Shanahan B460, Harvey Mudd College

Mathematics isnt done in a void: its done by groups of people. Those groups have different norms and values, which affect both who wants to engage in math and the mathematics itself being done. When thinking about diversity and inclusion, explicitly examining norms within our communities can get us a long way. Through a Thomas […]

Abstract: In this talk, a conformal mapping approach to shape optimization problems on planar domains will be discussed. In particular, spectral methods based on conformal mappings are proposed to solve Steklov eigenvalues and their related shape optimization problems in two dimensions. To apply spectral methods, we first reformulate the Steklov eigenvalue problem in the complex domain […]

Abstract: Mathematical modeling is an effective resource for biologists since it provides ways to simplify, study and understand the complex systems common in biology and biochemistry. Many mathematical tools can be applied to biological problems, some traditional and some more novel, all innovative. This presentation will review the mathematical tools that are used to model […]

Abstract: "We present a general Bayesian statistical model for discrete time, discrete state space stochastic processes. Applications include the modeling of recurrent and episodic disease processes, such as episodes of illicit drug use, as well as social processes such as educational enrollment and employment. We also present Markov chain Monte Carlo inference algorithms for our […]

Abstract: We overview some basic and striking facts concerning the theory of hypercyclic operators (considered to be born in 1982): 1. Hypercyclicity is a purely infinite-dimensional phenomenon: no finite dimensional space supports any hypercyclic operator; 2. It is not easy at all to determine whether a linear operator is hypercyclic. However, the set of hypercyclic […]

Abstract: As intelligent agents assume larger role in our daily lives, reasoning by humans about liability of such agents as well as reasoning by the intelligent agents themselves about liability becomes more important.  The existing laws, written with humans in mind, will eventually need to be re-interpreted in terms of their applicability in a hybrid […]

A lot of the mathematics done at NIST supports the research on and measurement of advanced materials and technology. In this rather applied context. surprising mathematics makes an appearance. We present a few examples.

Abstract:  Growing up, I always loved learning about world-changing scientific breakthroughs that were discovered by accident.  Penicillin, artificial sweeteners, X-rays, and synthetic dyes are just a few of the discoveries that were stumbled upon by scientists who had other goals in mind.  More recently, I have come to wonder why anecdotes about accidental discoveries in […]

Abstract: Whether enjoying the lucid prose of a favorite author or slogging through some other writer's cumbersome, heavy-set prattle (full of parentheses, em-dashes, compound adjectives, and Oxford commas), readers will notice stylistic signatures not only in word choice and grammar, but also in punctuation itself. Indeed, visual sequences of punctuation from different authors produce marvelously […]

Abstract:  A great deal of my research journey has involved the study of m-ary partitions.  These are integer partitions wherein each part must be a power of a fixed integer m > 1.  Beginning in the late 1960s, numerous mathematicians (including Churchhouse, Andrews, Gupta, and Rodseth) studied divisibility properties of m-ary partitions.  In this talk, I will discuss work I completed […]