Pi Day is the annual celebration of the mathematical constant π and is held every year on March 14, according to Dr. Michael Schroeder, assistant professor in the department.
“We have 17 professors who have committed to our Pi Day festivities,” Schroeder said. “The professor with the most votes at the end of the week will be pied in the face on Buskirk Field at Marshall’s Huntington campus.”
Tickets to vote are being sold March 7-11 to raise money for the department’s student group, the Thundering Nerds. Sara Brumbaugh, 21, of Kenova, West Virginia, serves as president of the Thundering Nerds. She said the funds raised by Pi Day events would be split between their organization and Pi Mu Epsilon to go toward future math conferences, meetings and induction ceremonies for both student groups.
“Over the last few years, Pi Mu Epsilon has held a Pi Day celebration. We wanted to do a big event that everyone on campus would know about, not just the math majors,” Brumbaugh said. “Pi Day falls on a Monday this year, so it’s definitely a fun way to start off the week! There will be prizes for the winners of the games along with bragging rights, of course. We hope the Marshall community will come have fun, meet some new friends, and maybe even consider joining our math clubs.”
The Thundering Nerds Club has no membership fee; the only requirement to join is a love of mathematics. To learn more about Pi Day and future Thundering Nerd events, find them on Facebook or visit the Department of Mathematics at www.marshall.edu/cos.
A media advisory will be released with a schedule for Pi Day events.