Fractal Expert to Deliver Public Lecture Followed by Community Reception at Colorado State University

Colorado State University welcomes Heinz-Otto Peitgen, a leading world expert in fractal mathematics, who will present "Harnessing Chaos" at 7 p.m. April 5 in Room 146 Plant Sciences Building. The lecture, designed for a general audience, will be followed by a catered public reception featuring a string quartet at 8:30 p.m. in the Weber Building. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

Peitgen will discuss how chaos theory has changed society’s view of nature and the impact the theory has had on how science is conducted. The public lecture will provide a historical overview of how the evolution of chaos theory has changed the scientific view of the world, influenced arts and culture and helped develop state-of-the-art applications in information technology and medicine.

The event, hosted by the Department of Mathematics as part of the Spring 2002 Magnus Lecture Series, is sponsored by the Magnus Memorial Lecture Series Endowment and the Colorado State University Guest Scholar Program.

"Colorado State and the Fort Collins communities are fortunate to have such a distinguished and entertaining scholar for the 2002 Magnus Lecture," said Michael Kirby, mathematics professor at Colorado State. "Dr. Peitgen is well-known for his educational, interesting and very enjoyable presentations. In addition, his contributions to the field of fractal geometry have significantly expanded the frontiers of basic research."

Peitgen is professor of mathematics and biomedical sciences at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. He also is director of the Center for Complex Systems and Visualization at the University of Bremen, Germany, where he formerly served as chair of mathematics. He additionally serves as president and chief executive officer of the Center for Medical Diagnostic Systems and Visualization, which he founded at the University of Bremen in 1995.

Peitgen is author of several award-winning books and films on chaos and fractals which have contributed to making fractal geometry interesting and accessible to the worldwide public. He is author of 21 books, co-editor of eight international scientific journals and has published more than 150 scientific research papers.

The recipient of several international scientific awards and honors, Peitgen’s scientific expertise encompasses the areas of chaos and fractals, dynamical systems, numerical analysis, computer graphics, scientific visualization, image and data analysis and processing. His research has led to computer-aided methods for image-based medical diagnostics and surgery planning.

The Magnus Lectures are delivered annually at Colorado State University in honor of former mathematics professor Arne Magnus. Each April since 1993, the mathematics department has invited outstanding researchers to campus to deliver a series of lectures for the general public as well as for professionals within mathematics and related fields.

For more information on the Magnus Lecture Series and Peitgen’s presentation, call the mathematics department at (970) 491-1303.