher University, Tehran, Iran.

            In addition to teaching mathematics in high schools he became a college educator. He has also worked as a graphic artist, drama teacher, play writer and director, and scene designer before coming to the US in 1986. He received a M.S. in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics in the controllability and stabilizability of distributed parameter systems (hyperbolic systems) from Wichita State University in Kansas. He also studied electrical engineering at a doctoral level before accepting a faculty position at Southwestern College in Kansas in 1994.

            His mathematical interests include mathematics instructional technology, control theory, functional analysis, and mathematical connections in art.

            Clarion University is the high-achieving, nationally recognized, comprehensive university that delivers a personal and challenging academic experience.