What are some interesting research topics relating to math?

Could someone help me come up with an interesting topic to write a small paper I have to write for my math class? I'd like to do something about a current event that realtes to math, but I am just not sure what is going on in the world of math.





This is my assignment: write a 2 page paper about a famous mathematician, or a theory you read about, or an interesting idea you came across in the paper or internet that has to do with math.

What are some interesting research topics relating to math?
The most recent major advance in mathematics was the completion of the proof of Poincare's conjecture by Grigori Perelman. Back in the 90's there was also the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem by Andrew Wiles. Fermat's Last Theorem is easier to understand (although not the proof), and so might make a better topic for your paper.





Other interesting things you might be able to write about are:





-Cryptography, and in particular the discovery of public key encryption systems such as RSA in the 70's.





-Any of the "Millenium Prize Problems," which are a set of 7 math problems (one of which is the Poincare conjecture, which has been solved) with million dollar prizes.





-The Goldbach conjecture which is an open problem. It states that any positive even integer can be written as the sum of two prime numbers.
Reply:You might go to the library and look up these books:


1. The USSR Olympiad Problem Book: Selected Problems and Theorems of Elementary Mathematics (Paperback)


2. Entertaining Mathematical Puzzles (Paperback)





Both are great. Have fun.
Reply:a long time ago....





There was a math competition to solve the problem of a cycloid. Newton solved it in one night, when it took others a lifetime. It is a very interesting story.





This link explains :


http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/L...
Reply:OK





Why don't you write about the current mortgage crisis. Why is it that, so many people with an adjustible rate mortgage are having difficulties paying the mortgage and thus are having their house foreclosed?





The math behind the scene's here is a little complicated, but when you read about it - you will understand - it's the math that cause the problem! And only simple math can fix it.





See if you understand. If you do - you will have more than enough material to impress your teacher.
Reply:Fractals.


I don't know exactly what level maths you are in but fractals are a wonderful mathematical topic which can be examined with maths abilities ranging from primary school to university.


They are also a recent (50ish years old) discovery compared to most other maths which is centuries old and there is still plenty of current research being done in this field.