of Movie Equation Academics: Awareness month seeks to educate, dispel widespread fears By Teresa Jun Daily Bruin Contributor May 1, 1998 |
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One of the hottest topics making waves in the media are the dramatic special effects brought to the screen by the creators of the blockbuster film "Titanic." What most people don't realize is that those special effects are made possible through the specialized use of mathematics. In observance of National Mathematics Awareness Week (MAW), the UCLA math department celebrated this year's theme, "Mathematics and Imaging," by hosting a series of daily lectures with guest speakers - including a speaker from Digital Domain, the special effects creator for "Titanic." Representing a variety of professional backgrounds such as motion picture, medicine and academia, each of this week's speakers celebrated the diverse applications of math. Speakers from Digital Domain, as well as two other motion picture special effects companies, explained how math is used in creating the digital images that are seen on the screen. "The purpose is to make the public aware of the excitement and versatility of math," said Tony Chan, chair of the math department. "Most people are not aware of the connection between math and other things in life," Chan said. The application of math in imaging is certainly not limited to special effects. Mathematically aided imaging is also important in the medical profession. "Many people don't associate these machines (CAT scan, ultrasound) with math, because we're one step removed," Chan explained. "We just see the machinery, the medical technology. But without math, we can't have these machines," Chan said, referring to medical instruments that run mathematical algorithms to produce the images seen on a screen. Math is also used for imaging purposes in the military, surveillance, space programs, image restoration, computer graphics, and in downloading images from the Internet, Chan said. "Math underlies all these things," Chan added excitedly. This week's talks received positive turnouts, event coordinators agreed. "Many people are interested. It's an exciting thing," Chan observed. "On Monday (when the speaker from Digital Domain gave a talk), a few film students who probably never come to South Campus even showed up," said Peter Blomgren, a fourth-year mathematics graduate student who helped organize the event. This week's speakers from the entertainment industry helped illustrate an important point, according to coordinators. "Imaging is a huge area that cuts across many fields. The entertainment industry has recently caught on to this technology," Chan said. "Now Hollywood is generating a lot of jobs using hi-tech computers. The university has to adapt and make students aware of these new job opportunities. (Hollywood) is not just for North Campus people anymore. It's for South Campus too." Stanley Osher, a professor in the math department who was also a featured guest speaker this week, expressed his enthusiasm for MAW. "Math Awareness Week is a great idea," Osher said. "People should learn to overcome their fear of (math) and see how it applies to our everyday lives." Started in 1986 by Ronald Reagan, MAW was established as an attempt to teach the American public the value and importance of math. Every year, the theme relates math to a seemingly unrelated field to illustrate that math pervades many aspects of our life. Past themes have included "Mathematics and the environment" and "Mathematics and the Internet." Various schools all across the nation have been celebrating MAW this week. From elementary school festivals to university symposiums, participating institutions are organizing their own unique local events to promote math awareness.
"Every (school) has their own different local activities,"
Chan explained. "We're in the middle of L.A., so we
thought 'Hey, we've got to get Hollywood.'" |