In its many manifestations, symmetry is something that has captivated the human imagination for thousands of years. Although mathematicians have made a formal study of symmetry with the modern subject of group theory, many of the structures they discovered were anticipated by artists, in some cases centuries earlier. We will focus in this talk on periodic and aperiodic tilings in the plane, illustrating the underlying mathematical principles with drawings spanning hundreds of years -- from ancient Islamic art to M.C. Escher and Roger Penrose. The talk is meant to be accessible to a broad audience.

Pizza and soda will be served for those attending!