Pascal Conference Room

The conference room is named after the French philosopher, mathematician, physicist and mechanic Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). A pioneer of informatics, he proved the existence of atmospheric pressure and designed an arithmetic machine, a predecessor to the calculator.


At 17 years of age, Pascal published the Treatise on Conic Sections, a fundamental work for future studies in geometry. The third essay of the treatise laid out the Pascal's theorem, which uses five points to plot a canonical section. Then, he built an arithmetic machine, a box containing numerous gears that could execute semi-automatic operations with six-digit numbers.
In 1646, Pascal began experimenting with barometric measurements, employing the Torricellian tube. Having made adjustments to the technique, he concluded that the upper part of the tube did not hold any vapours of chemicals, fine matter or any other substance. He described the outcomes in the Treatise on Vacuum. His aim was to prove that the mercury column was held in space solely by the atmospheric pressure. Thus, in 1647 he made another discovery: the air pressure and barometric readings are determined by weather.

1653 saw another publication, Equilibrium of Liquids, where he formulated the operating principle of the hydraulic press, and elaborated the main law of hydrostatics.
This comfortable conference room on the 3rd floor has a functional design to host meetings and discussions most efficiently.