Math Dept 2021-2022 Newsletter 4
Monday, 25 October 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
TUESDAYS
Seminar on Topological Semigroups
The seminar will include applications to Ramsey theory.
Tuesdays, 10:10 am
Contact coordinator for zoom invite.
Coordinator Dennis Davenport
Combinatorics Seminar
Meeting at 3pm on Tuesdays this semester.
Contact coordinator Lou Shapiro for zoom link
WEDNESDAYS
Applied Math Reading Seminar
Wednesdays online from 12 to 1pm.
Students will get to practice studying papers and working on research problems. This semester the topic is Machine Learning. Session 2 to N will be recorded.
Please write the coordinator for original handouts or for the recording link.
Contact coordinator for zoom link as well.
Coordinator: Katie Gurski
Math team/Math Club meetings
Organizers: Jill McGowan (math club), Lou Shapiro (math team)
Number Theory Seminar
Select Wednesdays, 4-5pm, on zoom
Next talk on Nov 2, Sankar Sitaraman
(If departmental meeting is scheduled for that time, seminar will be moved to following Wednesday).
Topic: Artin’s Primitive Roots Conjecture
The first few talks will be introductory. In general the talks will be accessible to graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Coordinator: Sankar Sitaraman
Thursdays
Graduate Student Seminar
TBA
Coordinator: Noel Bourne
Fridays
Mathematics Department Colloquium
This semester our Colloquium talks are shared between us and Cornell's Colloquium.
Friday, Oct 29, 4.10 to 5pm.
Song Sun, UC Berkeley
Geometry of hyperKahler 4-manifolds.
On Friday, Oct 22, Lei Zhang of the University of Florida spoke about the asymptotic behavior of solutions to the Yamabe equation.
TALKS AND WORKSHOPS OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT
1. NASA HBCU/MSI Technology Infusion Road Tour
Organized by the NASA Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) in collaboration with the Office of Procurement (OP) and Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). This collaboration provides an open platform for HBCU and MSI representatives to learn about OSTEM's Minority Serving Institutions Sustainability Initiative, Agency acquisition opportunities, product service lines and Vendor Database, STMD's Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) opportunities, as well as research opportunities, grants, fellowships and contracts within each of the four Mission Directorates. The virtual workshop will be held on November 16-17, 2021.
More information and registration.
2. COMAP’S Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling are international contests open to undergraduate students of all disciplines. The MCM/ICM contest problems are designed to provide students with the opportunity to work as team members to engage in and improve their modeling, problem solving, and writing skills. Teams from your school apply mathematics to model and develop a solution to a real-world problem.
https://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/register.php.
Each team can have up to three students from the same school. There is no limit on the number of teams a school can register for the contest. Team members may work virtually. Teams work together on the contest problem over the extended weekend February 17-21, 2022.
3. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport) FALL 2021 CHICAGO SYMPOSIUM SERIES ON EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
The next talk will be on November 12, on Science and self-care.
For more information go to chicagosymposium.org
4. (Thanks to Aziz Yakubu) The American Fisheries Society (AFS) Conference, HBCU day
AFS invites students from local HBCUs/MSI to join us for a day at our annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday, November 7. We will provide you free registration for the day and open up all AFS activities that day for your participation, including a set of events designed especially for students.The Conference–The AFS annual conference is typically the worlds largest gathering of fisheries and related aquatic scientists, educators, students,non-profit conservation organizations and federal/state agencies.
5. (Thanks to Aziz Yakubu) Undergraduate research event at Duke University
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Duke University, Durham, NC
New Connections in Math (NCM21) is a research symposium for undergraduate students interested in analysis, probability, PDE, computation, and applied mathematics. The program will include:
student research talks and poster session, faculty keynote speakers, a panel discussion with grad students and faculty about opportunities for graduate study, and many opportunities to interact with other mathematicians.
6. Wikipedia assignments in math courses
Wikipedia assignments are a good supplement to a course, especially advanced or specialized courses. The application to run a Wikipedia assignment in Winter/Spring 2022 is now open! The deadline to submit your application is November 21, 2021. To submit your course page, login at https://dashboard.wikiedu.org and click on create course to either clone an existing page or start one from scratch. Be sure to hit the submit button when you're ready.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. (Thanks to Yeona Kang and Dennis Davenport)
Congratulations to math majors Naomi Rankin and Nina Bryan for being
selected for oral presentation at the NAM MATHFest on Oct 1. Naomi won the award for best presentation.
Her presentation was titled “Agent-Based Model of COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship.”
Nina
Bryan talked about “Ensemble Learning Model in Regression QSPR
Application.”
SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
(from various sources)
1. DHS summer research program for faculty
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer Research Team (SRT) Program for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) is now accepting applications for faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) interested in participating in a summer research team experience.
2. MGB-SIAM Early career fellowship
The intent of this three-year Fellowship is to recognize the achievements of early career applied mathematicians – particularly those belonging to racial and ethnic groups historically excluded from the mathematical sciences in the United States – and to provide meaningful support for professional activities and career development.
MGB-SIAM Early Career Fellows will receive:
Complimentary SIAM membership for the duration of the Fellowship, complimentary registration to SIAM Annual Meetings and one additional SIAM Activity Group meeting, travel support to attend SIAM meetings, mentoring and professional development opportunities, leadership and conference organization experience.
3. (Thanks to Aziz Yakubu) Postdoctoral fellowship at Carnegie-Mellon
The
Department of Mathematical Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University
invites applications for a two or three-year postdoctoral position in
the research group of Professor Hayden Schaeffer on the topics of the
mathematics of machine learning, sparse optimization, compressive
sensing, and reduced order modeling, beginning September
2022.
Applicants should submit all materials electronically
through Interfolio
and
MathJobs.
This includes a cover letter, curriculum vitae, list of publications,
and a statement describing current and planned research. At least
three letters of recommendation, one of which addresses teaching,
should be submitted through MathJobs. For full consideration,
applications should be submitted by November 15, 2021.
In previous newsletters:
The AMS Congressional Fellowships.
The NIH-Wide Stadtman investigator search
Solar Energy Innovators Program
Seeking volunteer math tutors
Hertz Foundation fellowship for graduate students
INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
1. The Plight of Adjunct Faculty on America’s Campuses
Key points:
The number of part-time and contingent faculty has grown steadily over the last 40 years.
Many adjunct faculty live in poverty despite having a Ph.D. and years of teaching experience.
Women and minorities occupy an inordinate share of adjunct positions in the U.S.
Adjuncts nationwide are attempting to unionize to improve their working conditions.