Math Dept 2013-2014
Newsletter 13
Monday, 20 January 2014
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This issue is dedicated to the memory of Prof.
Rackham Goodlett Jr.
Today we also celebrate Rev. Martin Luther King,
Jr.
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Newsletter is sent out when there is something
new.
Please send entries by the end of the
week --Ed
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MEETINGS AND SEMINARS IN THE DEPARTMENT
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Every Monday
1. Combinatorics
Seminar
The combinatorics
seminar will meet on Mondays at 3pm in room 201 ASB-B.
Alex Burstein will talk about pattern
avoiding permutations.
Those interested but unable to attend at that
hour should contact Alex Burstein or Lou Shapiro.
Organizers: Alex Burstein and Lou Shapiro
2. Geometry and
Topology Seminar
Starts Mon, Jan 27
ASB-B 213 3.00 to 4pm
Speaker: Professor Joseph Yeager
Topic: SYMPLECTIC
AND CONTACT GEOMETRY.
Stanley M. Einstein-Matthews
Coordinator
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Every Tuesday
The Seminar on Topological Semigroups
and Ramsey Theory
Starts Tue Jan 21.
Tuesdays at 11:10 a.m
in room 233 of Annex III
Neil Hindman will
be speaking on separating subrings of the rationals
by partition regular matrices.
Organizer: Neil Hindman
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Wednesday, Jan 22
Special Colloquium
Hana Kim, MIT.
'Ordered trees with mutation and the Riordan
group'
Room No. 213 ASB-B from
4:10 to 5:00pm.
The talk will be presented with undergraduate
math majors in mind.
Abstract: In this talk, we first
review some of classical results on statistics concerning ordered trees.
Then the Riordan group theory will be briefly
introduced as a new tool for the study of ordered trees.
Finally we explore a variety of ordered trees
with a distinguished vertex called the mutator.
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Friday Jan 24
Mathematics Department Colloquium
4.10 to 5 pm, ASB-B 213
Prof. Tommy Wright, US Census
Bureau
Title TBA
Fluid dynamics seminar
Needs volunteer for bringing pizza.
Seminar will remain in suspension until someone
steps forward.
Abstract: (Neil Hindman)
The "Fluid" refers to soda and
beer. The "Dynamics" refers to the topics of conversation,
which is as likely as anything to deal with RGIII and the Washington Football
Club. Pizza, including a vegetarian option, and wings are provided.
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TALKS AND EVENTS OUTSIDE THE DEPARTMENT
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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1. Toka Diagana
My student Mohamed Zitane
(Universite IBN TOFAIL, Morocco) successfully
defended his PhD Dissertation on December 21, 2013. The title of his PhD Thesis
is:
"Existence Results for some Nonautonomous Neutral Functional Differential Equations
with Applications to PDEs"
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SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES (from
various sources)
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1. Summer UG intern Programs at ICERM,
Brown University (Thanks to Louise Raphael)
Details at http://icerm.brown.edu/summerug_2014
Deadline to apply feb 7.
2. The USAID Payne International
Development Program is Now Accepting Applications for the 2014 Payne
International Development Graduate Fellowship
(ONLY ONE WEEK
LEFT!)
The Payne Graduate Fellowship
Program welcomes applications from young people interested in careers in
international development. Fellows can use the fellowship to attend two-year
master's programs in U.S. institutions to study any area of relevance to the USAID Foreign Service, including
international development, international relations, public policy, business
administration, foreign languages, economics, agriculture, environmental
sciences, health, or urban planning.
Applicants must be college seniors or graduates
looking to start a two-year graduate program in fall 2014, must have a GPA of
at least 3.2 and must be U.S. citizens. The program welcomes any undergraduate
major and encourages applications from members of minority groups historically
underrepresented in USAID Foreign Service and those with financial need.
Information and application materials can be found at www.paynefellows.org. The application
deadline is Jan. 27, 2014.
3. From
NOAA: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is
pleased to announce the availability of scholarships (includes
internships) to college sophomore students majoring in STEM disciplines
related to oceanic and atmospheric science, research, or technology, and
supportive of the purposes of NOAA's programs and mission, e.g., biological,
social and physical sciences; mathematics; engineering; and computer and
information sciences.
á Educational
Partnership Program Undergraduate Scholarship: http://www.epp.noaa.gov/ssp_undergrad_page.html
Application Deadline: January 31, 2014
á Ernest
F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/scholarships/hollings.html
Application Deadline: January 31, 2014
4. Support to Attend a Workshop
ÒMathematics of Planet Earth: Challenges and OpportunitiesÓ
(Thanks to Aziz Yakubu)
A workshop ÒMathematics of Planet Earth:
Challenges and OpportunitiesÓ will be held at Arizona State University January
7-10, 2014. The workshop aims to expose students and junior researchers to the
challenges facing our planet, the role of the mathematical sciences in
addressing those challenges, and the opportunities to get involved in the effort.
Funds are available to support participants to attend this workshop and to
participate in follow-up activities. Workshop speakers include Carlos
Castillo-Chavez, Arizona State University, and Abdul-Aziz Yakubu, Howard University
The workshop will provide introductions to the
role of the mathematical sciences in addressing problems of the planet. There
will be an introduction to the five major workshop themes of MPE 2013+ through
expository lectures and discussions. All participants will be invited to
participate in one of the following workshops, which could include the
Education for the Planet Earth of Tomorrow.
An application form can be found athttp://dimacs.rutgers.edu/Workshops/MPE2013PreWorkshop/.
It will include both an application to attend and an application
for financial support. Review of applications will begin October 1, 2013, and
will continue until all slots are filled.
For more information about Challenges and
Opportunities workshop as well as the MPE2013+ program, please contact Dr.
Eugene Fiorini at mpe2013-plus@dimacs.rutgers.edu.
5. From Oak Ridge Labs (Thanks to Louise
Raphael)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has a long
history and interest in providing hands-on research experiences to students at
all academic levels.
Please visit http://www.orau.org/ornl and click on
your academic level to learn more about educational programs at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory. Complete your profile in the Talent and Opportunity System
(TOppS) system and then apply to one or all of the
program postings. Applications must be submitted visa the TOppS
system. See the programs web sites for suggested deadline dates.
Among opportunities available: Higher Education
Research Experiences (HERE) and Nuclear Engineering (NESLS)
6. (From Aziz Yakubu) Opportunities
at the Navy
HBCU Undergradute
Program:
NREIP Program:
http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/Education-Outreach/undergraduate-graduate/NREIP-naval-internship.aspx
Summer Faculty Program:
http://www.onr.navy.mil/Education-Outreach/Summer-Faculty-Research-Sabbatical.aspx
7. (From Aziz Yakubu) Opportunities
at NASA
Spring 2014 throug
spring of 2015 NASA will have workshops, research projects and internship
opportunities for undergrads in STEM programs.
Howard students are especially encouraged to
apply.
More information at http://DCSpaceGrant.org/STEM
8. NebraskaÕs Summer Research Program
NebraskaÕs summer program offers research
opportunities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields
in addition to a new interdisciplinary Minority Health Disparities program
doing research in and around the social sciences. A complete listing of faculty
mentors and research project descriptions can be found on our website at http://www.unl.edu/summerprogram.
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INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
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1. (From Aziz Yakubu) Improving minority participation in STEM
education
Stereotypes are dangerous—they hurt, they
mislead and they ultimately diminish us all. When whole groups are stereotyped,
prejudices that damage the social and educational fabric
result. This problem is evident when women and minorities are
stereotyped in the science, technology, engineering and math fields known as
STEM. The challenge of enrolling and graduating more women and minorities in
STEM fields has drawn national attention. The College Board has undertaken an
initiative to enroll more young women and minority students in STEM advanced
placement courses and the American Association of University Women has a large
outreach program for young women wishing to enter STEM fields.
As part of this national conversation, AIRÕs
Center for STEM Education and Innovation<http://www.air.org/focus-area/education/?id=10>
held a two-day symposium in late September on using research to inform policies
and practices<http://www.air.org/focus-area/education/index.cfm?fa=viewContent&content_id=2305&id=10>
in STEM education, particularly in higher education.
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