Skip to main content

Northern Kentucky University
QUICK LINKS
  • one
  • two
  • three
  1. NKU Home Page
  2. Academics
  3. College of Arts and Sciences
  4. About Our College
  5. Departments
  6. Mathematics and Statistics
  7. Beyond the Classroom
  8. Sehnert Lecture Series

Sehnert Lecture Series

menu

2024 Sehnert Lecture

Narrow Margins: Winning the Presidency with Minimal Popular Vote

Dr. Russ Goodman // Central College

Monday, October 7 // 7:30 pm // Otto M. Budig Theater in the University Center

 

Abstract: Polya (1961) and Wessel (2012) investigated the hypothetical question of “What is the smallest fraction of the popular vote a candidate can receive and still be elected President of the United States?” What’s your best guess of the answer to this question? This talk will give a thorough account of the dynamics behind the question, pursue a sub-optimal approach, identify a more effective approach, and leave the audience with an invitation to explore some unresolved issues within this topic. A resource with historical data will also be offered to the audience for their continued exploration.

A free dinner will be held at 6 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom prior the lecture. RSVPs are required for dinner, but not the lecture. To reserve seats for dinner, please visit this link. 

The Sehnert Lecture Series is held every year during the fall semester. This event is madepossible by the extreme generosity of Dr. James "Duke" Sehnert who came to NKU in 1971 as one of the first faculty members joining the department. Professor Sehnert, a professor of mathematics at NKU for 28 years, passed away in September 1999. He bequeathed his estate to the Pugh Fund, now the Sehnert-Pugh Fund, in NKU's Department of Mathematics through the NKU Foundation.

Previous Sehnert Lectures:

2023:  Dr. Ingrid Daubechies, Mathemalchomy: A Wonderland of Mathemtics

2022: Dr. Jeffrey Ehme, The Prime Connection

2019: Dr. Kevin Hutson & Dr. Liz Bouzarth, Discovering Math in the Magin in Walt Disney World

2018: Dr. Ami Radunskaya, Using Mathematics to Fight Cancer

2017: Dr. Tim Chartier, Mathematical Celebrity Look-Alikes

2016: Dr. Aparna Higgins, Demonic Graphs and Undergraduate Research

2015: Dr. Colm Mulcahy, Celebration of Mind: Connecting Mathematics, Magic & Mystery

2014: Dr. Michael Dorff, Movies and Math - Past, Present and Future

2013: Dr. Rachel Hall, Math for Poets and Drummers

2012: Dr. Gilbert Strang, Random Triangles and Mathematical Videos

2011: Prof. Jim Albert, Measuring Athletic Performance: The Role of Luck in Sports

2010: Dr. Navah Langmeyer, An Introduction to Cryptography and Public Encryption

2009: Dr. Frank Morgan, Soap Bubbles and Mathematics

2008: J.M. Cushing, Chaos from Simplicity

2007: Rose Mary Zbiek, Making Essential Ideas a Focal Point of Our Mathematics

2006: Brian Winkel, Cipher Busting by Edgar Allen Poe, Jules Verne, William F. Friedman - and Beyond

2005: V. Frederick Rickey, Isaac Newton: Man Myth, and Mathematics

2004: Robert V. Hogg, The Importance of Understanding Variation

2003: Edward B. Burger, Magic with Mathematics

2002: Ivars Peterson, Moebius Madness

2001: Underwood Dudley, Why Mathematics

Department of Mathematics & Statistics

Mathematics-Education-Psychology Center, Room 401

(859) 572-5377  |  math@nku.edu