• Applied Math Seminar: Ryan O’Dowd (Claremont Graduate University)

    Emmy Noether Room, Estella 1021, Pomona College, 610 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA, United States

    Title: Learning on manifolds without manifold learning Abstract: Function approximation based on data drawn randomly from an unknown distribution is an important problem in machine learning. The manifold hypothesis assumes that the data is sampled from an unknown submanifold of a high dimensional Euclidean space. A great deal of research deals with obtaining information about […]

  • Some Diophantine analogies between Dirichlet series and polynomials (Vesselin Dimitrov, Caltech)

    Estella 2113

    I will present an integral — requiring no character twists — converse theorem for recognizing when is a Dirichlet series with algebraic integer coefficients equal to the L-function of a modular form. This refines the unbounded denominators conjecture of Atkin and Swinnerton-Dyer. Analogies with basic function field arithmetic then suggest a quantitative refinement which precludes a pair of GL(2) automorphic L-functions […]

  • Claremont Topology Seminar: Reginald Anderson (Claremont McKenna College)

    Estella 2099, Pomona College 610 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA, United States

    We especially welcome all undergraduates and graduate students to attend topology seminar! Speaker: Reginald Anderson (Claremont McKenna College) Title: Kontsevich's Recursive Formula for Rational Plane Curves Abstract: Gromov-Witten theory was developed in the 1990s as a curve-counting theory by integrating cohomology classes against a virtual fundamental class for a moduli space of stable maps. One […]

  • CCMS Colloquium: Brownian Motion, Random Fractals, and Beyond (Yimin Xiao, Michigan State Uni)

    Argue Auditorium, Pomona College 610 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA, United States

    Speaker: Yimin Xiao, Professor of Statistics and Probability, Michigan State University Title: Brownian Motion, Random Fractals, and Beyond Abstract: Brownian motion is not only a fascinating object in mathematics but also a powerful stochastic model that has been applied in many scientific fields, from physics to finance, to biological sciences. The sample function of Brownian […]

  • Claremont Topology Seminar: Scott Taylor (Colby College)

    Estella 2099, Pomona College 610 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA, United States

    We especially welcome all undergraduates and graduate students to attend topology seminar! Speaker: Scott Taylor (Colby College) Title: Genus 1 Bridge Number of Satellite Knots in Lens Spaces Abstract: In the mid-1950s, Horst Schubert introduced two ideas which turned out to have lasting impact in knot theory: satellite knots and bridge number. A Satellite knot […]

  • CCMS Colloquium: (Scott Taylor, Colby College, Maine)

    Argue Auditorium, Pomona College 610 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA, United States

    Speaker:  Scott Taylor, Professor of Mathematics, Colby College, Maine Title:  Sums and Symmetries Abstract: Adding is one of the fundamental mathematical operations and we like it so much, we can't […]

  • GEMS April 5th Session

    Shanahan 1480, Harvey Mudd College 301 Platt Blvd., Claremont, CA, United States

    This GEMS session will be facilitated by Professor Bahar Acu from Pitzer College. Title: The Hole Truth: When is a Coffee Mug a Donut? Abstract:  In mathematics, topology is the study of properties of shapes that remain unchanged when shapes are bent, stretched, or deformed—so long as they aren’t torn or punctured. To a mathematician studying topology, a […]

  • Applied Math Seminar: Ethan Epperly (Caltech)

    Emmy Noether Room, Estella 1021, Pomona College, 610 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA, United States

    Title: Randomly pivoted Cholesky: Fast, accurate matrix approximation for scientific machine learning Abstract: Low-rank approximation of positive semidefinite matrices is a basic problem in computational mathematics, with many applications to machine learning and scientific computing. Existing approaches for this problem largely fall into two categories: simple, fast, but sometimes inaccurate methods and sophisticated, slower methods […]

  • The ANTC of ChatGPT: On the Mathematical Foundations of Large Language Models (Gizem Karaali, Pomona)

    Estella 2113

    Large Language Models like ChatGPT rely on surprisingly familiar mathematics. This talk will explore how ideas from (linear) algebra, number theory and combinatorics  appear — both directly and indirectly — in the structure and behavior of these models. Along the way, we’ll touch on themes like structure, symmetry, and scale, and consider how abstract mathematical […]