2012-2013 Colloquium Series

This Colloquium Series is jointly sponsored by the math and computer science programs. Unless otherwise noted, all talks take place in Jepson Hall, Room 103 at 4 p.m. 

Starting at 3:30 p.m. refreshments will be served in the common area outside of Jepson 212 prior to all talks. More talks will be added as they are scheduled. Please check back.

Spring 2013

January 14: Speaker TBA

February 4: Speaker TBA

February 11: Jim Cogdell (Ohio State University)

Title:  Zeta Functions!

Abstract:  Zeta functions have become ubiquitous in number theory.  They mix analysis (calculus) with arithmetic (such as primes).  They are as mysterious as they are powerful.  The most notorious example is the Riemann zeta function, which looks harmless enough.  But the Riemann zeta function and its compatriots, the L-functions, help us answer [a variety of interesting and important questions!

For the full description of his presentation, please click here.

February 18: Mike Pohl (Google)

Title: Do Cool Things That Matter: Detecting Adversarial Ads in the Wild

Abstract:  Being at Google over the past 5 years, I've had the opportunity to work with great people on problems that matter.  In this talk, I'm going to give an overview on some of the more interesting problems I've faced at Google (both technical and non-technical), while at the same time tying in how my college experiences helped ready me to face these challenges.  I'll also highlight some of the directions people who are interested in working in the industry might want to think about during and after college.

March 4:  Dr. Tihomir Kostadinov (UR Department of Geography and the Environment)

Title:  A 3-D EARTH ORBIT MODEL: VISUALIZATION AND ANALYSIS OF MILANKOVITCH CYCLES AND INSOLATION

Abstract: Milankovitch theory postulates that periodic variability in Earth's orbital ele-ments is a major climate forcing mechanism. Although controversies remain, ample geo-logic evidence gathered in the last few decades supports the major role of Milankovitch cycles in climate, e.g., glacial-interglacial cycles. There are three Milankovitch orbital pa-rameters: orbital eccentricity (main periodicities of ~100,000 and 400,000 years), pre-cession (longitude of perihelion, main periodicities 19,000--24,000 years) and obliquity (Earth's axial tilt, main periodicity 41,000 years). Here, an astronomically precise and ac-curate Earth orbit visualization model is presented. The model offers 3-D visualizations of Earth's orbital geometry, Milankovitch parameters and the ensuing insolation forcings. Both educational and research uses are envisioned for the model, which is developed in Matlab as a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI).

March 18: Speaker TBA

March 25: Speaker TBA

April 1:  Professors Jim Davis and Bill Ross (UR Department of Mathematics and Computer Science)

Title:  ALMOST TRUE:  TWO TALES OF FAILURE IN MATHEMATICS

Abstract:  Recently two famous problems in mathematics were reported solved: "The ABC Conjecture" from number theory, and "The Invariant Subspace Problem" from analysis. These reports were premature since both proofs (possibly) contain errors and their status is in doubt. Students are not the only ones who fail at mathematics. Two UR faculty will discuss the history of these two problems and the stories behind their failed proofs. This talk is open to a general audience and especially students.

April 17 (NOTE: Wednesday, Jepson 109): Student Honors Thesis Presentations

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science invites you to a Colloquium featuring student presentations of their recent honors thesis projects. 

Presentations today will be from Natalie Clark with "Mathematical Models of Plasmid Dynamics" and Dayton Steele with "Power Distribution in the European Union"

Refreshments will be served outside Jepson 212 at 3:30pm.

April 22: Student Honors Thesis Presentations (Jepson 103)

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science invites you to a Colloquium featuring student presentations of their recent honors thesis projects.

Presentations today will be from Taylor Applebaum with "Difference Sets" and Gage Holden with "PyAM:  Investigating Analogic Reasoning"

Refreshments will be served outside Jepson 212 at 3:30pm.

Fall 2012

September 4: Dr. James A. Davis, Professor of Math and Computer Science (University of Richmond)

Topic: Patent Lawsuit of the Century (Apple vs. Samsung):  A Personal Story

Apple and Samsung are fighting an intellectual property war around the globe. One of the battles was in Washington DC in June 2012, and Dr. Davis served as a testifying expert on wireless communication.  He will briefly describe the legal issues, the technical issues, and the business issues at stake in this clash of titans.
Refreshments will be served starting at 6:30 in the hallway outside Jepson 118.  Talk begins at 7pm.

September 10: student summer research presentations

Three 15-minute presentations will offer you a sampling of the numerous student-faculty research collaborations within our Department. Student presenters include Andreea Iovan (CMSC/MATH), Brett Csorba (CMSC), Dayton Steele (MATH), and Garrett Steele (MATH).

October 1: Mary Ann Horn (National Science Foundation & Vanderbilt University)

Topic:  Using Mathematical Modeling to Understand the Role of Diacylglycerol (DAG) as a Second Messenger, by Dr. Mary Ann Horn (NSF and Vanderbilt):

Diacylgylcerol (DAG) plays a key role in cellular signaling as a second messenger.  In particular, it regulates a variety of cellular processes and the breakdown of the signaling pathway that involves DAG contributes to the development of a variety of diseases, including cancer.  A mathematical model of the G-protein signaling pathway in RAW 264.7 macrophages downstream of P2Y6 activation by the ubiquitous signaling nucleotide uridine 5’-diphosphate is presented.  The primary goal is to better understand the role of diacylglycerol in the signaling pathway and the underlying biological dynamics that cannot always be easily measured experimentally.  The model is based on time-course measurements of P2Y6 surface receptors, inositol trisphosphate, cytosolic calcium, and with a particular focus on differential dynamics of multiple species of diacylglycerol. When using the canonical representation, the model predicted that key interactions were missing from the current pathway structure. Indeed, the model suggested that to accurately depict experimental observations, an additional branch to the signaling pathway was needed, whereby an intracellular pool of diacylglycerol is immediately phosphorylated upon stimulation of an extracellular receptor for uridine 5’-diphosphate and subsequently used to aid replenishment of phosphatidylinositol. As a result of sensitivity analysis of the model parameters, key predictions can be made regarding which of these parameters are the most sensitive to perturbations and are therefore most responsible for output uncertainty.  (Joint work with Hannah Callender, University of Portland, and the H. Alex Brown Lab, Vanderbilt.) Refreshments start at 3:30 p.m. outside Jepson 212, followed by Professor Horn's lecture starting at 4 p.m.

October 8:  Student Summer Research Presentations

Interested in paid summer research that incorporates heavily quantitative components?  Want to expand your horizons by tackling open-ended problems requiring the development of novel computer algorithms or mathematical constructs? 

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science invites you to a Colloquium featuring student presentations of their summer research projects.  Two groups of Computer Science & Math majors will tell us about their summer research experiences.  If you're interested in collaborative research with faculty and other students, please join us! 

Research topics presented will be: 

"Detecting Malicious Javascript" featuring students Taylor Applebaum, Tyler Barnett, Nunzio Cicone, Mark Dacek, Nick Daniel, Richuan Hu, Tyler Morgan, Nate Swanson, and Victor Yang (Mentors: Drs. Barry Lawson and Doug Szajda,

   - and-

"Turing Patterns via Agent-Based Models" featuring students Josh Armstrong, Josh Fagan, Kirstin Ladas, Gavin McGrew, and Rosa Romano (Mentor Dr. Michael Kerckhove)

October 29: Tihomir Kostadinov (University of Richmond) CANCELLED.  WILL BE RESCHEDULED.

Title:  A 3-D Earth Orbit Model:  Visualization and Analysis of Milankovitch Cycles and Insolation

Milankovitch theory postulates that periodic variability in Earth's orbital elements is a major climate forcing mechanism.  Although controversies remain, ample geologic evidence gathered in the last few decades supports the major role of Milankovitch cycles in climate, e.g., glacial-interglacial cycles.  Here, an astronomically precise and accurate Earth orbit visualization model is presented.  The model offers 3-D visualizations of Earth's orbital geometry, Milankovitch parameters and the ensuing insolation forcings.  Both educational and research uses are envisioned for the model, which is developed in Matlab as a user-friendly graphical user interface.

November 6: Raymond Cheng (Old Dominion University) JEPSON 118

Title: Mate Search Strategies

We'll look at a very simple model for the mate search process, and pursue notions of optimizing the quality of the selected mate.  We'll then compare our theoretical results with what happens in nature, and adjust the model accordingly.  There are surprising results!  The talk is almost entirely non-technical; we'll put our focus on the intuition behind the hypotheses and methods, and making sense of the results.  Note that this event will be held in Jepson 118, with the reception still in Jepson 212.

November 12: Michael Dorff (Brigham Young University)
Title: Shortest paths, soap films, and mathematics
 
In high school geometry we learn that the shortest path between two points is a line. In this talk we explore this idea in several different settings.  First, we apply this idea to finding the shortest path connecting four points. Then we move this idea up a dimension and look at a few equivalent ideas in terms of surfaces in 3-dimensional space. Surprisingly, these first two settings are connected through soap films that result when a wire frame is dipped into soap solution. We use a hands-on approach to look at the geometry of some specific soap films or "minimal surfaces".