Math Department Mace

Team Members

Jack Carl

William Hutchinson

Yijun Liu

Dalton Moore

Chengxiao Zhou

 

Sponsor

Professor Paul Funkenbusch

University of Rochester Mathematics Department

 

Background and Context

Designed in 1935, the University of Rochester’s ceremonial mace has been used to confer degrees for nearly a century during graduation ceremonies. Made of mahogany and silver, this mace represents the authority of its wielder. In 2023, a new tradition started with the Mechanical Engineering Department designing their own mace for the ME Department graduation ceremony. Now, In 2024, the Mathematics Department is continuing this tradition with a new custom mace design that highlights the prestige and history of mathematics at the University of Rochester. This mace includes important aspects of various mathematical fields, along with iconography close to the hearts of faculty and students alike.

 

Design

Throughout the design of the mace, the team kept a variety of requirements and specifications provided from the math department in mind. These helped to ensure the mace had a unique and recognizable design, and that it represented all of the faculty here at the university. These requirements and specifications included:

• Total Length: ≤ 48″​
• Total Weight: 6.4 ± 2.5 lbf​
• Include Math Dept. Chairs​
• Center of Mass: at center ± 10% of total length​
• Endurance Limit (ferrous materials): 85.99 ksi​

In addition to these numerical specifications, the team also aimed to use as many manufacturing processes as feasible on campus, and to use a variety of materials throughout the design. In addition to the model and final manufactured product, the team produced a pamphlet describing the iconography included, as well as a report of all test results and findings.

 

Concepts

To kick off the process of concept selection, the team met with various math faculty to discuss math concepts that they would like to see represented on the mace. After generating a list along with help from the math team of undergraduates, several concepts for the design were generated. From here, the team considered what was manufacturable, and created photo-realistic computer models. Once the design was approved by the math department during a faculty meeting, a form with math iconography was provided for faculty to vote on. Below are the top ten face designs chosen by the faculty.

Once all designs were approved, a final model was created. Shown below is the photorealistic image of the model, including the colors and semi-transparent parts. Directly below the computer model is the manufactured mace.

 

Manufacturing and Testing

After the approval process was complete, the team worked together to manufacture the mace with the assistance of the mechanical engineering faculty. Each part was created based on the CAD models and recommendations from faculty. After completion, the specifications were verified through a variety of tests to confirm the project’s success.

 

Project Presentation

 

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