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            Auburn University - University Relations
                         (334) 844-9999
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5/5/95                  Janet McCoy

BOSTON MATHEMATICS CHAIR ROBERT DEVANEY TO SPEAK AT AU MAY 8

      AUBURN -- Robert Devaney, chair of the Department of Mathematics 
at Boston University, will speak at Auburn University on Monday, May 8, 
as part of the Franklin Lectures series.
      Devaney will discuss "The Beauty and Complexity of the Mandelbrot 
Set" at 3 p.m. in the Foy Union gallery. The lecture, which will combine 
the use of videos and computer experiments, is free and open to the public.
      The Mandelbrot set, discovered in 1980, is one of the most 
intricate images in mathematics. 
      AU Mathematics professor Jack Rogers, a member of the Franklin 
Lectures Committee who is coordinating Devaney's visit, says  the lecture 
will be of interest to a variety of people.
        "It is possible to understand the rich fractal geometry of this 
image with only a background in high school algebra," said Rogers.
      Devaney's research interests are mainly in dynamical systems and 
include complex mechanics and computer graphics and dynamics. He is the 
author of "An Introduction to Chaotic Dynamical Systems," and a frequent 
lecturer on chaos, fractals and dynamical systems to both professional 
and lay audiences.
      The Franklin Lectures in the Sciences and Humanities, begun in 
1967, is sponsored by the John and Mary Franklin Foundation of Atlanta.
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CONTACT: Rogers, 334/844-4290; or Taylor Littleton, chair of the 
Franklin Lecture Committee, 334/844-4373.