Math 629: History of Mathematics
Frank Sottile

Term Paper Topics from Spring 2024

• History of the calculus of variations
• Interactive virtual timeline on the history of π
• Cryptography in WWII
• Mathematics behind M.C. Escher's artwork
• The Riemann Hypothesis
• Human Computers
• History of Linear Algebra
• Mathematics and Airplanes
• Mathematics of War
• The Development of the Calculus by Newton and Leibniz
• The Four Color Theorem
• Mathematical Paradoxes of Infiinity
• History of Mathematical notation
• permutation groups in the development of abstract algebra
• Non-Euclidean geometry
• Mathematics and the Lottery
• The Foundational Crisis of Mathematics
• Unraveling Topology: Exploring Origins and the Polyhedra

Term Paper Topics from Spring 2022

• Cracking the Enigma machine of WWII.
• Critique of Euclid and modern treatments of geometry.
• History of the Pitot Tube
• Four Color Theorem.
• A Brief History of Linear Algebra
• Cryptography in WWII
• History of Probablilty and Statistics
• history of the hypothesis test and its effects on the judicial system
• Mathematics of Sudoku
• The Mathematics of Spot it!
• history of mathematics in music
• Mathematics and Airplanes
• History of the Calculus Reform movement

Term Paper Topics from Spring 2020 (CoViD)

• From Geometry to Game Theory: The Mathematics of Lewis Carroll
• A Brief History of Algebra
• Stories Behind Fermat's Last Theorem

Term Paper Topics from Spring 2018

• 30 Notable Women in Mathematics.
• Who is Nicolas Boubaki?
• Mathematics and War — A Sampling
• History of Infinity in Mathematics
• Perfect, Just Perfect! (Perfect Numbers)
• Cracking Enigma: Cryptography in World War II
• Secrecy Systems
• History of the Riemann Hypothesis
• The Euler Characteristic
• Zeno's Paradoxes
• A Brief History of Hyperbolic Geometry
• The Golden Ratio: The Universal Pattern
• Bayes's Rule as a Weapon: A Journey Through War, Disease, and Crime
• Coordinate Minecraft Geometry
• The Riemann Hypothesis: An Introduction
• The Significance of Hilbert's Problems to the Advancement of Mathematics

Term Paper Topics from Spring 2017

• Beyond Three Dimensions: A brief History of Hyperspace
• A Colorful Problem (the Development of the Four Color Theorem)
• David Hilbert's Collection of Unsolved Problems
• The Discovery and Impact of Non-Euclidean Geometry
• The Enigma Machine
• A Historical Tour of Infinity
• A Look at the Reform Calculus Movement
• Math and Cryptography: Cryptography and Math
• The Mystery of π
• The Omnipresence of the Legendary Constant π
• The Poincare Conjecture
• Pascal's "Treatise on the Arithmetic Triangle"
• Public Key Cryptosystems: From Origins to Today