Math Dept 2013-2014
Newsletter 15
Monday, 3 February 2014
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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
Organizational meeting was held last Friday.
Details TBA.
Organizers: Alex Burstein and Lou Shapiro
2. Geometry and
Topology Seminar
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
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, February 5, 2014
Departmental Meeting
4:10 to 5:00 PM, Room 213, ASB-B
Agenda includes discussion of Summer Activities
at Howard:
Spiral REU- Dennis Davenport, MBI REU- Talitha Washington,
CBMS Conference-
Mohammad Mahmood,
Mathematics of Planet Earth
Conference (summer 2015)-Ms. Prince and Ms. Johnson.
Discussion on Applied
Calculus by Jill McGowan.
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Friday Feb 7
Mathematics Department Colloquium
4.10 to 5 pm, ASB-B 213
Prof. Ryan Hynd, University of Pennsylvania
Title: An evolution equation for p-ground states
Fluid dynamics seminar
Seye Adekanye has volunteered for bringing pizza.
So Seminar will take place after colloquium, and
at 4.30 if there is no colloquium.
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. (Aziz Yakubu) President
Wayne Frederick has invited Dr. Talitha Washington to
serve as a voting member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) effective
February 3, 2014. The IRB reviews research projects involving human
participants and acts to preserve their rights and welfare. Dr. Washington's
tenure of service on the IRB is for four years.
2. Congrats to Talitha
Washington on her election as member-at-large of executive committee of
Association for Women in Mathematics.
3. (Talitha Washington)
Advanced Computational Biology Symposium will take place at Howard on March
26, 2014.
Topics include Molecular Simulation & Design,
Systems Biology, Genomics and Big Data.
See http://CompBioSymposium.com for further
details.
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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. Volunteer Opportunities in Africa
One Heart Source is currently accepting
applications for our 2014 Volunteer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2014, we
are offering a variety of 1, 2 and 4-week programs in / Cape Town, South Africa
and Zanzibar, Tanzania!
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and
our
final deadline is FEBRUARY 7th, 2014!
As an OHS Volunteer, you will:work closely with local communities,primary
school students through a mentorship program and work with a small,
dynamic team of international university and graduate students.
Both Graduate and Undergraduate students are
encouraged to apply.
For more information and to apply visit: http://www.oneheartsource.org/volunteer
Contact eastcoast.region@oneheartsource.org with
any questions.
3. 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.
4. 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)
5. (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
6. (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
7. 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.
8. Opportunity in China for graduate
students and post-docs. OTS and the Xishuangbanna
Tropical Botanical (XTBG: Chinese Academy of Sciences) are offering a new
course on ÒThe Ecology of Climate Change in the Tropics and
Sub-TropicsÓ. The course dates are June 16-July 16, 2014.
More information: Go to
http://ots.ac.cr/ and
look under ÒGraduate Programs.Ó
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INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
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1. (Louise Raphael) A
free pdf link to the National Academy of Sciences
report on Math Sciences in 2025 is here:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=15269
2. (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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