Pixar movies and toys continue to open our imaginations. These two topics are part of the Oregon Distinguished Mathematics Lectures for Students series organized by the Department of Mathematics. On May 10 and May 15, the department will host two industry experts to discuss the mathematics of the Pixar movie production company and toys. 

Toys are a part of daily objects that can be made in minutes. And if played with imagination, toys reveal surprises. Stanford University Professor Tadashi Tokieda will use table-top demos of toys and visit some of the unusual physics and mathematics they open up. Tokieda grew up as a painter in Japan and became a classical philologist in France. He received his PhD in pure mathematics at Princeton and has been an applied mathematician in England and the US. He is active with the YouTube channel Numberphile. Tokieda speaks from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday, May 10, at Fenton Hall, Room 110. 

On May 15, Tony DeRose speaks about the math behind Pixar movies. DeRose is a computer scientist and mathematician with more than 40 years of experience in computer graphics research and development, 23 of which at Pixar. During his lecture, DeRose will draw upon numerous examples from Pixar's feature films and give a behind-the-scenes view of how math has played in the mathematics revolution in the movie industry. He'll also introduce Pixar in a Box, a free online collaboration with Khan Academy that demonstrates how middle and high school math and science concepts are used to address creative challenges we face at Pixar. DeRose speaks from 5 to 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 15, at Fenton Hall, Room 110.