MARQUETTE, Mich.—Northern Michigan University will host the Mathematical Association of America’s Upper Peninsula Regional Fall Conference on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 8-9). The public is invited to attend this free event, which will be held in Mead Auditorium in the West Science Building. Registration and activities begin at 3 p.m. Friday and resume from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Three featured lectures will highlight the conference. Loren Graham will present “The Power of Names” at 3:35 p.m. Friday and Jean-Michel Kantor will address “Mathematics and Mysticism from Plato to Grotendieck” at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Graham and Kantor are co-authors of Naming Infinity: A True Story of Religious Mysticism and Mathematical Creativity, which compares French mathematicians of the early 20th century with their Russian counterparts.

University of Michigan professor Igor Kriz will present “Simple Puzzles” at 10:40 a.m. Saturday. Kriz will also perform an organ concert titled “Bach before Dinner” in conjunction with the conference at 5:30 p.m. Friday, followed by an optional Dutch treat dinner for participants.

            This conference is sponsored by the NMU mathematics and computer science department. For a full schedule or more information, visit www.nmu.edu/math or call 227-2020.