October 05, 2012
Mark Gotay, Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
COVARIANTIZING CLASSICAL FIELD THEORIES
November 02, 2012
Sweta Suryanarayan, Lewis & Clark
SINGULARITIES OF SCHUBERT VARIETIES WITH A TOPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
November 09, 2012
Sarah Emerson, Oregon State University
ALTERNATIVES TO PENALIZATION FOR SPARSE MODELS
November 16, 2012
James Lambers, Department of Mathematics, University of Southern Mississippi http://www.math.usm.edu/lambers/
A CRASH COURSE ON MATRICES, MOMENTS AND QUADRATURE
November 30, 2012
Karen Marrongelle, Oregon University System
HOW STUDENTS USE GESTURES TO SUPPORT THEIR LEARNING
January 11, 2013
Jean B. Nganou, University of Oregon
ON BL/MV - ALGEBRAS
January 18, 2013
Alberto Ibort, Department of Mathematics, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid http://matematicas.uc3m.es/index.php/dpto-people/catedraticos-1/aiboirt-...
January 25, 2013
Theresa Utlout, Intel
Title:Perception is reality? Industrial Statistics in Semiconductor Manufacturing.
Abstract:
When considering a career in Statistics, the hot and exciting fields seem to involve biology or medical applications. In recent years, there has been substantial growth in the number of statisticians in these areas. The industrial statistician seems to be something that many people regard as yesterday’s news, working only on quality tools, such as control charts. With much of U.S. manufacturing moving overseas and a more global economy, many of the well-known, large industrial statistics groups have been reduced or eliminated. There have been panel discussions and articles on the future of the industrial statistician (Technometrics, 2008). Is there still a place for industrial statisticians in the U.S., and is it a career worth pursuing? This presentation will explore some aspects of the use of Statistics in industry, specifically semiconductor manufacturing. It will provide a brief introduction of semiconductors, the perceptions and reality of working as an industrial statistician, and illustrate some real problems encountered when working in the semiconductor industry.
February 01, 2013
Bernd Sturmfels, UC Berkeley, http://math.berkeley.edu/~bernd/
Title: Maximum Likelihood for Matrices with Rank Constraints
Abstract: Maximum likelihood estimation is a fundamental computational task in statistics. We discuss this problem for manifolds of low rank matrices.
These represent mixtures of independent distributions of two discrete random variables. This non-convex optimization leads to some beautiful geometry, topology, and combinatorics. We explain how numerical algebraic geometry is used to find the global maximum of the likelihood function.
February 08 2013
Kristyn Maschhoff, Cray Inc.
Title: Designing a Supercomputer
Abstract:
I will present my experience working in Cray, what it is like to be on an engineering team designing a supercomputer, and the types of skills we look for at Cray for both internships and recent graduates looking to work in industry. Most recently I worked as Technical Project Lead on the recently completed Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) High Productivity Computing Systems program where I was responsible for the performance analysis component (Benchmarking/Applications). This program helped fund our development of the next-generation Cray supercomputer code-named "Cascade".
Time permitting, I will walk through some of the innovations of this new architecture.
February 22.
Ginger McKee,
Mathematica in Education and Research
This is a free one hour talk that illustrates capabilities in Mathematica 9 that are
directly applicable for use in teaching and research on campus. Topics
of this technical talk include:
* 2D and 3D visualization
* Free form input & predictive interface capabilities
* Dynamic interactivity
* On-demand scientific data
* Example-driven course materials
* Wolfram Alpha integration
* Symbolic interface construction
* Practical and theoretical applications
Prior knowledge of Mathematica is not required.
March 01 2013
Arash Yavari, Georgia Institute of Technology
Title: Riemann-Cartan Geometry and the Nonlinear Mechanics of Distributed Dislocations
Abstract: In this seminar we will show that the nonlinear mechanics of solids with distributed dislocations can be formulated as a nonlinear elasticity problem provided that the material manifold – where the body is stress-free − is chosen appropriately. Choosing a Weitzenböck manifold (a manifold with a flat and metric-compatible affine connection that has torsion) with torsion tensor identified with the given dislocation density tensor the body would be stress-free in the material manifold by construction. For classical nonlinear elastic solids in order to calculate stresses one needs to know the changes of the relative distances, i.e. a metric in the material manifold is needed. For distributed dislocations this metric is the metric compatible with the Weitzenböck connection. We will present exact solutions for the residual stress field of several distributed dislocation problems in incompressible nonlinear elastic solids using Cartan's method of moving frames. We will also discuss zero-stress dislocation distributions in nonlinear dislocation mechanics.
March 08, 2013
Irina Kogan, North Carolina State University.
Object-Image Correspondence for Algebraic Curves Under Projections
Abstract:
I will present a novel algorithm for deciding whether a given planar curve is an image of a given spatial curve, obtained by a central or a parallel projection with unknown parameters. The motivation comes from the problem of establishing a correspondence between an object and an image, taken by a camera with unknown position and parameters. A straightforward approach to this problem consists of setting up a system of conditions on the projection parameters and then checking whether or not this system has a solution. The computational advantage of the algorithm presented here, in comparison to algorithms based on the straightforward approach, lies in a significant reduction of a number of real parameters that need to be eliminated in order to establish existence or non-existence of a projection that maps a given spatial curve to a given planar curve. Our algorithm is based on projection criteria that reduce the projection problem to a certain modification of the equivalence problem of planar curves under affine and projective transformations. To solve the latter problem we make an algebraic adaptation of signature construction that has been used to solve the equivalence problems for smooth curves. We introduce a notion of a classifying set of rational differential invariants and produce explicit formulas for such invariants for the actions of the projective and the affine groups on the plane. This is a joint work with Joseph Burdis and Hoon Hong.
April 05, 2013
Fadil Santosa, IMA, University of Minnesota
Abstract:
Bar codes are ubiquitous -- they are used to identify products in stores, parts in a warehouse, and books in a library, etc. In this talk, the speaker will describe how information is encoded in a bar code and how it is read by a scanner. The presentation will go over how the decoding process, from scanner signal to coded information, can be formulated as an inverse problem. The inverse problem involves finding the "word" hidden in the signal. What makes this inverse problem, and the approach to solve it, somewhat unusual is that the unknown has a finite number of states.
Short bio:
Fadil Santosa received his PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois in 1980. He held positions at Cornell University and University of Delaware before joining the faculty of the School of Mathematics as Professor in 1995. He currently serves as the director of the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications. His research interests are in inverse problems, optimal design, and optics.
May 03, 2013
Maochao Xu, Department of Mathematics, Illinois State University
Optimal Capital Allocation: Mean-Variants Model
May 17, 2013
Speaker: Louis H. Kauffman, University of Illinois at Chicago
Title: Knot Logic and Topological Quantum Computing with Majorana Fermions
Abstract: This talk is an introduction to relationships between quantum
topology and quantum computing. We show how knots are related not just to braiding and quantum operators, but to quantum set theoretical foundations and algebras of fermions.
We show how the operation of negation in logic, seen as both a value and an operator, can generate the fusion algebra for a Majorana fermion, a particle that is its own anti-particle and interacts with itself either to annihilate itself or to produce itself. We call negation in this mode the Mark, as it operates on itself to change from marked to unmarked states. The Mark
viewed recursively as a simplest discrete dynamical system generates the fermion algebra, the quaternions and the braid group
representations related to Majorana fermions.
The talk begins with these fundamentals. They provide a conceptual key to many of the models that appear later. In particular, the Fibonacci model for topological quantum computing is seen to be based on the fusion rules for a Majorana fermion.
All these models have their roots in unitary representations of the Artin braid group to the quaternions
May 31, 2013
Amanda Jansen, University of Delaware
Engagement in School Mathematics: Listening to Student's Voices.
Abstract:
What do students talk about when they talk about their school mathematics experiences? Students often talk about social aspects of engaging in mathematics in school, because when they have opportunities to learn about mathematics content, they also learn how to be mathematics learners (Boaler, 2000). Students learn about what it means to participate in doing mathematics and who they are (and can be) when learning and doing mathematics. In my research on social aspects of mathematics classrooms, I have examined students’ voices about participating in whole class discussions (Jansen, 2006, 2008, & 2009), small group discussions (Jansen, 2012), transitioning from middle school to high school mathematics (Star, Smith, & Jansen, 2008; Jansen, Herbel-Eisenmann, & Smith, 2012), and caring teacher-student relationships in mathematics classrooms (Jansen & Bartell, in press). During this talk, I will share highlights of findings from this body of work, including how students’ engagement is shaped by their interpretations of the purposes of what they are asked to do in mathematics classrooms. Listening to students’ voices provides insights into how to provide opportunities for more students to engage in and benefit from school mathematics instruction.