Math Dept 2016-2017 Newsletter 16
Monday, 20 March 2017
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Past newsletters can now be reached via the department website.
[Click on ÒRead the NewsletterÓ in the
bottom].
Newsletter is sent out when there is
something new.
Please send entries by the end of the
workweek --Ed
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MEETINGS AND SEMINARS IN THE
DEPARTMENT
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Mondays
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Geometry &
Topology Seminar
Monday March
20
Speaker:
Remi Ombolo.
Title: POISSON STRUCTURES AND
POISSON-LIE STRUCTURES:
The Connection of Poisson-Lie Structures to the
Classical Yang-Baxter Equations (CYBE) and Quantum Groups.
Time: 3:10PM-4:00PM
Place: ASB-B 213.
Coordinator: Stanley M.
Einstein-Matthews
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Tuesdays
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Topological
Semigroups and Ramsey Theory Seminar
The Seminar on Topological Semigroups and
Ramsey Theory will meet
tuesdays from 11:10--12:00 in Annex III,
room 231.
Dennis
Davenport speaking on "A Combinatorial Characterization of Strongly
Central Sets".
Coordinator: Neil Hindman
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Wednesdays
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Evolution Equations
& Dynamical Systems seminar
1:10-2:00, in ROOM 213 OF ASB-B.
The seminar will cover all areas and
subareas
of evolution equations and dynamical systems
as well as their applications.
Organizer: Toka Diagana
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Graduate Student Seminar
3.10 to 4pm, Graduate Student Office
Organizer: Kendra Pleasant
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Fridays
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Analysis,
PDE and Applied Math Seminar.
Friday, March 31
Speaker: Louise Raphael
12:10pm - 1:00pm,
ASB–B # 213
Title: Gentle
Introduction to Support Vector Machines
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Mathematics
Department Colloquium
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Friday, March 24
Ash Abebe, Auburn University
Robust Estimation of Semiparametric
Models with Applications in Ecology
4.10 to 5 pm, ASB-B 213
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Fluid dynamics seminar
Seminar takes place after colloquium, and
does not take place if there is no colloquium.
Abstract: (Neil Hindman)
Fluid Dynamics will be meeting as
usual.
The "Fluid" refers to soda and
beer.
The "Dynamics" refers to
the topics of conversation, which is as likely as anything to deal with
the Washington Football Club.
Pizza, including a vegetarian option, and
wings are provided.
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TALKS AND WORKSHOPS OUTSIDE
DEPARTMENT
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1. Data-Driven Modeling of Collective
Behavior and Emergent Phenomena in Biology (DDM-Bio): June 5-7, 2017 - SAMSI
Apply
at https://goo.gl/hmCNe9 by April 17
Description:
Collective behavior and emergent phenomena often arise in complex adaptive
systems.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In
past newsletters:
The Georgetown
Undergraduate Research Conference, Thursday 4/20/17:
Abstract submission deadline March 25
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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1. Khalid Boushaba has been selected
to participate in the Department of EnergyÕs (DOE) Visiting Faculty Program
–
at the Ames
National Laboratory (AMES) for the Summer 2017 Term.
2. A paper by Roberto De
Leo,
Cristian E. GutiŽrrez and Henok Mawi,
"On
the Numerical Solution of the Far Field Refractor Problem",
https://arxiv.org/abs/1603.01469
has been accepted for publication on
Nonlinear Analysis.
3. (from Talitha Washington) HU-Teach Initiative
The office of the Registrar encourages
faculty to participate in this initiative, whose goal is
to encourage online teaching. Stipends
will be awarded to developers of courses whose content is
at least 30% online. Applications must be
submitted at http://www.cetla.howard.edu/hu-teach
by April
16. More information about the initiative can be found there as well.
4. (from
Crepin Mahop) Annual Math Department Scholarship Day
Call for
nominations
Following its tradition
of encouraging academic excellence for its undergraduate mathematics majors, the
Department of Mathematics is calling for Nominations of our best students for
the 2016-2017 Scholarship Competition. The Scholarship Day will be held on
April 7, 2017. I am writing to request that you kindly nominate by
communicating to the Scholarship Committee (Jill, Dan and CrŽpin) the names of
promising students in your present or past classes.
These scholarships are
made available each year through endowment funds and/or gifts from the
following generous donors: the Elbert F. Cox Scholarship Fund, the Solveig
Espelie Foundation, the George H. Butcher, Jr. Prize Fund, the Margaret Bullock
scholarship Fund, the James Donaldson Prize, and the Gerald Chachere Award for
Excellence in Mathematics.
Competition procedure:
1. Nominations of
candidates by faculty members and/or Self-Nominations;
2. Formal
applications are received (letter of motivation & unofficial transcripts)
3. Recommendations
(from Mathematics faculty members)
4. Selection of
laureates
5. Distribution of
awards.
IMPORTANT DATES
Application
deadline: Friday, March 24, 2017
Scholarship
Day Date: Friday, April 07, 2017
Time:
3:10PM
Venue:
ASB-B # 213
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In past newsletters
Open positions at Howard Math Department
Mathematica and WolframAlpha online access
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SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
(from various sources)
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1. Opportunities at various federal agencies
Oak Ridge Office of
Environmental Management (OREM) Science Education & Internship Program -
Oak Ridge, TN
Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management
offers students and recent college graduates opportunities to learn about the
mission of the DOE-EM office and to receive specialized training and practical experience
on the safe cleanup of environmental projects stemming from five decades of
nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored energy research.
Visit: http://orise.orau.gov/orem-internship/default.htm to read about the full opportunity and to apply.
U.S. citizenship (verification will be
required if selected), and at least 18 years of age (no exceptions).
Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program
The
Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program offers
scientists and engineers from a wide variety of disciplines unique
opportunities to conduct research in a wide range of topics relevant to the
Intelligence Community. Information at: http://orau.org/icpostdoc/current-opportunities.aspx
Annual stipends range from $75,000 to
$79,000, depending on research location
U. S. citizenship required;
Ph.D. received within 5 years of the
application deadline
To
learn more and to apply, please visit http://orau.org/icpostdoc
Deadline March 31, 2017
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In previous newsletters:
Department
of Energy (DOE) summer internships (deadline March 20)
Higher Education Research Experiences (HERE) Program
Humboldt Research
Fellowships for faculty
Budapest
Semesters in Mathematics Education (BSME)
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INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
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1. (from Louise Raphael) Source for well-vetted, free, open-source
textbooks
American Institute for Mathematics
website
2. Some equations for life
From wordsmith.org,
AWADmail issue 788, 3/19/17
Age of the person who claims to have walked to
school in all kinds of weather:
A = M + |G| + S
M = # miles to the school
G = latitude
S = inches of snow
*bonus: add 10 if it was uphill both ways
Example: 1 mile to school plus 44 latitude plus
17Ó snow = 62 plus bonus uphill both ways 10 = 72.
-Chree Perkins, Leicester, Vermont (chreeperkins
verizon.net)
Equation for calculating bliss:
C S
B = - + -
L T
Where C = cat, L = lap, S = strong light, and T =
tome.
-Isabel Auerbach, Rohnert Park, California (yunhyunh
yahoo.com)
Equation for predicting electoral success:
G x B x A
ES = ---------
H x I
Where
G = invocations of God
B = current Buzzwords
A = Appeals to worst instincts
H = Hard realities mentioned
I = evidence of Intellect
Note that if either H or I approaches zero, ES
becomes infinite.
-Richard Kaplan, Farnborough, UK (r.kaplan ucl.ac.uk)
TheyÕll receive their choice of a signed copy of
any of my books or a copy of the word game One
Up!
Read on for honorable mentions:
SCHOOL
This one I had made up during my engineering
college days. When we recline and study during exams, the amount of time in
which we fall asleep (involuntarily) is given by
where
I = Interest in the subject
θ = Angle of reclination (from horizontal)
F = Amount of food consumed for dinner
D = Level of difficulty of the subject
I is exponential because it is of the utmost
importance.
F is squared while D is square root because more
consumption of food has a greater influence on inducing sleep than a more difficulty
level (in fact, in a few exceptional cases, D goes up in the numerator -- more
difficulty causes us to be awake and think more and consequently be awake for
more time).
-Aditya Pathak, Bengaluru, India (apathak tce.co.in)
HOME
Success of marriage
S = (K × 5) + (E × 4) +
(UWKYMS)²
K = Kindness
E = Empathy
UWKYMS = Understanding when to keep your mouth
shut
-Leslie Tkach-Kawasaki, Tsukuba, Japan (tkach
japan.email.ne.jp)
If F is the overall family happiness, then F =
0.1H + K + 10W
Where
H = HusbandÕs happiness
K = KidsÕ happiness
W = WifeÕs happiness
-Ted Palomaki, Salt Lake City, Utah (tdp eastontp.com)
My decluttering equation:
c = a/b
where a = likeliness of using a possession in the
future, on a scale of 1-10
b = object size, on a scale of 1-10
c = score, items scoring below .7 should be
gotten rid of
-Perry Saunders, Austin, Texas (xsoundx hotmail.com)
Noise in the house increases proportionally to
the square of the number of children. Maybe N = C².
-Edna Litten, Altamont, New York (ejlitten hotmail.com)
Happy wife = Happy life
-Daniel Fisher, Managua, Nicaragua (mrdanfish gmail.com)
Number of bicycles one should own = n + 1
where n is the current number of bikes owned
Corollary:
Number of bikes needed for domestic tranquility =
D - 1
where D is number of bikes which results in
divorce
-Sam Joseph, Spokane, Washington (sgjoseph1 gmail.com)
BUSINESS
Real estate price = Q + L³
Where Q = quality
L = location
-Mike Carlson, Grand Marais, Minnesota (mhcnvc
boreal.org)
1. Price for womenÕs shoes = 300 × distance
in feet between shoes on display
For example, in Payless Shoes, the shoes are
about 1/10th of a foot apart. So shoes in Payless cost 0.1 × 300 =
$30/pair. In a Jimmy Choo display, the shoes are about 2 feet apart: 2 ×
300 = $600/pair
2. Cost of retail staff per square foot of store
space = $0.04/hour
In the US, youÕll find one clerk covering 500
square feet of floor space. That clerk earns about $20/hour. So the cost per
square foot is 20/500 = 0.04/hour. In China, you will find 10 clerks covering
the same territory. But they each get paid $2/hour. So (10×2)/500 = the
same 0.04/hour.
-Bill Duncan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (wrd
pmpartners.com)
WORK
Vm = 1/t where Vm is the value of a meeting and t
is the length of time it takes. This can also be expressed in English as the
value of a meeting is inversely proportional to its length.
-Andrew Marr, Shoreham-by-Sea, UK (am andrewmarr.com)
If A equals accomplishments completed at a
meeting, then A = 1/x where x = number of people at the meeting.
-Rima Phillips, East Windsor, New Jersey (rimaphillips
gmail.com)
Over time I developed a theory on the
intelligence of committees. Simple observation shows being in a committee
reduces the intelligence of its members. The resultant intelligence of the
committee organism once a quorum is gained can be calculated in the same way as
parallel resistance can be:
R total = (1/R₁ + 1/R₂ + 1/R₃...)
-Glm Mengel, Denver, Colorado (via website comments)
P = L² × A ± T
Popularity of music = Looks squared ×
Advertising ± Talent
-David W. Moore, Des Moines, Iowa (dwmoore
businessolver.com)
POLITICS
Statesmanship = truth × fairness /
(conspiracy × corruption × bigotry)
Dictatorship = 1 / statesmanship
-Alan Winson, Oakland, California (alan.winson
gmail.com)
|
|
(Acts of responsibility - Acts of
blaming)² + (Decisions based on science - Decisions ignoring
science)² |
|
Presidential image = |
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|
|
(Total words + Total tweets) |
-Wren Hudgins, Seattle, Washington (ed258 icloud.com)
-Allan J Wager, Barcelona, Spain (wagbomb gmail.com)
Fake News + Alternate Facts = Stupid Solutions
-Thomas C. Perkins, Manville, Rhode Island (perkystp
gmail.com)
The equation for Post Truth:
PT = (T-T) + BS
Where Post Truth equals Truth minus Truth (0)
plus Bull*hit. There may be a Gullibility factor, but IÕm not sure where to put
it.
-Claudia Gaber, Townsville, Australia (CGWordsmith
hotmail.com)
LIFE
If A is happiness in old age then A = X + Y + Z
where
X is someone to talk to
Y is something to do
Z is something to look forward to
-Dr. Michael Smout, Summerstrand, South Africa (ma.smout
mweb.co.za)
Happiness from a snow day H = 10/X² where X
is the number of snow days in a season
-Richard Marriner, Augusta, Maine (richard.marriner
maine.gov)
Given H = The size of a personÕs ÒheartÓ
(compassion, etc.)
M = That personÕs total wealth
Therefore: H = 1/M (inverse proportion)
-Antonio Christopher Dittmann, Vashon, Washington
(dittmann.antonio comcast.net)
H is happiness and
H = (m > s) + h + F + f
Where m = money, s = sufficient money, h =
health, F = family and f = friends.
-Graham Heddle, UK (grahamheddle yahoo.com)
Good Time at a Party = Expectations +
Conversation + Snacks + Ã(Alcohol) - Time Spent on your cellphone.
-Jordin Metz, Santiago, Chile (jordin.metz gmail.com)
If H is a successful three-way friendship, then H
= (A + B + C) - G
where A, B, and C are the three parties involved
and G is the gossip shared among any two parties about the third.
-Paul Many, Toledo, Ohio (paul.many utoledo.edu)
This equation ALWAYS works!
G = R/E
Where G is gratification, R is reality, and E is
expectation.
-David Gluck, MD, New York, New York (dglucknyc
yahoo.com)
My equation is the following:
Man = what-he-is / what-he-thinks-of-himself
based on this Tolstoy quotation: ÒA man is like a
fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks
of himself. The larger the denominator, the smaller the fraction.Ó
-Amel Bennaceur, Milton Keynes, UK (benamel gmail.com)
AGE
I cannot swear that this is originally my formula,
but IÕll claim it for this purpose!
OldAge = 10 × Ã(CurrentAge)
Hence:
When you are 16, old people are 40;
When you are approaching 50, old people are 70;
and
When you are 100, you know youÕre old!
-Layne Marshal, Campbell River, Canada (laynemarshal
gmail.com)
This oneÕs really pretty old-fashioned, and I
apologise for that, but my mother once told me, quite tongue-in-cheek IÕm glad
to say, that the ideal ages for a man and woman to marry was given by the
equation
X = Y/2 + 10,
where X is the womanÕs age and Y the manÕs. She
didnÕt couch it in such algebraic terms, but thatÕs what it boiled down to: the
woman should be half the manÕs age, plus ten years.
-Matt McNally, Grahamstown, South Africa (mattmcn
telkomsa.net)
MISC.
IÕve created an equation based on my use of
Groupons and the cost and wildly divergent value of things in London :)
IEx = Gr + le - LofAEBTD
Groupon + low-expectations -
The-lack-of-anything-else-better-to-do = Improved Experience
-Denise Jones, London, UK (dj.jonestown gmail.com)
For crossword mavens:
orctar & parspin Å Ãr2
(carrot and parsnip soup is more or less a square
root or two)
-Andrew Lloyd, Knockroe, Borris, Co Carlow, Ireland
(knockroe gmail.com)
IÕve been with you since around 1998, and it
never gets old. AWAD + a thought a day >> a day without.
-Matt Nash, Oak Harbor, Washington (mattanash live.com)
According to our dog Lucca, happiness is
H = S+K+3T-Rt-NPR+2C+(UBR×UBR)
Where
S = Shelter
K = Kibble
T = Treats
Rt = Relief Trips
NPR = National Public Radio, self-explanatory; he
has to listen to it all the time we are at home, and he is increasing his
knowledge base daily, but he would rather listen to country music
C = Cats to chase
UBR = Unlimited Belly Rubs
-Casimir Groblewski, Boston, Massachusetts (cgroblewski
fantinigorga.com)