Abstract: Two-point boundary-value problems (BVPs) appear frequently in applied mathematics. When looking for solutions of boundary-value problems for some partial differential equations (PDEs) in mathematical physics, two-point BVPs come up as a result of applying the method of separation of variables, for instance. In the case of linear PDEs, the resulting two-point BVPs fall into […]
Abstract: The 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal intensified public demand for governance reform, leading to the creation of the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission. The commission is now considering proposals from civic and academic groups. Major recommendations include: eliminating the automatic election of candidates who win a primary majority, expanding the size of the […]
Abstract: The shape of the fluctuations as heat approaches equilibrium in an insulated body are governed by the first Neumann eigenfunction of the Laplacian. Rauch's hot spots conjecture states that the extrema of the first nontrivial Neumann Laplacian eigenfunction for a Lipschitz domain lies on the boundary. While this conjecture is false in general, its […]
Abstract: It is common to use adjuvants in immunotherapeutic regimens to strengthen the immune response. However, multiple dosages are required making it inconvenient for the patient. Hydrogels have been proposed as a vehicle to administer adjuvant and antigen in a sustained slow release thus reducing the need for re-administration. In this instance, we use experimental […]
Abstract: Earlier work has shown that similarity-based predictive models can improve upon predictive performance, as compared to using the entire training data to help build models, particular regarding model discrimination for binary responses. My collaborators and I have some updated results to share, regarding similarity-based modeling for joint consideration of model calibration and discrimination, as […]
Abstract: Modern machine learning is ultimately a simple process: We iteratively update the weights of machine learning models to minimize a problem-specific loss. When it works well, we deploy the model in human-facing domains like healthcare, finance, or the justice system. But even though we know how models are trained, we don't understand why they […]
Abstract: Anderson Acceleration (AA) has been widely used to solve nonlinear fixed-point problems due to its rapid convergence. This talk focuses on a variant of AA in which multiple Picard iterations are performed between each AA step, referred to as the Alternating Anderson-Picard (AAP) method. Despite introducing more `slow' Picard iterations, this method has been […]
Abstract: Transparency is vital for efficiency in social systems, yet individuals with critical information often strategically postpone disclosure, even when required, to benefit themselves. To study this behavior, we introduce a multi-stage Chinese restaurant game with incomplete information that features system-recommended action rules and varying levels of player foresight. In our model, players initially receive […]
Abstract: The problem of classification in machine learning has often been approached in terms of function approximation. In this talk, we propose an alternative approach for classification in arbitrary compact metric spaces which, in theory, yields both the number of classes, and a perfect classification using a minimal number of queried labels. Our approach uses […]
Abstract: Modern machine learning and scientific computing pose optimization challenges of unprecedented scale and complexity, demanding fundamental advances in both theory and algorithmic design for nonconvex optimization. This talk presents recent advances that address these challenges by exploiting matrix and tensor structures, integrating adaptivity, and leveraging sampling techniques. In the first part, I introduce AdaGO, […]
Abstract: The talk introduces a conjecture on the first exit time of fractional Brownian motion: the upper-tail probability for a fractional Brownian motion to first exit a positive-valued barrier over time T has the exact asymptotic rate T^(H-1), where H is the Hurst parameter of the fractional Brownian motion. The talk tries to understand this conjecture […]
Abstract: A proper coloring of a graph is an assignment of colors from \( \{1, 2, \ldots, k\} \) to each node of a graph such that no two nodes connected by an edge receive the same color. Let \( \Delta \) denote the maximum degree of the graph. If \( k \geq \Delta + […]
