History of Mathematics
Study Abroad Program

UTRGV
Summer 2024

The photos shared below capture the History of Mathematics study abroad program that Dr. Mayra Ortiz Galarza, Dr. Luis Fernández, and I led for undergraduate and graduate students at UTRGV. This course addressed the life and contributions of prominent Italian mathematicians, as well as the influence of mathematics in art and architecture in the middle ages and the Renaissance.

In Florence, Pisa, and Rome, we walked in the footsteps of the Italian mathematicians, Galileo, Fibonacci, and da Vinci. We learned about their life and contributions to mathematics, science, and engineering. We reflected on how these mathematicians' identities regarding their race, gender, socioeconomic status, and literacy afforded them the privilege to pursue education in mathematics and science. We explored how significant historical events, like the establishment of foreign trade relations and the invention of the printing press, enabled mathematicians to exchange new ideas. We also investigated how the cultural influences of the Renaissance era and the Roman Catholic Church influenced these mathematicians' discoveries and ability to share them.

Galileo, Fibonacci, and da Vinci

Galileo's Life in Pisa and Florence

These pictures feature:
* Galileo's portrait at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence

* A mural of Galileo with a telescope in Pisa

* Galileo's birthplace and childhood home in Pisa
* Duomo Santa Maria Assunta cathedral and the San Giovanni baptistery where Galileo was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church
* The Leaning Tower of Pisa where scholars believe Galileo performed gravitational experiments
* Scuola Normale Superiore where Galileo taught mathematics in Pisa
* The University of Pisa where Galileo taught mathematics as a professor
* One of Galileo's adulthood homes in Florence

Leonardo da Vinci

Mathematician. Scientist. Engineer. Artist.

These pictures feature:

* Recreations of da Vinci’s inventions and engineering sketches

* Students interacting with models of da Vinci’s inventions at the da Vinci Interactive Museum

* Group discussions at the da Vinci museum

* A timeline of da Vinci’s life

* da Vinci’s painting, “Adoration of the Magi,” in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence

* Verrocchio and da Vinci’s painting, “The Baptism of Christ,” in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence

* Da Vinci’s painting, “The Annunciation” in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence

Fibonacci

The influence of the Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio in Renaissance Art

These pictures feature:

* The statue of Fibonacci, Leonardo of Pisa, at his grave in Pisa

* Artworks from the Uffizi gallery, Accademia gallery, Vatican Museum, and Sistine Chapel that contain evidence of the artists’ use of Fibonacci spirals, the Fibonacci sequence, and the golden ratio

The Influence of Mathematics in Architecture and Artistic Design

These pictures feature:

* Majestic architecture from Florence, Pisa, and Rome including:

Cathedral del Santa Maria del Fiore with Brunelleschi’s dome
Giotto’s bell tower
St. John's Baptistery
Pisa Cathedral
Palazzo Vecchio
Basilica di San Lorenzo
Basilica di Santa Croce
Colosseum
Vatican City with Saint Peter’s Basilica
Castel Sant’Angelo

* Paintings and sculptures with designs informed by mathematical concepts like tessellations, symmetry, proportions, Fibonacci spirals, and the golden ratio