When: November 19, 2009   6:45 pm -  7:45 pm

Arranging nine Scramble Squares pieces into a 3x3 grid, with each connecting edge matching its adjacent piece, is one of the NP-complete problems. That is, as the size of the puzzle increases, the time it takes to solve the puzzle increases dramatically. In my research, I'll take a graph theoretical look at a 2x2 scramble square puzzle. My newly developed theorem can help solve a puzzle, or spot a lack of solutions in a puzzle, in a more efficient way. 

This project was also presented at the

• Annual Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Francisco, poster session, January 2010.
• Annual Math. Assoc. of America Southeastern Section meeting at Elon University, March 2010.

Contact: Prof. Donna Molinek