UNCA's Second Annual Parson Lecture in Mathematics Explores Conflicts Between Calculus Creators;
Event Slated for April 3 in Humanities Lecture Hall

William Dunham, the Koehler Professor of Mathematics at Muhlenberg College, will discuss "Newton and Leibniz: Mathematicians at War" at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at UNC Asheville's Humanities Lecture Hall. Dunham's talk is the second annual Parson Lecture and is presented by UNCA's Mathematics Department. The event is free and open to the public.

Dunham will trace the careers of England's Isaac Newton and Germany's Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the geniuses who independently created calculus in the late 17th century. Dunham will describe the mathematicians' disputes and their dramatic outcomes.

Dunham is the author of two books on mathematics history, "Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics" (1990) and "The Mathematical Universe" (1994). "The Mathematical Universe" received the Association of American Publishers Award for Best Mathematics Book of 1994. Both books were alternate selections for the Book-of-the-Month Club and have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, German and Italian. 

For more information, call UNCA's Mathematics Department at 828/251-6556.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Mark McClure, UNCA Assistant Mathematics Professor, 828/232-5197
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526