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Harvey Mudd Student Wins MAA Essay Contest

无忧视频 computer science and mathematics major Mithra Karamchedu 鈥�26 was recognized by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) for his essay on the renowned mathematician and engineer Claude Shannon.

鈥淎 Mind, a Machine, and a Game in Between Claude Shannon and the Origin of the Information Age鈥� delves into Shannon鈥檚 unique approach to research and his profound contributions to information theory. The essay was awarded first prize in the MAA鈥檚 history of math student essay contest and has been published in the .

Karamchedu鈥檚 essay was born out of a project for the class Biography in Mathematics, taught by Jemma Lorenat, associate professor of mathematics at Pitzer College. The assignment required students to write a biography or metabiography of a mathematician, and Karamchedu chose Claude Shannon due to his dual identity as both an engineer and a mathematician.

鈥淚 had become very interested in information theory,鈥� Karamchedu says. 鈥淥ne book that provided an initial spark for me to write about Shannon was James Gleick鈥檚 The Information. I thought that Shannon鈥檚 approach to research seemed so unique and exciting.鈥�

Claude Shannon, often referred to as the 鈥渇ather of information theory,鈥� was known for his ability to merge theoretical abstractions with practical applications. This duality is what captivated Karamchedu, who highlighted Shannon鈥檚 whimsical and playful approach to research in his essay.

鈥淪hannon was fascinated by theoretical abstractions and was also drawn to the practicality of building things he found fun and interesting,鈥� Karamchedu says. 鈥淲hat really stood out to me was how much he allowed his whimsy and sense of fun to drive his research, finding deep abstractions in places we don鈥檛 normally look, especially games and toys.鈥�

Karamchedu鈥檚 essay focuses on the relationship between games and toys and Shannon鈥檚 two most famous papers: 鈥淎 Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits鈥� and 鈥淎 Mathematical Theory of Communication.鈥� He also touches upon Shannon鈥檚 lesser-known passions, such as juggling and chess. Shannon wrote an unpublished paper on the mathematics of juggling and built one of the world鈥檚 first chess-playing machines.

Through his exploration of Shannon鈥檚 work and philosophy, Karamchedu has gained valuable insights into his own research approach. Looking to the 2024 fall semester, Karamchedu is eager to bring Shannon鈥檚 playful spirit and innovative mindset to the HMC makerspace, a student-run facility with access to tools, resources, space and storage for personal and academic projects.

鈥淟earning about Shannon has taught me the importance of looking for ideas in all things,鈥� he says. 鈥淪hannon鈥檚 skill was being able to take complex ideas that we see in games, toys, puzzles and the world around us and distill them into elegant formulations. While many deep and beautiful ideas are motivated by pure theory, the cool things that we see in the world or that we build can have ideas that are just as powerful. This philosophy is incredibly inspiring to me, and I hope to implement it as much as I can.鈥�