Math Dept 2013-2014
Newsletter 6
Monday, 4 November 2013
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
ASB-B 213 3.00 to 4pm
Speaker: Professor Todd Drum.
Topic: COMPLEX HYPERBOLIC
SPACES.
Stanley M. Einstein-Matthews
Coordinator
3. Math Team Meeting
Monday at 5:10 in room 213.
If you have strong students with an interest in
problem solving urge them to attend.
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Every Tuesday
The Seminar on Topological Semigroups
and Ramsey Theory
Tuesdays at 11:10 a.m
in room 231 of Annex III
Dev Phulara will be speaking in the Seminar on Topological Semigroups and Ramsey Theory. His topic will be
"A generalized Central Sets Theorem".
Organizer: Neil Hindman
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Wednesday, November 6, 2013, 4:10 to 5:00 PM in
Room 213, ASB-B
Monthly Departmental meeting.
Agenda tentatively includes discussion of Student Advising by Dr. Alana F.
Mohammed, Interim Director of Educational Advisory Center, Interim Report from
the Curriculum Committee: Dr. Jill McGowan, Course and Final Examination
Coordinators: Dr. Crepin Mahop
and Dr. Talitha Washington
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Every Friday
Math Department Colloquium
Room 213, 4.10 to 5pm, ASB-B
Friday Nov. 8
Clemente Aguilar, NIMBioX
'Using Computational Tools for Accelerating the
Development of Vaccines for ChagasÕ Disease'
Fluid dynamics seminar
Follows Colloquium.,
Starts at 4.30 if no colloquium is scheduled
Abstract: (by 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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1. Second to last home game for HU soccer
team.
Saturday, Nov 2
The Bison will take on Virginia Military
Institute at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Greene Stadium.
I might attend if time permits. If anyone
wants to join please let me know.
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2. Calabi-Yau
Varieties Workshop:
Hodge Theory in String Theory, to be held
November 18-2, 2013 at the Fields Institute:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/programs/scientific/13-14/calabi-yau/
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SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES (from
various sources)
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1. GEAR_UP program at Howard:
(Thanks to Aziz Yakubu)
Prof. Wayne Patterson writes: I'm very hopeful that we will have a number
of math majors applying for GEAR UP for the Summer of 2014.
Please announce the program and direct students
to the application form:
http://www.howard.edu/gearup/apply.htm
Unfortunately the deadline is Monday, November 4.
But if math students could at least get the application form submitted, I will
try to assist to make sure they will have time for a complete application.
The countries for 2014 are Bolivia, Chile,
Ethiopia, Mexico, Romania, Tanzania, Thailand and Turkey. I project good math
projects in Chile, Ethiopia, and Thailand at least.
2. The USAID Payne International
Development Program is Now Accepting Applications for the 2014 Payne International
Development Graduate Fellowship
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. The Department of Energy (DOE)
Scholars Program is now accepting applications for Summer 2014.
Visit http://orise.orau.gov/doescholars for
more information or to apply - deadline is January 12, 2014!
4. 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
5. 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
Nominations are invited for graduate students to
attend a discussion with Nobel laureates.
You may nominate students to attend this meeting
who:
á are currently enrolled at a university as full-time graduate
students;
á have completed by June 2014 at least two academic years of
graduate studies toward a doctoral degree in economics or in a related
discipline, but not be planning a dissertation/thesis defense before December
31, 2014;
á be actively engaged in research.
We are especially interested in receiving
nominations from a diverse group of students, including women, minorities and
people with disabilities. Please check http://www.orau.org/lindau for
specific eligibility criteria of each sponsor.
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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.
2. Are you Living a
Math Life? (From Talitha Washington) ICERM
is (https://icerm.brown.edu/diversity)
so if you are not sure, subscribe!
3. NY Times op-ed on HU homecoming: (Via
Aziz Yakubu)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/opinion/coates-homecoming-at-howard.html?src=twr&_r=0
[This is a very nice article — Ed.]
4. (From the editor) Here
is a NY Times article worth reading, about a new teaching structure being tried
by some colleges.
If you wondered whether it makes sense to teach
all students the same way for the same amount of time, and whether we should be
responsible for teaching and grading (thus compromising both), this has some
answers:
Degrees Based on
What You Can Do, Not How Long You Went BY ANYA KAMENETZ
College leaders say that by
focusing on what people know, not how or when they learn it, and by tapping new
technology, they can save students time and lower costs.
Entire article: http://nyti.ms/16IlvGH
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