Colloquium

Cells make fate decisions in response to dynamic environmental and pathological stimuli as well as cell-to-cell communications. Recent technological breakthroughs have enabled to gather data in previously unthinkable quantities at single cell level, starting to suggest that cell fate decision is much more complex, dynamic, and stochastic than previously recognized. Multiscale interactions, sometimes through cell-cell […]

Single-cell genomics is a catch phrase for numerous new technologies and methods that allow for probing cells at genome scale. I will explain what this means and describe some examples that illustrate the excitement in this new domain. While single-cell genomics technologies draw on methods from a variety of disciplines such asf biology, chemistry and […]

The beauty of mathematics is often encountered when one discovers that two apparently very different phenomena actually share a common origin. I will discuss such a surprising connection between two apparently unrelated mathematical objects. One is purely combinatorial: the number of ways one can drive from USC to the Claremont Colleges. The other one is […]

I plan to explain how a purely algebraic technique involving Lie Algebra Cohomology can be used to construct standard characteristic classes of vector bundles and foliations (in fact, it could […]

Speaker:  Kate Meyer, Cornell University Abstract: Biodiversity underpins ecosystem functioning but continues to decline on a global scale. Among human activities driving this trend, habitat destruction is a leading culprit […]

The magnitude is an isometric invariant of metric spaces that was introduced by Tom Leinster in 2010, and is currently the object of intense research, as it has been shown […]

We review a beautiful 17th century result by the philosopher Rene Descartes: a univariate real polynomial with t monomial terms has no more than t-1 positive roots. We then see […]

In 2007, Dr. Maria D'Orsogna learned of proposed oil activities in her home region of Abruzzo, Italy. Century-old wineries were to be uprooted to build clusters of oil wells, refineries […]

A fascinating fact on mathematics is that there are many interesting connections between seemingly different mathematical disciplines. In this talk, I will present a surprising formula counting integral points on […]

Silica-based glasses are increasingly becoming vital components in our current technology, from optical data transmission lines, to electronics, to optical lenses, to smartphone screens. These materials are inherently brittle and […]

UNAIDS has proposed an ambitious strategy for ending the HIV pandemic. Their strategy depends upon achieving a treatment coverage goal of 90% by 2030. However, distance to healthcare and lack of transportation are major barriers to accessing HIV treatment in SSA. I will use data-based geospatial modeling to determine their potential impact as barriers to […]