Parsons Lecture April 2, 2026 – The Mathematical Heart of Tom Stoppard

When Tom Stoppard died last November at the age of 88, he was universally remembered as one of the most impactful and important playwrights of his generation. His first major success, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead from 1966, opens with the two minor characters from Hamlet puzzling over the occurrence of 90 heads in as many flips of a coin. This iconic moment
is actually the start of a long fascination by the British playwright with mathematics. Over the next five decades, Stoppard鈥檚 self-education led him to experiment with the dramatic possibilities of Zeno鈥檚 paradoxes, Cantor鈥檚 infinities, Euclidean geometry, fractal geometry, Euler鈥檚 Bridges of Konigsberg, Fermat鈥檚Last Theorem and the Riemann Hypothesis. 鈥淚 keep trying to find a play about mathematics,鈥� he wrote to a friend in 1985, 鈥淭here is one somewhere, but I can鈥檛 find it.鈥� With the help of some local actors, we鈥檒l follow Stoppard鈥檚 mathematical search鈥攆rom Rosencrantz and Guildenstern all the way to Leopoldstadt, which won the Tony
Award for Best Play in 2020鈥攊n an attempt to understand the playwright鈥檚 belief in the potential of mathematics to tell human stories.

Stephen Abbott is a professor of mathematics at Middlebury College. He has also held visiting positions at Saint Olaf College, the University of Virginia, Cambridge University, and the University of Otago in New Zealand. Trained in real and functional analysis, Professor Abbott has a longstanding interest in the connections between mathematics and theater that culminated in the recent publication of . He is also the author of , former editor of Math Horizons, book review editor for The Mathematical Intelligencer, and theater events chair for the Bridges Organization, a professional association dedicated to exploring the intersection of mathematics and art.

Join us on April 2 at 7:00 pm in the Blue Ridge Room in the Highsmith Student Union for this event.聽

This event is FREE and open to anyone.聽

About the Parsons Lecture

In 1998 a Mathematics alumnus from 每日大赛入口 provided an endowment, in honor of Joe Parsons, to fund this annual lecture series. The goal of the Parsons Lecture is to provide the 每日大赛入口 community with the ability to attend locally a presentation by a nationally renowned mathematician speaking on a topic accessible to the general audience. Speakers for the lecture series are invited to present a lecture not just because of their renown as mathematicians, but also for their skills as educators and orators. The endowment is used to fund travel and other expenses incurred by the speaker and department.聽Find information on the Parsons scholarship here.

About Joe Parsons

Joe Parsons grew up on a farm in western Tennessee and graduated from high school at 15 in 1931. In order that he might get a teaching certificate, a friend gave Joe enough money to attend his first year of college. He completed his undergraduate work and went on to the University of Tennessee for his graduate degree.

When Joe started at Asheville-Biltmore College (what is now 每日大赛入口), he was the entire Math Department, and through much of the 1970鈥檚 he was the chair of the department. Other roles he filled at 每日大赛入口 include Dean of Students and Academic Dean. Joe also helped formulate the current plan of the 每日大赛入口 campus including the choice for the library to face Mt. Pisgah. The view from the library steps is admired on campus. He also was instrumental in the development of the first 4-year curriculum when 每日大赛入口 joined the UNC system.

Joe matched his dedication to this institution with his dedication to his students. Joe was known to students at 每日大赛入口 as a wonderful teacher with a good sense of humor. He personally founded an endowment for student scholarships in mathematics. Even in retirement he could not stay away from the classroom, reading for elementary students at Claxton school here in Asheville. Until his death on Sunday ,September 24, 2006, Joe continued to contribute to education in his community. He will be missed.

In 1998 one of Joe鈥檚 former students provided an endowment for the Parsons Lecture series to honor the dedication of this great educator and continue his legacy.

Past Parson Lectures

• 2025 鈥� 鈥淭he Geometry of Privacy鈥� by Dr. Francis Su, Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College
• 2024 鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 No Puzzle Why I Love Math, Or Maybe It Is?鈥� by Dr. Steven Klontz, Professor of Mathematics at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama
• 2021 鈥� 鈥淎tari and the Multiverse of Doughnuts鈥� by Dr. Autumn Kent, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin 鈥� Madison
• 2020 鈥� 鈥淕errymandering, Mathematics and Fairness鈥� by Dr. Moon Duchin, at Tufts University
• 2019 鈥� 鈥淭he Patterns of Play: A Recreational View of Mathematics鈥� by Dr. Ronald D. Taylor, Professor of Mathematics at Berry College
• 2018聽鈥� 鈥淔rom Monroe to NASA鈥� by Dr. Christine Darden. Darden鈥檚 character was featured in the 2016 book 鈥淗idden Figures.鈥�
• 2017聽鈥� 鈥淧laying from a Laptop: Sports Analytics鈥� by Dr. Tim Chartier, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Davidson College
• 2016聽鈥� 鈥淐haos Games and Fractal Images鈥� by Dr. Bob Devaney, Professor of Mathematics at Boston University
• 2015聽鈥� 鈥淭he Shape of Space鈥� by Dr. Jeffrey Weeks,聽Middlebury College
• 2014聽鈥� 鈥淭he Right Treatment for the Right Patient at the Right Time: Personalized Medicine and Statistics鈥� By Dr. Marie Davidian,聽NC State University
• 2013 鈥� 鈥淭he Great Pi vs. e Debate鈥� by Drs. Thomas Garrity and Colin Adams, Williams College
• 2012 鈥� 鈥淐odes are Everywhere!鈥� Dr. Judy Walker, University of Nebraska 鈥� Lincoln
• 2011 鈥� 鈥淢onkeys, Mathematics, and Mischief: What are the Lifelong Lessons of Education?鈥� Dr. Edward B. Burger, Williams College
• 2010 鈥� 鈥淭his Is So Wrong!鈥� Dr. Stan Wagon, Macalester College
• 2009 鈥� 鈥淔rom Flatland to Hypergraphics Geometry and Art in the 4th Dimension鈥� Dr. Thomas Banchoff, Brown University
• 2008 鈥� 鈥淢athematical Modeling in Biology: What is it? And how is it useful?鈥� Dr. Mary Lou Zeeman, Bowdoin College and Cornell
• 2007 鈥� 鈥淲e vote, but do we elect whom we really want?鈥� Dr. Donald Saari, University of California, Irvine
• 2006 鈥� 鈥淏reaking Drivers鈥� License Codes鈥� Dr. Joseph Gallian, University of Minnesota-Duluth
• 2005 鈥� 鈥淚ngenious Mathematical Amateurs: M.C. Escher & Marjorie Rice鈥� Dr. Doris Schattschneider, Moravian College
• 2004 鈥� 鈥淥n the Number of Groups of a Given Order鈥� Dr. John Conway, Princeton University
• 2003 鈥� 鈥淣ewton and Leibniz: Mathematicians at War鈥� Dr. William Dunham, Muhlenberg College
• 2002 鈥� 鈥淭he Chaos Game and Fractal Images鈥� Dr. Robert L. Devaney, Boston University