Stomachs may growl while students sit in a math class during lunch time – but on Pi Day, students are encouraged to enjoy circular foods like pizza and pie while learning about the mathematical celebration. 

Pi Day, or International Day of Mathematics, honors the infinite number of pi, which is abbreviated to 3.14. The Department of Mathematical Sciences and other university groups will run free activities celebrating the mathematical constant March 14. 

“The day’s importance is to celebrate mathematics, to celebrate science and to have a holiday which is not connected with religion or history of wars but with human scientific achievement,” said Artem Zvavitch, a professor and graduate coordinator for the Department of Mathematical Sciences. “To have yet another day for kids and adults to find out that mathematics and science in general is very interesting and useful.”  

According to the History Channel, the day was first founded in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw and became a national holiday in 2009.  

Fedor Nazarov, a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, said pi is the ratio of a circle’s diameter to its circumference, and it is used to find a circle’s area and circumference. It is important in engineering, among other fields, he said, and the irrational number is also used in physics, geometry, algorithms and computer science.  

Local pizza places will bring samples to The Student Center at Culinary Services’ “Slice of Kent” event from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Additionally, the College of Aeronautics and Engineering will serve pieces of pie from 1-2 p.m. on the first floor of the Timken Atrium.

“For the typical person, will they use pi directly? No, but my take is that math teaches a helpful way of thinking which will be useful no matter what they do in life,” research assistant Zachary Chase said. “Pi Day is one fun example of a way to get more people interested in math.”

The Women’s Center and the student group Women in Engineering will highlight the university’s women in STEM from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Williamson Alumni Center’s conference room. 

The Department of Mathematical Sciences plans to have a pi presentation day with pizza at 3:30 p.m. March 14 in room 228 in the Mathematical Sciences building, and the Math Club will devote one of its March meetings to pi. 

“Math is much more fun than they teach it sometimes,” Nazarov said. 

Isabella Schreck is editor-in-chief. Contact her at [email protected].