EVENT DETAILS AND ABSTRACT

Title: Elementary Math Challenges: Generating Functions and Telescoping
Speaker: Miguel A. Lerma
Speaker Info: Northwestern University
Brief Description: Training session for the Putnam Competition.
Special Note: Training session for the Putnam Competition.
Abstract:

The pigeonhole principle states that if \(n\) items are put into \(m\) containers, with \(n>m\) , then at least one container must contain more than one item. We will look at how this simple self-evident fact tan be used to solve problems that otherwise may look hard.

Telescoping is a technique to evaluate long sums, series, and products by rewriting then in such way that most of their terms cancel out.