Monday, 3 May 2021

Past newsletters can now be reached via the department website.

[Click on “About” and then “News and Events”].

Newsletter is sent out when there is something new.

Please send entries by the end of the workweek –Ed.

MEETINGS AND SEMINARS IN THE DEPARTMENT

This will be the last newsletter for 2020-21.

Wish you all a great summer, with return to normal life…Ed.

Mondays

Combinatorics Seminar

TBA

Coordinator: Louis Shapiro

WEDNESDAYS

Math team/Math Club meetings

Please contact organizers for zoom link.

Organizers: Jill McGowan (math club), Lou Shapiro (math team)

Thursdays

Seminar on Topological Semigroups

To start, Dr. Justin Moore of Cornell will talk about some of his recent work.

Time Thursdays at 2pm. Seminar will meet using Zoom. Please contact coordinator for a link.

Coordinator Dennis Davenport

Graduate Student Seminar

Meeting from 4 to 5pm on Thursdays. Contact coordinator for link.

Coordinator: Noel Bourne

Fridays

Mathematics Department Colloquium

This semester our Colloquium talks are shared between us and Cornell's Colloquium.

Friday, April 30 (Cornell Applied Math colloquium, notable alumni series)

Erika Tatiana Camacho, PhD ‘03

Professor of Applied Mathematics, Arizona State University

Program Director of ADVANCE and HIS, National Science Foundation

Topic: A mathematical analysis of aerobic glycolysis triggered by glucose uptake in cones.

TALKS AND WORKSHOPS OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT

1. NAM Faculty Conference on Research and Teaching Excellence (FCRTE) on May 22, 2021. This one-day virtual conference, geared towards faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), will include the Albert Turner Bharucha-Reid Lecture, contributed talks from faculty, and a panel discussion.

The 2021 Albert Turner Bharucha-Reid Lecture will be given by Dr. Rhonda Fitzgerald, Norfolk State University. Her talk is titled, “From Riding the Bench to Leading the Team. Rewriting the Instructional Playbook for Pre-Calculus using the Flipped Model."

There is a call for Presenters to submit abstracts for contributed talks. Each talk will be 15 minutes in length (with 5 minutes for questions). Please complete the abstract submission form by Saturday May 1, 2021 at 11:59pm EST if you are interested in giving a talk at the FCRTE.

REGISTER HERE for the Faculty Conference on Research and Teaching Excellence (FCRTE) by purchasing your ticket on Eventbrite!

For more information about NAM and the history of the Faculty Conference on Research and Teaching Excellence, visit https://www.nam-math.org/fcrte.html.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dr. Naiomi Cameron, Vice President and Program Committee Chair, at vice-president@nam-math.org

2. (Thanks to Aziz Yakubu) UPSTAT 2021 Conference Data analytics competition (online)

This year’s data analytics competition features the social justice problem of disparity in policing. This is a challenging issue and the corresponding statistical analysis is fascinating and interestingly broad.

Details at http://upstats.org

Competitors from high school level all the way up to the doctoral level are allowed vie for some amazing prizes. People beyond the doctoral level or no longer matriculated are not allowed to compete.

In previous newsletters:

MAA Mathfest Aug 4-7, 2021, online

The Park City Math Insititute

Tenth annual Underrepresented Students in Topology and Algebra Research Symposium (USTARS), April 29-30, 2021

QEM/NSF Talent Development and Innovation Sciences (TDIS) Summer Internship

David Blackwell summer research institute (Illinois; UCLA/Berkeley)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Katharine Gurski has won the COAS Distinguished Faculty Award in the category of Outstanding Scholarship: Full Professor, bringing additional recognition to our department.

2. Scholarship day (April 2) Awardees (Thanks to Jill McGowan)

The department celebrated these awardees for their outstanding performance:

1) James Donaldson award ($2000 prize, $1000 Donaldson + $1000 Solveig-Espelie): Naomi Rankin, junior, presented by Katie Gurski.

2) George Butcher prize ($2000 prize, $1000 from Butcher + $1000 Solveig-Espelie): Sudarshan Bashyal, senior, presented by Dan Williams.

3) Gerald Chachere prize ($1000 prize): Shakuan Frankson, graduate student, presented by Dennis Davenport.

4) Solveig-Espelie awards:

i) ($1500) Leshauna Hartman, senior, presented by Dan Williams.

ii) ($1000): Kenthia Roberts, sophomore, presented by Sankar Sitaraman.

iii) ($1250 each): Sabrina Francis, senior, presented by Dan Williams; Keith-Jordan Wilkinson, senior, presented by Dan Williams; Paras Pokharel, senior, presented by Roberto De Leo.

5) Cox prizes ($2000 each: $500 from Cox, 1500 from Solveig-Espelie):

i) Jalynn Borders, junior, presented by Tim Myers

ii) Sabin Gaire, senior, presented by Crepin Mahop

iii) Christina McBean, senior, presented by Roberto De Leo

iv) Malik Woullard, junior, presented by Paul Bezandry

3. Saud Aldosary successfully defended his Ph. D thesis of the title “Non-Hyperbolic Points of 2-D Discrete (DE) Homogeneous Polynomial Systems” on April 8, 2021. His advisor was Faina Berezovskaya.

4. Pi Mu Epsilon society membership for graduate students (thanks to Jill McGowan): If you are interested in joining the math honor society Pi Mu Epsilon, the requirements are these: you have a 3.0 GPA from your undergraduate degree and in your math courses as an undergraduate, as well as in your last year as an undergraduate. If you meet these requirements and would like to join, please let me know. I need your student ID and your address.

SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

(from various sources)

1. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport) University of Sciences Hiring Faculty

University of Sciences in Philadelphia is interested in potentially hiring Howard graduates to teach at U Sciences and/or for faculty collaborations. More information about the department is at usciences.edu.

2. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Minority Serving Institutions Internship Program (MSIIP)

Application deadline

Monday, May 3, 2021, 8:00 am EST

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is sponsoring a new internship program for the 2021 summer. The NNSA Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Internship Program aims to engage undergraduate and graduate students in world class research and operations opportunities within the NNSA enterprise and to increase the students’ awareness of federal career opportunities. This program is open to students enrolled in a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), or Tribal College or University (TCU). Students will intern at one of the national laboratories.

Applications and supporting materials must be submitted at

https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/2021-NNSA-MSIIP

3. Nobel Week Dialogue

Organized by EF College Study program

This fully-funded opportunity is designed for the next generation of global leaders. Scholarship recipients will attend sessions at the 2021 Nobel Week Dialogue‚ explore Sweden‚ and participate in an online course led by distinguished international educators.
Students should apply by May 5. They highly encourage future leaders from a range of institutions and populations historically under-served in study abroad to apply.

More information and application material

4. FDA Bioinformatics Fellowship

Application deadline August 31, 2021.

One year appointment with renewal possibilities for those interested in modelling, big data, genome sequencing and other techniques.

More information and application materials.

More opportunities at the FDA.

5. Uncommon schools hiring

Spring is a time of new beginnings and what better way to signify this change than with a rewarding career at Uncommon Schools?

As you step back and reflect on your “next big move,” consider working with Uncommon. We are hiring for various positions across the organization, including teachers and leaders in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts, and administrative roles at our Home Office in New York City.

In previous newsletters:

Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY)

MAA funding opportunities

Summer Lab Internships at DHS

INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES

1. Mathematical Equations on Blackboards as Art.

A photographic collection of blackboards filled with equations and diagrams, many of them written at crucial stages of research, with short descriptions by the mathematicians involved.

2. Can computers outsmart mathematicians?

I just listened to a talk of this title by Kevin Buzzard, a mathematician at Imperial College, London. He works on arithmetic geometry (number theory + algebraic geometry) and is a reputed mathematician. He is working with his undergraduates to teach computers (specifically, the program LEAN) the basic definitions and theorems of mathematics and verify or even prove theorems. So far they have taught it “about half” of the undergraduate mathematics. Buzzard thinks that within our lifetime computers would be able to even help researchers prove theorems, if not more.

3. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport) National Math festival videos

Watch interesting talks such as Steve Strogatz’ “Infinite Calculus,” Robbert Dijkgraaf’s “Mathematics of Black Holes and the Big Bang.”