Friday, February 20, 2026, 10:10 a.m., Skye Lounge

Abstract: About a year and a half ago, the record for the biggest prime number ever was (yet again) broken, with a 41 million digit "Mersenne prime". These are named after the Parisian monk Marin Mersenne. Maybe you've heard of him in a math history course, as the one who drew Fermat and Descartes out of their shells to describe their methods of tangents.

But who was Marin Mersenne, what did he do, and why does he matter? This talk will give an overview of his life and the important roles he played in the history of science and music, with many examples from his own writings. We'll also look into why a monk from an order devoted to being the least of all delved so deeply into (among other things) exploratory mathematics, practical acoustics, and defeating freethinkers.

SPEAKER: KARL-DIETER CRISMAN

Karl-Dieter Crisman is a Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Gordon College in Massachusetts, and current Chair of the Northeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America. His research is primarily in voting theory, but also enjoys open source software and math history. Dr. Crisman's PhD is from the University of Chicago, and he has a graduate degree in music performance as well. He is the recipient of the 2024 award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of the Northeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America, and is the 2025-26 Brabenec Lecturer of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences.