Title: Trace Ideals and Endomorphism Rings Abstract: In many branches of mathematics, the full set of "functions" between two objects exhibits remarkable structure; it often forms a group and in some special cases it forms a ring. In this talk, we will discuss this phenomenon in Commutative Algebra. In particular, we will talk about the […]
Abstract: This talk discusses multiple methods for clustering high-dimensional data, and explores the delicate balance between utilizing data density and data geometry. I will first present path-based spectral clustering, a novel approach which combines a density-based metric with graph-based clustering. This density-based path metric allows for fast algorithms and strong theoretical guarantees when clusters concentrate […]
Title: Puzzling Permutations Abstract: Permutations are one of the most fundamental notions in mathematics. In this talk, we will discuss a visual representation of permutations and introduce some games one can play to help "see" different properties. These puzzling games can be used to provide insight into deeper mathematical content as well. Time permitting, we […]
Given a homogeneous multilinear polynomial F(x) in n variables with integer coefficients, we obtain some sufficient conditions for it to represent all the integers. Further, we derive effective results, establishing bounds on the size of a solution x to the equation F(x) = b, where b is any integer. For a special class of polynomials […]
In this talk we will survey recent developments in the use of ternary algebraic structures known as Niebrzydowski Tribrackets in defining invariants of knots, with some perhaps surprising applications.
In this talk we introduce a new modification of the Jacobi-Perron algorithm in the three dimensional case. This algorithm is periodic for the case of totally-real conjugate cubic vectors. To the best of our knowledge this is the first Jacobi-Perron type algorithm for which the cubic periodicity is proven. This provides an answer in the […]
Title: Topic Models, Methods, and Medicine Speaker: Prof. Jamie Haddock (Harvey Mudd College) Abstract: There is currently an unprecedented demand for efficient, quantitative, and interpretable methods to study large-scale (often multi-modal) data. One key area of interest is that of topic modeling, which seeks to automatically learn latent trends or topics of complex data sets, […]
Title: Eigenvector Methods for Community Detection in Hypergraphs Abstract: Hypergraphs are generalizations of graphs in which edges are allowed to contain arbitrary numbers of nodes. Hypergraphs are well-suited for modeling complex data sets with multi-body interactions. Familiar examples include email threads with multiple participants, projects with multiple collaborators, and forum posts with multiple tags. The hypergraph […]
When first learning how to write mathematical proofs, it is often easier for students to work with statements using the universal quantifier. Results that single out special cases might initially come across as more puzzling or even mysterious. Explanatory proofs, in the sense of Steiner, transform what might initially seem mysterious or even magical into […]
Sam Nelson will wow us with his maths.
Title: Quantitative Approaches to Social Justice Prof. Chad Topaz (he/him/his) Co-Founder and Executive Director of Research, QSIDE Institute Professor of Mathematics, Williams College Abstract: Civil rights leader, educator, and investigative journalist Ida B. Wells said that "the way to right wrongs is to shine the light of truth upon them." This talk will demonstrate how […]
Title: Mixing and Pumping on the Microscale Abstract: Mixing and pumping in microfluidics devices is difficult because the traditional methods of mixing and pumping at large length scales don’t work at small length scales. Experimental work has suggested that rotating helical flagella may be used to effectively mix and pump fluid in microfluidics devices. To […]
