Math Dept 2012-2013 Newsletter 27
Monday, 22 April 2013
Please send entries by the end of the week --Ed
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Meetings and Seminars
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Every Monday
Applied Math Seminar
Every Monday 12:10 in ASB-B 201
We invite all faculty and graduate students to join.
We'll be discussing papers, any applied math topics of interest, and
working on new results.
Organizers: Katie Gurski and Talitha Washington
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Combinatorics Seminar
Mondays at 1:20 and also at 4.
The current topic is Ordered trees with a mutator and the main emphasis
for the semester will be combinatorics
assisted by complex analysis.
Organizer: Lou Shapiro
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Geometry and Topology Seminar
ASB-B 213 3.10 to 4pm
Dr. Adeniran Adeboye
will give talks on:
3-SYMMETRIC SPACES.
Stanley M. Einstein-Matthews
Coordinator
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Every Tuesday
The Seminar on Topological Semigroups
and Ramsey Theory
(April 23 will be last seminar for this academic year)
Dennis Davenport will be talking about partition regularity of
infinite
matrices.
Tuesdays at 11:10 a.m in room 233 of Annex
III
Organizer: Neil Hindman
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Wednesday April 24
PhD Defense: Peter McCalla
Title: "On the Maximality of Certain Hyperelliptic Curves Over a Finite
Field of Square Order"
Advisor: Francois Ramaroson
External Examiner: Leon Woodson (Morgan State University)
Chairperson: P. Peart
Other Committee Members: A. Burstein and S. Sitaraman
Location: Room 205 Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Bldg - Conference
Room.
Date: April 24
Time: 3:30pm
Abstract: Let q be a positive integer that is a power of an odd prime
p
and let K be the finite field of order q2. Then an
algebraic curve defined
over K is said to hyperelliptic
if the curve is of the form y 2 = f(x)
where f ∈ K [x] , deg(f) > 4, and the roots of f(x) are distinct. Given a
hyperelliptic curve C and its
nonsingular projective model C', we look at
the order of C'(K) - the set of all K-rational
points on C and the
point(s) of infinity. The general theory of
algebraic curves implies that
| C ' (K) | must satisfy the Hasse-Weil
bound. If equality is attained,
then C is said to be K-maximal. Tetsuo Kodama, Jaap Top, and Tadashi
Washio has proven K-maximality
to nine hyperelliptic curves with specific
conditions for p . They used geometrical methods
relying upon Jacobian,
differential forms and covering
maps induced by group actions. We provide
an alternative approach; we prove that these
curves are K-maximal by
relying on computations of character sums and
maps between curves.
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After Ph.D defense celebratory soccer game
We will meet as usual at 4.30pm in 219 ASB-B and go from there.
Organizers: Sankar Sitaraman
& Henok Mawi
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Mathematics Departmental Colloquium
No colloquium this week, as far as I know --Ed
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Fluid dynamics seminar
For those who are new, this is a social gathering in the department
usually after the Friday colloquium (or 4.30
pm if no colloquium).
No fluid dynamics this week.
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Announcements
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From Dennis Davenport
Dr. Edray Goins
will run an REU in mathematics this summer entitled "2013
PRiME: Purdue Research in Mathematics
Experience." This program will run
from June 10 through August 2. If you
know any undergraduates who are
still looking to conduct summer research,
please have them contact Edray
or direct them to the web page:
http://www.math.purdue.edu/~egoins/site//PRiME%202013.html
Participants need not be US citizens. However, the program
will focus on
but not be limited to women and underrepresented
minorities. The deadline
to apply is April 26.
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Via Aziz Yakubu
1. Assessing online courses
ATTENTION: CHAIRS, APT MEMBERS, AND OTHER PEER REVIEWERS
In your department, it is probably time to conduct student and peer
evaluations of courses. If so, how are
you going to evaluate online
courses? If you are a chair, APT
member, or peer reviewer in a department
that offers online courses, sign up for CETLAÕs
workshop CA12 Assessing
Online Courses to learn how. (See
the description below.) To sign up,
click REGISTRATION on our homepage (http://www.cetla.howard.edu
<http://www.cetla.howard.edu/>), choose the APRIL
calendar, and click
CA12. Online instructors who are not reviewers are welcome
too!
CA12 Assessing Online Courses (1 1/2 hrs.) Thursday, April
18 (12:30-2:00
pm) and Tuesday, April 23 (3:00 – 4:30pm)
Prerequisite: None
Recommended by the Office of the Provost for chairpersons and other
reviewers, this interactive workshop will
prepare you to assess online
courses, whether they are ÒhybridsÓ (30%-79%
online) or ÒDLÓ (80-100%
online). Upon completing this workshop, you
will be able to do the
following:
1. Explain how the assessment of online courses differs from the
assessment of face-to-face courses.
2. List the benefits of assessing online courses.
3. Access an online course on Blackboard.
4. Assess the design of an online course, using the Quality Matters
rubric, a nationally recognized rubric that
meets Middle States
accreditation standards.
5. Assess course delivery in an online course.
6. Introduce faculty to CETLAÕs optional course template—a
template that
faculty can download inside Blackboard to
facilitate course development as
well as assessment.
Teresa M. Redd, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CETLA)
Howard University
2. From Fields Institute
- Canadian Symposium on Operator Algebras and their Applications,
web-site:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/12-13/COSY2013/
- Avner Magen
Memorial Lecture 'Why Algorithms are Poised to Become the
Language of the Living World' by Bernard Chazelle,
Princeton University ,
web-site:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/12-13/public_lectures/
*** Workshop on Challenges in Combinatorics
on Words to be held at the
Fields Institute on April 22-26, 2013; web-site:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/12-13/words/index.html
*** 8th Conference on Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication
and
Cryptography to be held at the University of Guelph on May 21-23,
2013;
web-site:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/12-13/TQC13/index.html
*** Focus Program on Commodities, Energy and Environmental Finance
hosted
by Fields Institute on August 6- 30, 2013;
web-site:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/13-14/envirofinance/index
.html
*** Thematic Program on the Mathematics of Oceans, April 29-June 28,
2013;
web-site:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/12-13/mathofoceans/index.
html
Ed Bierstone
Director Phone
416 348 9710 ext. 2012
The Fields
Institute
Fax 416 348 9714
222 College Street, 2nd Floor bierston@fields.utoronto.ca
Toronto ON Canada M5T
3J1 www.fields.utoronto.ca
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Via Talitha Washington
Keep Learning Mathematica This Summer
Summer is just around the corner, and Wolfram has plenty of
programs to keep you busy. Whether you are a
high school student,
graduate student, or researcher, we have a
program for you! Check
out our programs below so you can continue to grow
your
Mathematica
knowledge through the summer.
Wolfram Programs
It's time to apply for the Mathematica
Summer Camp 2013. The camp
is being held at Bentley University in Waltham,
Massachusetts,
July 7-19. Students will have the opportunity to learn
Mathematica's computing language,
work with Wolfram mentors, and
interact with other students with similar
interests. By the end
of camp, each student will have created his or her
very own
Mathematica program! For more information and to
apply, please go
here:
http://url.wolfram.com/MteC0U/
The 2013 Wolfram Science Summer School (July 1-19) is a chance
for highly motivated individuals to get involved
with research at
the frontiers of science. Participants include
undergraduate and
graduate students, professors, industry
professionals, and
artists with a common interest in exploring
cutting-edge ideas
based on Stephen Wolfram's book, A New Kind
of Science. If
accepted to the summer school, you will work
directly with
individuals in the Wolfram Science community,
including Stephen
Wolfram and instructors who have made contributions to NKS,
Mathematica,
and Wolfram|Alpha. For more
information and to
apply, please go here:
http://url.wolfram.com/CaaXAI/
Mathematica-Sponsored Programs
Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics is an intensive
six-week encounter with college-level mathematics
for talented
and highly motivated high school students. This
program is held
June 30-August 10. For more
information about their program,
please visit:
http://url.wolfram.com/PVBQSY/
For students age 11-14 who show high promise and love
mathematics, there is Math Path Advanced Summer
Camp, held this
year at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN, June 30-July
28.
http://url.wolfram.com/yqD8iQ/
We look forward to seeing you at one or more of our programs this
summer. If you have any questions, please
feel free to contact us
at wolfram-education@wolfram.com.
Wolfram Education Team
www.mathematica-camp.org
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From Aziz Yakubu
RECONNECT Workshop 2013
Water Infrastructure, Contamination, and Risk Assessment
Where: Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD
When: June 2 - 8, 2013
About Reconnect:
This CCICADA Summer Reconnect Workshops expose faculty teaching
undergraduates to the role of the
mathematical and computer sciences in
homeland security and provides an opportunity
to researchers in government
or industry to learn about recent material in the
area of internet
privacy, a component of data analytics. Topics
are presented in a weeklong
series of lectures and activities;
participants are involved in both
research activities and in writing materials
useful in the classroom or to
share with their colleagues. Participants
may develop materials for
publication in either the CCICADA Technical
Reports or the Educational
Modules Series published by the DIMACS Center at Rutgers University.
Topic:
Water Infrastructure, Contamination, and Risk Assessment
The water distribution system, which is a critical component of
assuring
safe drinking water, constitutes a significant
management challenge from
both an operational and public health standpoint.
Reconnect 2013 focuses
on water infrastructure systems including water
hydrology, contamination,
and decision making. Dr. Paul Houser will look at
quantifying and
predicting water cycle and environmental
consequences of earth system
variability through numerical hydrologic data
simulations and regional
land surface-atmospheric hydrologic modeling.
Web-based data visualization
tools for climate and water data will be
utilized.
Contamination of water supplies will be
highlighted by Dr. Abdul-Aziz
Yakubu,
with a guest lecture by a fracking expert. Epidemiological and
surveillance data of sporadic
cases of waterborne diseases and health
effects from accidental or intentional
chemical and microbial
contamination can be linked to
problems in water distribution systems.
The issue of water contamination due to the process of fracking to obtain
natural gas from the ground has heightened the
general publicÕs awareness
of this key issue. In addition to contamination,
losses of life and
property in the United States and throughout
the world resulting from
hydrologic hazards, including floods, droughts,
and related phenomena, are
significant and increasing. In the United States,
over three-quarters of
federal disaster declarations result from
water-related events and in many
parts of the world (e.g., Bangladesh) floods
and droughts (e.g., Ethiopia
and elsewhere in Africa) have threatened the
viability of society. Dr.
Midge Cozzens will conclude the week using game theory to manage
water
resource system conflicts.
Organizers:
Midge Cozzens, Research Faculty at DIMACS Rutgers University Asamoah
Nkwanta, Professor of Mathematics, Morgan
State University
Speakers:
Paul Houser, Professor of Global Hydrology, George Mason University
Abdul-Aziz Yakubu, Professor of
Mathematics, Howard University Midge
Cozzens, Research Professor and Mathematician, Rutgers University
Registration fees, lodging, meals and travel: Academic participants:
registration, lodging and meals
will be provided through DHS funding.
Government participants: $350. For-Profit Corporation participants:
$500
(includes all meals from Sunday dinner to
Saturday lunch). Limited funds
are expected to be available to provide partial
support for travel.
Deadline for Applications is April 1, 2013 or until all slots are
filled.
Applications will be submitted online found on the Reconnect web page,
and
will be reviewed as they are received. Please email
Midge Cozzens if you
are interested.
For more information: Christine Spassione (spassion@dimacs.rutgers.edu)
or
Midge Cozzens (midge6930@comcast.net) or visit the Reconnect
web page
http://ccicada.org/Reconnect/2013/
Howard University is part of a NSF funded national alliance to mentor
minority postdoctoral fellows and prepare
them for faculty positions at research universities.
These fellowships are
for 3 years of which 2 years are spend at one of
the
alliance universities and one year at a
mathematics institute, provided
there is a suitable program in the postdocs
area of expertise.
This year at a math institute makes this postdoctoral fellowship
highly
prestigious and very competitive.
Our aim is to successfully mentor all these postdocs so that they
develop
a strong research career.
You can find more info about the program at:
http://www.math.ncsu.edu/alliance
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