A big area in combinatorics over the last several decades has been the study of pattern-avoiding permutations, whose enumeration is exciting and mysterious. Alternating sign matrices (ASMs) are a generalization of permutations whose study in combinatorics has also been exciting and mysterious. In this talk, I will explain some new asymptotic results involving the number […]

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 […]

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 help but add all kinds of things including knots, surfaces, and 3-dimensional spaces. Symmetry is also a fundamental mathematical concern. How well do sums and […]

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 […]