Math Dept 2025-26 Newsletter 3
Monday, 6 October 2025
Past newsletters can now be reached via the department website.
[Click on “About” and then “News and Events”].
Newsletter is sent out when there is something new.
Please send entries by the end of the workweek–Ed.
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MEETINGS AND SEMINARS IN THE DEPARTMENT
Data Science Seminar
Faculty and Graduate Students are invited to present their research at the Data Science Seminar. This includes research in other areas that involves data science.
Contact coordinator for more information.
Co-ordinator: Edmund Ameyaw
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TUESDAYS
Seminar on Topological Semigroups
Tuesdays, 11 am, on zoom.
On Sep 30 Neil Hindman was the speaker.
Title: Some ideals of \beta(S).
Contact coordinator for zoom invite.
Coordinator Dennis Davenport
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WEDNESDAYS
Math team/Math Club meetings
TBA
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Math Biology Seminar
Wednesday, 10/8, 1pm, Room 205, Graduate School Building
Speaker: Dr. Siyu Wang, NIH.
Title: Reinforcement learning sculpts entropy reducing dynamics in prefrontal cortex
This talk will be in person only.
Coordinators: Katie Gurski, Yeona Kang, Joon Ha, Sayomi Kamimoto, Chris Kim
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Algebra and Combinatorics Seminar
Combinatorics & Algebra Seminar which had been running for a number of years at George Washington University will now be a joint venture between the GW and Howard math departments. The organizers of the seminar are Joel Lewis & Robert Won (GW) and Sam Hopkins & Minh-Tam Trinh (Howard). The talks will take place 4-5pm on Wednesdays, at both GW & Howard depending on the speaker.
THURSDAYS
Number Theory Seminar
Thursday 2:15pm on zoom.
On 10/2 Angelica Babei talked about finiteness of the class group of an algebraic number field. The learning seminar will continue this week.
This year, we’re planning a mix of research talks and group readings/presentations. The learning seminars will be on topics in algebraic number theory, including class numbers, Dirichlet’s unit theorem, local fields, and cyclotomic fields.
Contact coordinators for zoom link.
Coordinators: Angelica Babei, Daniel Mamo and Sankar Sitaraman
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FRIDAYS
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Graduate Students Seminar
TBA
Contact person: Aaliyah Bratcher
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Mathematics Department Colloquium
Fridays, 4.10 to 5pm. Room 213 and zoom.
Friday, Oct 17
The next colloquium talk will be on Oct 17 (not the 10th), by Lizhen Lin of the University of Maryland. Title TBA.
Ahmet Yildirim of Ege University, Izmir, Turkey spoke on Oct 3. Title “The Role of Differential Equation Modeling in Analyzing Vaccination Strategies and Waning Immunity During Epidemics.”
The colloquium schedule and videos are available at this website: https://deleo.website/HU/colloquium.html
TALKS AND WORKSHOPS OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT
1. (Thanks to Henok Mawi) Potomac Region PDE Seminar
This seminar seeks to connect researchers in PDE in the DC, MD, VA, W. Va area.
Seminar will meet on zoom on tuesdays at 11am.
2. AI Curriculum Development Workshop
Talitha Washington is inviting faculty to participate in Howard's program to build a university-wide Artificial Intelligence (AI) curriculum. Please bring your laptop.
Time: Monday, October 6, from11:00 AM to 2:00 PM (EST) (Lunch provided)
Location: Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library, 4th floor.
Faculty and instructors from all disciplines will collaborate to design two core courses, AI Fundamentals and AI Ethics, that may form the foundation for future undergraduate and graduate certificates in AI.
3. (Thanks to Bourama Toni)
a) Mathematical foundations of AI
October 6–10, 2025, Harvard CMSA, Room G10, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge MA & via Zoom
Artificial intelligence (AI) has achieved unprecedented advances, yet our theoretical understanding lags significantly behind. This gap poses a significant obstacle to improving AI’s safety and reliability. Since the classical tools of learning theory have proven insufficient for understanding AI, researchers are now drawing insights from a vast array of fields—including functional analysis, probability theory, optimal transport, optimization, PDEs, information theory, geometry, statistics, electrical engineering, and ergodic theory. Those interdisciplinary efforts are gradually shedding light on the underlying principles governing modern AI. This workshop centers around these mathematical and interdisciplinary developments. It will feature a series of talks from people in various subfields. Open problem and small-group sessions will help foster new connections and new research avenues.
b) Inclusive Growth Thought Leadership Lecture
Our illustrious alumna and current Associate Professor and Director of Math Clinic at Harvey-Mudd College, Dr. Talitha Williams will join us for a fireside chat on Oct 16 at 11am in the Blackburn center digital auditorium. This is part of Howard University Inclusive Growth Thought Leadership lecture series.
3. Training Keys Seminar on STEM careers
Our alumna Valerie Nelson organizes these seminars. They are online and free, happening on Tuesdays at 7pm. STEM professionals will talk about their work and career.
4. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport)
a) Information Session for NYU Biostatistics Graduate Program
The Department of Biostatistics at the NYU School of Global Public Health is engaged in three inter-related activities that aim to improve Public Health through rigorous research and that educate future practitioners leaders and researchers.
Information Session Oct 7, 8.30am. Registration website.
b) International Enumerative Combinatorics Conference, Aug 17-19, 2026
University of Haifa, Israel is organizing this conference (ICECA 26) virtually.
More events listed in previous newsletters.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Mohammad Mahmood and his team are inviting applications from Chemistry/Chemical Engineering/Physics/or double Mathematics and Chemistry/Chemical Engineering majors at the senior Undergraduate (3) and Graduate (3) levels to work either on theory or experimental aspects of two NSF funded projects: (1) Investigation of Chemical Transformations in Host-Guest Systems at Extreme Conditions, and (2) Exploring Frontiers in Novel Material Synthesis at High Pressures: Synthesis and Recovery of Superhard and High Energy Density Polynitrides.
The position is part time during Fall 2025 through Spring 2026 and full time during Summer 2026 under the direction of Prof. M. Mahmood and his team. Interested students should send a 1-2 page resume to mmahmood AT howard.edu.
2. Math Department participation in NEON
Lifoma Salaam (College Algebra) and Meenakshi Nerolu (Data Analytics) have been coordinating programs for students from low income communities as part of the National Education Opportunity Network (NEON).
Howard University has reached 7,473 scholars from low-income communities across the country. The scholars hail from 235 high schools in 85 cities, including Washington, DC; Miami, FL; New Orleans, LA; and New York City. 149 Howard students have participated as Teaching Fellows.
In previous newsletters
MAA mathfest videos
NAM Undergraduate MATHFest
SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
(from various sources)
1. Job Opportunities
(Thanks to Sam Hopkins)
a) BEAM is hiring
BEAM (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics - website) is an organization dedicated to helping students from low-income communities study advanced mathematics. And they are currently hiring several high level positions. Application and details.
b) Tenure-track assistant professor position at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. The job ad states that the preferred areas of research are "extremal, probabilistic, or algebraic graph theory".
(Thanks to Dennis Davenport)
The Mathematics and Statistics Department of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA is searching for an assistant professor in math (applied or pure) starting Fall 2026. They are looking for candidates who are excited to join our department and to add to our dynamic program in research, teaching, and student mentoring. Job posting on Math Jobs
2. Blacktable (website for Black students to access career opportunities)
Ashley Petgrave is a computer science major at Howard University (and a student in my Discrete Structures class – Ed). She has founded Blacktable, a web-based tech startup that’s changing how Black undergraduate students access professional development opportunities like internships, all-inclusive conferences, and career-building programs. They’ve just launched their very first scholarship initiative — the Blacktable “Suited for Success” Scholarship— which will award two $300 scholarships to Black undergraduate students in the U.S. to help cover the cost of professional attire for internships, networking events, and leadership opportunities.
3. DOE Science, Technology and Policy Program– Office of Policy Fellowship
The Office of Policy (OP) supports the Secretary of Energy and the entire Department of Energy (DOE), providing analysis on domestic energy policy. During the ORISE fellowship, students will receive guidance from a mentor and will learn about conducting research analysis within OP.
In previous newsletters
DOE SCGSR Application Assistance Workshops
INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
1. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport) ChatGPT struggles with Plato's classic problem
2. The curious History of Venn diagrams
We all have used circles to draw Venn diagrams for three sets. But for four sets we need 16 regions but 4 circles can represent only 14. Ellipses will work for 4 and 5 sets (with 16 and 32 regions) but beyond that we would need other shapes. Researching the geometry of Venn diagrams is a rich and interesting topic in itself.