In this talk, we'll discuss the problem of constructing meaningful distances between probability distributions given only finite samples from each distribution. We approach this through the use of data-adaptive and localized kernels, and in a variety of contexts. First, we construct locally adaptive kernels to define fast pairwise distances between distributions, with applications to unsupervised […]
What do swarm robotics and political redistricting have in common? One answer is Markov chains, which have recently been used in very different ways to address problems in both these areas. To get a large swarm to exhibit a desired behavior, one solution is to make each individual in the swarm fairly intelligent; another is […]
Knotting in living organisms is a feature that is visible to the careful observer of biological life. Since the 1970’s, with the increasing power of electron microscopes, scientists have been able […]
Many problems, arising in discrete and metric geometry, signal processing, physics, etc, can be reformulated as questions of optimizing discrete or continuous measures. We shall review some of such conjectures, […]
Opioid addiction has become a national health crisis in recent years, with involvement in 66% of all drug overdose deaths in 2016 and high economic costs. In contrast to the […]
In 1897, Indiana physician Edwin J. Goodwin believed he had discovered a way to square the circle, and proposed a bill to Indiana Representative Taylor I. Record which would secure […]
David Hilbert's Grundlagen der Geometrie is a rare example of a historical mathematics text that is still profitably read today and continues to inspire research in mathematics, computer science, and philosophy. The […]
David Bachman, chair of the CCMS Executive Committee, hosts. Please join us as we welcome our new community members, socialize, and discuss how we’re all going to cope with the semester ahead. Grab a snack, a refreshing beverage, and get on-line!
