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Fractal tree honours mathematician Sierpiński in Cambridge

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 14.05.2015 12:14
Poland's ambassador in the UK Witold Sobków has attended a ceremony at the University of Cambridge, where a fractal tree was installed in honour of the late mathematician Wacław Sierpiński.
The Sierpiński Tree. Photo: Adam DąbrowskiThe Sierpiński Tree. Photo: Adam Dąbrowski

The travelling tree is part of an initiative to promote the achievements of Polish scientists, as well as to highlight ongoing opportunities for scientic endeavour in Poland.

The Sierpiński Tree was installed in front of Cambridge's Mathematics Department, and curious passers-by can find an an embedded QR code that provides access to a short film about Polish science.

The tree was inspired by Sierpiński's Triangle, a mathematical construct that is an equilateral triangle subdivided recursively into smaller equilateral triangles. It can be be created in many different ways.

Sierpiński, who was born in Warsaw in 1892 and died there in 1967, achieved international renown owing to his contributions to set theory, number theory, theory of functions and topology.

He was laid to rest in the Avenue of Honour at Warsaw's Powązki Cemetery. (nh)

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