Lecture: Using math to invent solutions to large-scale human problems
Using math to tackle big human challenges—innovative solutions for a changing world.
May 20, 2025 — 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Event details
Using math to invent solutions to large-scale human problems, just in time to survive AI
"Why are we learning this?" — the dreaded question often received by math teachers
In this public lecture, the speaker will share his story of using his mathematician background to devise new solutions to two practical problems that affect our whole society: disease control and education.
The mathematical areas of network theory and game theory feature as inspirations in his work. During the COVID lockdown, he invented an app which addresses the incentive misalignment problem intrinsic in contact tracing: in the traditional approach, people are asked to isolate to protect others against infection, not to save themselves.
He has also been working for a decade at the intersection of education and technology. His latest creation there is a new, highly-scalable ecosystem for teaching secondary school students how to invent their own solutions to unfamiliar (math) problems, powered by a unique incentive alignment structure that involves professionally trained actors and comedians collaborating with math stars.
This comes just in time, as the rise of AI necessitates more advanced skills.
This talk will be accessible to all backgrounds.
Po-Shen Loh, Speaker
Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Prof. Po-Shen Loh is a social entrepreneur and inventor, working across mathematics, education, and healthcare, all around the world. He is a math professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and served a decade-long term as the national coach of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad team from 2013–2023. He has pioneered innovations ranging from a scalable way to learn challenging math live online at comparable engagement to live-streaming entertainment, to a new way to control pandemics by leveraging self-interest.
As an academic, Po-Shen has earned distinctions ranging from an International Mathematical Olympiad silver medal to the United States Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. As an educator, he was the coach of Carnegie Mellon University’s math team when