Math Dept 2025-26 Newsletter 10
Monday, 23 February 2026
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.
MEETINGS AND SEMINARS IN THE DEPARTMENT
MONDAYS
Seminar on Topological Semigroups
Mondays at 9am on zoom
Seminars will start with a talk by Neil Hindman.
Title: Self shifts of weakly square free sets in N^k
Joint research with Vitaly Bergelson and Eunju Shin
Contact coordinator for zoom invite.
Coordinator Dennis Davenport
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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
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Math 300: Mathematics Graduate Seminar
This is a series of talks on research topics by faculty aimed at Graduate Students.
On Feb 10, Christopher Kim gave a tutorial on Machine learning methods in spiking neural networks. On Feb 12, Angelica Babei spoke about Modular forms and computation.
Co-ordinator Dennis Davenport
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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 Tuesdays, at GWU.
WEDNESDAYS
Math team/Math Club meetings
TBA
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Math Biology Seminar
Wednesdays
Coordinators: Katie Gurski, Yeona Kang, Joon Ha, Sayomi Kamimoto, Chris Kim
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THURSDAYS
Number Theory Seminar
Seminars started on Thursday, Feb 19, 2 to 3pm.
Angelica Babei talked about working with the computation package MAGMA.
This semester, we’re planning mostly research talks.
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.
On friday, Feb 20, Tim Myers of our department spoke about “Third Moments for Elevated Lattice Paths.”
On friday, Feb 27, Benjamin Breen of Axiomatic AI will be the speaker.
The colloquium schedule and videos are available at this website: https://deleo.website/HU/colloquium.html
TALKS AND WORKSHOPS OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT
1. Number Theory Talks at University of Maryland, College Park
Kiran Kedlaya of University of California San Diego is giving a series of talks at the UMCP.
Wed Feb 23 at 2pm, Kirwan 3206: Space vectors forming rational angles
Thu, Feb 24 at 2pm in Kirwan 3206 : Etale and crystalline companions
Fri, Feb 25 at 2:30pm in Kirwan 1311 : From Vector Bundles to the Fargues-Fontaine Curve
2. (Thanks to Tim Myers)
a) The International Workshop on Non-linear Analysis and its Applications (IWNAA 2026) will take place from August 31 to September 2, 2026 at the University of Transport ( Todor Kableshkov) in Sophia, Bulgaria. Last year the final day of the conference was devoted to virtual presentations. Workshop website.
b) 42nd Southeastern Analysis Conference (SEAM 42) : From Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15 at the University of Richmond. Website.
c) The 48th Summer Symposium in Real Analysis (an activity of the The Real Analysis Exchange journal) : From June 14th to June 20. Website.
d) The 4th International Conference : Constructive Mathematical Analysis (ICCMA 2026, an activity of the journal Constructive Mathematical Analysis). This conference is an online conference from July 1st through July 2nd. Website.
3. 2026 Roots of Unity workshop
June 22–26, 2026 at the American Institute of Mathematics, on the campus of Caltech, in Pasadena, CA.
The Roots of Unity workshop aims to support mathematics graduate students in their transition to research in the areas of combinatorics, algebra, geometry, and number theory (broadly construed). Mentors guide small groups of participants in developing the skills and confidence to read research articles. Sessions on norm setting, belongingness, and professional development foster lasting community among the participants, mentors, and organizers. The workshop is designed to build a welcoming and inclusive research community. Application
4. Workshop to bridge the Lean theorem prover and the L-functions and modular forms database
Monday, 29 June 2026 to Friday, 3 July 2026 at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK.
It will feature tutorials to navigate the number theory interface in mathlib as well as research talks in relevant areas. There will also be ample working time dedicated to projects, including formalisation of definitions in the LMFDB as in the blueprint (https://cbirkbeck.github.io/LeanBridge). Registration will be mandatory through our application form (https://tinyurl.com/lean-lmfdb) by Saturday, 28 February 2026, with some funding for travel and accommodation. More Information
5. AAUW webinars
The American Association of University Women hosts regular webinars on various topics of interest to women in academia. Event Calendar
6. (Thanks to Bourama Toni) Short Online Course on Computer Simulation and Artificial Intelligence
Organized online by the Wessex Institute, UK. 10-12 Oct 2026.
Without addressing complex mathematical details, this course will provide a good introduction and a general view of methods, applications, and job opportunities in this growing field. More Information
In previous newsletters:
2026 NAM Faculty Conference on Research and Teaching Excellence (FCRTE). (April 10)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. (Thanks to Jillian Alexander, Applied math Major) SIAM undergraduate research seminar
The SIAM Undergraduate Research Seminar happened on Feb 18.
Karma Brame and Jillian Alexander presented their research.
The next seminar day will be March 4. Please contact Jillian for registration.
2. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport) 3rd annual spring meeting for MARMA
The Mid-Atlantic regional math alliance will have its spring meeting on Saturday, 21 March, 2026 at Howard. Students interested in giving talks should contact Dennis Davenport. Website
3. (Thanks to Bourama Toni) Spotlight on our Doctoral Program
The January issue of The Sway (Howard Graduate School Newsletter) has an article titled “Building the Mathematical Mecca” celebrating 50 years of our department's Ph. D program.
4. From NAM: First Ten Videos from “Journeys of Black Mathematicians”
The National Association of Mathematicians, Inc. (NAM) Archival Collection at the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Robert W. Woodruff Library’s Archives Research Center, now includes a sub-collection, featuring video biographies from the Journeys of Black Mathematicians film series.
The first ten video biographies of Black mathematicians in NAM's sub-collection are now available online, free for the public to see. It includes the biography of Tepper Gill from Howard.
In previous newsletters
HU Research Month 2026
SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
(from various sources)
1. (Thanks to Bourama Toni) Mathematics instructor position at USNA
The US Naval Academy is looking for an excellent teacher with at least two years' experience teaching college calculus and/or statistics. A Masters or PhD in Math Education, Math, or Statistics is required, as is U.S. Citizenship. More Information
2. The Generation Teach Summer Teaching Fellowship is an award-winning opportunity for your students to grow as leaders, teachers, and young professionals while receiving $3,000 to support their education. Generation Teach co-creates loving communities where generations of students, teachers, and leaders learn, grow, and develop. 99% of our teaching fellows report developing transferable skills that extend beyond the teaching profession.
All majors are encouraged to apply; no teaching experience is required. Upcoming application deadlines are March 15 and April 15.
3. Opportunities at DHS and DOE
(Thanks to Louise Raphael) DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program is now accepting applications for 2026 Solicitation 1
Applications are due May 6.
In previous newsletters
Boeing’s Visiting Professor program.
2026 SLMath Summer Graduate Schools.
Memphis Teacher Residency.
MSRI-UP 2026.
Robert Moses scholarship.
and several internship opportunities.
INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
1. Jesse Jackson : Champion for Education
Rev. Jackson, who passed away on Feb 17, advocated for improving educational opportunities for all. Throughout his career pushed for more equitable forms of public school aid for impoverished communities.
He also argued that increased support for education programs was essential in creating opportunities for young people who might otherwise end up in the criminal justice system.
2. (Thanks to Sam Hopkins) The First Proof Project (Testing AI solutions for research-level probems)
Website for the project: 1stproof.org
“First Proof” is a set of ten math questions to evaluate the capabilities of AI systems to autonomously solve problems that arise naturally in the research process.
From the authors: “About the Project: In baking, the first proof, or bulk fermentation process, is a crucial step in which one lets the entire batch of dough ferment as one mass, before dividing and shaping it into loaves. This project represents our preliminary efforts to develop an objective and realistic methodology for assessing the capabilities of AI systems to autonomously solve research-level math questions. After letting these ideas ferment in the community, we hope to produce a more structured benchmark. We present a diverse set of 10 research-level math questions, drawn from algebraic combinatorics, spectral graph theory, algebraic topology, stochastic analysis, symplectic geometry, representation theory, lattices in Lie groups, tensor analysis, and numerical linear algebra. Each question arose naturally in the research process of the authors and has been answered with a proof of roughly five pages or less, but the answers have not yet been posted online."
Incidentally, Sam also gave a talk at the joint meetings in Washington last month on using math to benchmark AI.