March 30, 2007

Indra's Pearls

As a project for my complex analysis class, i'm going through a book called Indra's Pearls and writing code on my Mac to generate some of the images the book describes. Shown below is one of the basic images my program generated. This type of image is named after a pearl necklace owned by the Indian goddess Indra. An ancient text describes each pearl on the necklace reflecting the image of each of the other pearls which in turn reflected each of the others over and over again. This picture was created with four complex functions that each map three circles into the center of the fourth. Hopefully i'll have more interesting pictures to share once i get more work done on the application.

basic Indra's Pearls image

Posted by Matthew at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2007

My first day of spring

Today i took the inner lining out of my coat, put on some shorts, and played a game of tennis. It was my first day of spring.

Posted by Matthew at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2007

Summer vacation in Almost, Maine

I just found out that i will be spending my summer in Almost, Maine -- not the city, the play. I've been cast in Circle Theatre's production of Almost, Maine. The show is a romantic comedy featuring 8 different scenes that all take place on the same night in a small town in northern Maine. There are four people in the cast and we each end up playing several different characters. I can't believe how excited I am about being in this show. This will be the perfect way to spend my last summer in Grand Rapids before i head off to Ann Arbor. Show opens June 7. Start making your plans to come see it now.

Posted by Matthew at 05:12 PM | Comments (1)

March 12, 2007

Grad school

Next month i will be completing an undergrad degree that's a decade in the making. It's also been just about a year since i've quit working in order to go to school full time. Luckily, i think it's all been worth it. I recently learned that i've been accepted to grad school with full financial support which means i won't have to pay for it. In fact, they will most likely pay me if i accept a research assistant or teaching assistant position. Right now it looks like i'll be headed to the University of Michigan to begin work on a doctoral degree in biostatistics with a focus on genetics. That means i'll probably be living in Ann Arbor for the next 5-6 years.

I'm very excited to being this new chapter of my life. I'm not exactly looking forward to the logistics of moving across the state, but one i get there i can't wait to start classes. The human genome is quite remarkable and researching are applying a wide variety of mathematical techniques to better understand how our bodies work at the most basic level. All that fun will begin when what could be my last summer in Grand Rapids for a while comes to a close.

Posted by Matthew at 02:33 PM | Comments (1)