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Wednesday
09.26.07
in room
08-2130
at noon
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Doug Meadows
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
Simply Irrational (Research "snack")
Abstract:
A brief overview of classic and modern proofs of irrationality
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Wednesday
09.26.07
in room
08-2130
at 1 pm
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Doug Meadows
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
Simply Irrational (Curiosity Seminar)
Abstract:
This will be a more developed discussion of irrationality than will be presented during the "research snack."
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Wednesday
09.19.07
in room
08-2130
at noon
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David Ross
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
Nonlinear PDE and Ternary Mixtures (Research "snack")
Abstract:
A brief discussion of a particular nonlinear PDE that arises in the study of protein mixtures in the human eye, with a hint of how to solve them.
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Wednesday
09.12.07
in room
08-2130
at noon
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Matt Coppenbarger
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
Word Play (Research "snack")
Abstract:
A brief discussion of the dynamics of word reduction algorithms.
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Friday
10.17.07
in room
08-2130
at 1 pm
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Round-table Discussion
RIT Faculty
Calculators & Calculus (Conversations in Mathematics)
Abstract:
A round-table discussion of calculators, calculus, teaching, learning, and assessment.
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Friday
10.19.07
in room
08-2130
at 1 pm
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Beverly Berger
NSF program officer for Gravitational Physics
Mathematics, Simulation, and the Nature of Singularities in General Relativity (Colloquium)
Abstract:
TBA
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Friday
10.24.07
in room
08-2130
at noon
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Bernard Brooks
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
Investigating the School of Mathematical Sciences and the Department of Psychology's Social Network (Research snack)
Abstract:
A brief discussion of the social network that was made with from survey data submitted by faculty from the School of Mathematical Sciences faculty and the Psychology Department.
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Wednesday
10.31.07
in room
08-2130
at 1 pm
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Likin Simon Romero
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
Calculators & Teaching: Multivariate Calculus (Conversations in Mathematics)
Abstract:
A discussion of calculators in multivariate calculus: teaching, learning, and assessment.
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Friday
11.09.07
in room
08-2130
1-2:30 pm
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Charles S. Peskin
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
Applied and Computational Mathematics of the Heart (CACM invited speaker)
Abstract:
This talk is about the equations of a heartbeat -- their mathematical formulation and their numerical solution. Central/ to this problem in applied mathematics is the fluid-structure interaction of the blood in the cardiac chambers, the flexible valve leaflets that enforce its unidirectional flow, and the muscular heart walls that propel the blood through the circulation. A unified framework for fluid-structure interaction is the immersed boundary (IB) method, which was developed for cardiac mechanics but which has recently turned out to be applicable to cardiac electrophysiology as well. The fiber architecture of the heart is fundamental both to cardiac mechanics and to cardiac electrophysiology, and is an important ingredient in the computer simulation of the heart by the IB method. Progress towards deriving the fiber architecture of the heart from first principles will be discussed. Simulation results will be shown as computer animations of the beating heart.
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Monday
11.19.07
in room
78-2015
4-4:50 pm
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Duncan Brown
Syracuse University
Searching for gravitational waves with LIGO: a new window on the universe (CCRG invited speaker)
Abstract:
Not available
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Monday
11.26.07
in room
78-2015
4-4:50 pm
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Jeremy Schnittman
John Hopkins University
Gravitational Recoil from Binary Black Holes: Computational Methods and Astrophysical Applications (CCRG invited speaker)
Abstract:
Not available
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Monday
12.12.07
in room
08-2130
1-1:50 pm
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Zack Butler
RIT Dept. of Computer Science
Language-neutral puzzles in theory and practice (Colloquium)
Abstract:
Not available
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Monday
12.17.07
in room
78-2220
4-4:50 pm
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Michele Valisneri
JPL & Caltech
Fact and fiction in gravitational-wave data analysis (CCRG invited speaker)
Abstract:
Not available
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Friday
01.18.08
in room
78-2230
2-2:50 pm
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Erik Schnetter
LSU & AEI
The Final Spin of Black Hole Binaries (CCRG invited speaker)
Abstract:
The evolution from the initial to the final state of a generic binary black hole system can be viewed as black box, with just a few input and output parameters such as masses and spins. ÊCombining a series of numerical simulations and certain reasonable assumptions, I derive accurate analytic expressions describing the final state after the merger process, for the common case of aligned spins and non- eccentric orbits. ÊThese results required a substantial amount of large-scale numerical calculations, and I will also give an overview over the current state and future directions of our computational infrastructure which made this work possible.
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Wednesday
01.23.08
in room
08-2130
2-2:50 pm
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Manny Lopez
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
What To Do When Associativity Fails (Curiosity Seminar)
Abstract:
The traditional approach to dealing with lack of associativity will be presented using the Moufang Equalities as an example. ÊThis approach has produced some very respectable algebraic constructs. ÊHowever, this wonÕt stop us from trying to find fault in it. ÊWeÕll propose a different point of view in dealing with a non-associative structure and offer a possible way to implement a solution according to this point of view. ÊThe implementation is in terms of Category Theory to be applicable in a variety of mathematical contexts.
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Wednesday
01.30.08
in room
(TBA)
12-12:50 pm
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Peter Castro
SMS Advisory Board
Random Scattering in Industrial Mathematics (Colloquium)
Abstract:
Light scatter in random media is an old, vexing problem. I will present a model of light scatter developed in an industrial context, illustrating both theoretical and numerical aspects of modeling in industry.
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Wednesday
01.30.08
in room
08-2154
1-1:50 pm
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Alejandro Engel
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
The Butterfly Effect: An Interesting Motivation to Curve Sketching (Conversations in Mathemtatics)
Abstract:
Enticing students with an illustration that relates to their non-academic life is a sure way to get their attention and have them make an extra effort to understand the material that one wants to present. The Butterfly Effect is a cult movie that most students have enjoyed and for them to see the root of the idea is very appealing, so this title and the (mathematical) history of it is a good motivator. The fact that a minute change in a parameter can derive in a large change in the behavior of the function will be illustrated in terms of sketching rational functions.
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Wednesday
02.20.08
in room
08-2130
12-12:50 pm
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Antonio Cabal
Merck Research Laboratories
Osteoporosis: A Mathematical Perspective (Colloquium)
Abstract:
Osteoporosis is a common age related chronic disorder of the skeleton that constitutes a considerable public health problem. Some estimates of the number of Americans affected by osteoporosis are as high as 15 million, and another 30 million are thought to have osteopenia, a precursor condition describing the disease. The purpose of my talk is to present an overview of osteoporosis. I'll give you a quick tour of the bone remodeling process and of the fundamental elements involve in determining bone strength in vivo. The take home message of the talk will be for the audience to understand why mathematics is playing an increasingly relevant role in the research, diagnosis, and monitoring of osteoporosis.
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Friday
02.22.08
in room
78-2015
10-10:50 am
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Bart Willems
Northwestern University
Compact object binaries: stellar and binary evolution in the gravitational wave era (CCRG Invited Speaker)
Abstract:
The construction and planning of ground- and space-based laser interferometers has led to a massive surge of interest in sources of gravitational wave radiation during the past decade. Direct detection of these ripples in space-time will provide unprecedented tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity and open a brand new window on the universe unhindered by the main obstacles affecting electromagnetic radiation. Among the rich set of anticipated gravitational wave sources, binary star systems made up of compact remnants of stellar evolution are expected to be the most numerous class of gravitationally radiating objects. In this colloquium, I will look into the future and discuss the physics that will become accessible with the launch of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), the most ambitious gravitational wave observatory planned to date. I will particularly focus on binary star systems consisting of one or two white dwarfs, the evolutionary endpoints of more than 90% of the stars in the galaxy (including the Sun). Recent theoretical advances and observations by the Spitzer infrared space telescope show that the formation of circumbinary disks during mass-transfer episodes between the binary components can drastically affect the binary evolution, potentially resolving longstanding problems and raising questions about neutron star and black hole binary formation. I will also show the unique opportunity offered by globular clusters and LISA to unveil white dwarf physics with LISA inaccessible through electromagnetic observation.
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Friday
02.29.08
in room
(TBA)
12-12:50 pm
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Herb Kunze
University of Guelph
TBA (Colloquium)
Abstract:
TBA
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Wednesday
02.29.08
in room
78-2015
11-11:50 am
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Badri Krishnan
Albert Einstein Institut
Exploring black holes using gravitational waves (CCRG Invited Speaker)
Abstract:
Not available
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Wednesday
03.26.08
in room
08-2130
1-1:50 pm
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Richard Fasse
RIT On-line Learning
Developing materials for on-line courses (Conversations in Mathematics)
Abstract:
Not available
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Wednesday
04.02.08
in room
08-2130
12-12:50 pm
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Joel Zablow
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
Applications of Knot Theory to Biology, Chemistry and Physics (Colloquium)
Abstract: We will go over some of the ideas discussed in the AMS short course this past January, on applications of knot theory, to biology, chemistry and physics. After some generalities on knots, we look at applications, particularly to the notion of chirality of molecules in chemistry, and toward a mathematical understanding of DNA and its properties, and some techniques in use. Finally, we look at connections between knot polynomials and certain models in statistical mechanics, by way of some graph theory.
TBA
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Wednesday
04.09.08
in room
08-2130
12-12:50 pm
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Erik Bolt
Clarkson University
How Can I Say that A "Toy Model" Reminds Me of My Observations? A Dynamical Systems Perspective of Modeling (Colloquium)
Abstract:
We address a fundamental modeling issue in science as related to the field of dynamical systems: when is a model of a physical system a "good" representation? Conjugacy provides a means to define if two systems are dynamically equivalent; it is the central equivalence relationship in the field of dynamical systems. However, it cannot cope with systems which are not dynamically identical. What then to do with the common scientific practice of modeling, whereby we build heuristic and phenomenological models which "remind" us of the true system?
We develop mathematical technology to decide when dynamics of a toy model are like dynamics of the physical system, since the concept of conjugacy is too rigid for such cases. When applied to non-conjugate dynamical systems, we show that a fixed point iteration scheme yields a limit point, that is a function we call a "commuter" --- a non-homeomorphic change of coordinates translating between dissimilar systems. This translation is natural to the concepts of dynamical systems in that it matches systems within the language of their orbit structures. We introduce methods to compare nonequivalent systems by quantifying how much the commuter function fails to be a homeomorphism, an approach that better respects the dynamics than the traditional comparisons based on normed linear spaces. Our discussion addresses a fundamental issue --- how does one make principled statements of the degree to which a "toy model" might be representative of a more complicated system. We highlight our methods with a lower-ordered model of a "noisy" logistic map and also a simplified model of a Lorenz system such that the usual one-dimensional map model is not exactly justified in the traditional sense.
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Wednesday
04.09.08
in room
08-1300
2:30-?? pm
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David and Gregory Chudnovsky
Polytechnic University of New York
Computing Pi (Colloquium)
From Wikipedia:
"The Chudnovsky brothers have held records, at different times, for computing Pi to the largest number of places, including two billion digits in the early 1990s on a supercomputer they built (dubbed 'm-zero') in their apartment in Manhattan. In 1987, the Chudnovsky brothers developed the algorithm that they used to break several Pi computation records. Today, this algorithm is used by Mathematica to calculate Pi."
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Thursday
04.10.08
in room
08-1154
12-12:50 PM
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Jerome Darbon
UCLA
Total Variation Minimization and Graph-cuts (Colloquium)
Abstract:
The minimization of the variation with convex data fidelity
terms is considered both from a continuous and a discrete point of view.
I'll briefly review existing minimization algorithms, and in particular
the best one which is the parametric maximum-flow. Then I'll show how
one can use it to efficiently perform crystalline mean curvature flow,
solve deconvolution and compressive sensing problems via TV minimizations.
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Wednesday
04.23.08
in room
08-2130
12-12:50 pm
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Dr. Andreas Arvanitoyeorgos
University of Patras, Greece
Riemannian Flag Manifolds with Homogeneous Geodesics (Colloquium)
Abstract:
A geodesic in a Riemannian homogeneous manifold (M=G/K, g) is called a homogeneous geodesic
if it is an orbit of a one-parameter subgroup of the Lie group G. In this joint work with
D.V. Alekseevsky we investigate G-invariant metrics with homogeneous geodesics (i.e. such
that all geodesics are homogeneous) when M=G/K is a flag manifold, that is an adjoint orbit
of a compact semisimple Lie group G. We use an important invariant of a flag manifold M=G/K,
its T-root system, to give a simple necessary condition that M admits a non-standard
G-invariant metric with homogeneous geodesics. Hence, the problem reduces substantially
to the study of a short list of prospective flag manifolds.
A common feature of these spaces is that their isotropy representation has two
irreducible components. We prove that among all flag manifolds M=G.H of a simple Lie group G,
only the manifold SO(m +1)/U(m) of complex structures in R(2m+2) and the
complex projective space Sp(m)/U(1).Sp(m-1) admit a non-naturally reductive invariant metric
with homogeneous geodesics. In all other cases the only G-invariant metric with homogeneous
geodesics is the metric which is homothetic to the standard metric (i.e. the metric associated
to the negative of the Killing form of the Lie algebra of G). We also find explicitly
homogeneous geodesics in some examples of flag manifolds.
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Wednesday
04.30.08
in room
08-2130
12-12:50 pm
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Dr. Herb Kunze
University of Guelph
Fractal-based Methods in Imaging and Analysis (Colloquium)
Abstract:
Both the philosophy and the basic concepts of fractal analysis have led
to the development of various ideas in (i) the production of fascinating
and marvelously colored images, (ii) the representation and processing
of digital pictures, and (iii) a remarkable collection of frameworks for
the solution of a wide array of inverse problems in differential equations
(ordinary, partial, delay, random, stochastic).
In this talk, we first embark on a quick stroll through some basic
concepts, ending with the fundamental idea that a hyperbolic iterated
function system (IFS) has a unique fixed point. More leisurely, we talk
about the recently developed extensions of such ideas to iterated
multi-function systems (IMSs), and we also discuss "color stealing." The
latter idea is a novel way of using the connected dynamics of two
different IFSs to produce interesting colored images, with applications
to computer graphics and gaming, information hiding and image
encryption.
Next, we talk about the basic framework of fractal imaging. While the
original goal of fractal imaging was image compression, we discuss ideas
related to image watermarking, denoising, recovery, and prospects for
edge detection algorithms.
Finally, we will see how related ideas have led to the development of
frameworks for the solution of inverse problems in differential
equations. A few topics of current interest and activity are
highlighted.
Throughout the talk, we will use computer programs, images, and
animations to illustrate the results.
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Wednesday
05.07.08
in room
08-2130
1-1:50 pm
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Dr. Carol Marchetti
RIT School of Mathematical Sciences
Multiple Intelligences & the College Mathematics Classroom (Conversations in Mathematics)
Abstract: Howard Gardner introduced the theory of Multiple Intelligences in 1983. Since then, many teachers have expanded their teaching tools through this theory. The Teaching for Understanding Project, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, provides a framework for planning and teaching that is well-suited for multiple intelligence theory. An introduction to Multiple Intelligences and the Teaching for Understanding framework will be provided. Come listen, bring your own ideas, and share in the discussion on how multiple intelligences could be implemented in a college mathematics classroom.
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Friday
05.09.08
in room
08-2130
1-1:50 pm
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Dr. Gabriel Prajitura
SUNY Brockport
Types of linear chaos: a geometric approach (Colloquium)
Abstract: We will discuss about hypercyclic linear operators in Hilbert spaces and will provide several descriptions of the geometric behavior of orbits.
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