Members of the Bonaventure community gathered in celebration of Pi Day on Monday, honoring the well-known mathematical constant.
For some, its verbalization warrants a mouth-watering reaction, but for event attendees, pi, commonly expressed as 3.14, is representative of the ratio of a circle‘s circumference to its diameter.
Nicholas Papalia, a student attendee, said pi plays a major role in both his respective majors, mathematics and physics, as well as the annual March 14 event (which can also be expressed as 3.14).
“Pi Day is very significant to my majors,” said Papalia, a senior and four-time attendee. “Pi is extremely important in both of these fields. I also really enjoy the history behind the computations that have gone into calculating pi.”
According to Christian Leary, Ph.D., professor of mathematics, Christopher Hill, Ph.D., gave a talk about the history of pi, preceding Monday’s event. Hill, professor of mathematics, has planned and promoted the event over the past 12 years.
Papalia said the occasion, beginning at 1:59 p.m. and lasting for two hours and 65 minutes [representing the “159265” portion of pi], is trademarked by the multitude of pies available for attendees to enjoy. This year, Papalia said there were 16 pies total, 15 of which came from Perkins Restaurant and Bakery in Olean and a pear and cranberry pie, which his fiancée made. He added there were a number of activities to participate in, as well.
“[T]here was a digits of pi recitation competition this year,” said Papalia. “There was a student on a laptop that could look up where a person’s birth date appears in pi. Also, there is a pi costume contest. The winners of the digit recitation competition and the costume contest received prizes.”
Leary said this year’s celebration offered a few more activities than usual, although he’s enjoyed attending the event for more than a decade.
“It’s a good event. It’s a nice social occasion,” said Leary. “It has certain mathematical aspects to it, and we have great pies…that everyone seems to love.”
Leary added he’s seen a growing range of attendees through the years too.
“It started out kind of small initially, but it’s become pretty large,” said Leary. “Chemistry people always come down. Folks trek up from physics. We’ve had administrators here. Sister Margaret, she hasn’t made it yet, but we’ve had deans and the provost and all kinds of people. Some bring other students with them.”
John Butler IV, a junior mathematics major and three-time Pi Day attendee, said this year’s celebration was the largest and loudest Pi Day yet.
Butler added he appreciates the event’s affordance of student-faculty connections.
“Events like Pi Day and Integral Day [Bonaventure’s celebration of Gottfried Leibniz’s integral sign] give people the chance to get to know their professors out of the classroom,” said Butler. “As a math major, I have had almost every professor in the department and having opportunities like these has allowed me to build relationships with these professors. Having this one-to-one interaction is something unique to Bonaventure.”
Although Pi Day has passed, students can look forward to other events sponsored by SBU’s Student Chapter of the Mathematical Association of America, including Integral Day in the fall.
mcgurllt14@bonaventure.edu
