Math Dept 2025-26 Newsletter 11
Monday, 9 March 2026
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
MONDAYS
Seminar on Topological Semigroups
Mondays at 9am on zoom
Neil Hindman has been speaking.
Title: Self shifts of weakly square free sets in N^k.
Joint research with Vitaly Bergelson and Eunju Shin.
Contact coordinator for zoom invite.
Coordinator Dennis Davenport
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Data Science Seminar
Faculty and Graduate Students are invited to present their research at the Data Science Seminar. This includes research in other areas that involves data science.
Contact coordinator for more information.
Co-ordinator: Edmund Ameyaw
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TUESDAYS
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Math 300: Mathematics Graduate Seminar
This is a series of talks on research topics by faculty aimed at Graduate Students.
On Mar 3, Edmund Ameyaw spoke about predicting outcomes using machine learning. On Feb 26, Roberto DeLeo spoke about the graphs of dynamical systems.
Co-ordinator Dennis Davenport
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Algebra and Combinatorics Seminar
Combinatorics & Algebra Seminar which had been running for a number of years at George Washington University will now be a joint venture between the GW and Howard math departments. The organizers of the seminar are Joel Lewis & Robert Won (GW) and Sam Hopkins & Minh-Tam Trinh (Howard). The talks will take place 4-5pm on Tuesdays, at GWU.
WEDNESDAYS
Math team/Math Club meetings
TBA
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Math Biology Seminar
Wednesdays
Coordinators: Katie Gurski, Yeona Kang, Joon Ha, Sayomi Kamimoto, Chris Kim
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THURSDAYS
Number Theory Seminar
Seminars started on Thursday, Feb 19, 2 to 3pm.
Angelica Babei talked about working with the computation package MAGMA.
On March 19, Kyndra Middleton will be talking about her work in progress on Artin's primitive roots conjecture.
Contact coordinators for zoom link.
Coordinators: Angelica Babei, Daniel Mamo and Sankar Sitaraman
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FRIDAYS
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Graduate Students Seminar
Seminar meets fridays 2.30 to 3.30pm.
Denmarc Elisma was the speaker on February 6th and he talked about how Quantum Game Strategies Intersect Quantum Networks.
Dennis Davenport spoke on February 20th about the candidacy application process.
Contact person: Toni Smith
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Mathematics Department Colloquium
Fridays, 4.10 to 5pm. Room 213 and zoom.
The next talk will be on March 20, by Olga Bernardi of the University of Padova.
On friday, Feb 27, Benjamin Breen of Axiomatic AI spoke about using theorem verifiers along with machine learning to solve problems in math.
The colloquium schedule and videos are available at this website: https://deleo.website/HU/colloquium.html
TALKS AND WORKSHOPS OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT
1. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport) NYU Grossman School of Medicine Biostatistics seminar
In previous newsletters:
2026 NAM Faculty Conference on Research and Teaching Excellence (FCRTE). (April 10)
2026 Roots of Unity workshop (June 22-26)
Various conferences in Analysis
Workshop to bridge the Lean theorem prover and LMFDB
Online Course on Computer Simulation and Artificial Intelligence
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. (Thanks to Sam Hopkins)
(a) Math Colloquium inspires student in work on cancer screening
Last fall, Dr. Joseph Hogan, chair of the Brown University biostatistics department, gave a colloquium talk in the Howard mathematics department about his research on HIV treatment in Kenya. Dr. Hogan developed a machine learning model to predict when patients would be likely to miss their appointments, allowing clinicians to reach out to those most at risk of missing their treatments before any lapses.
One of the audience members for that talk was sophomore biology major Emma Foster. This spring, Emma started an internship at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention, a nonprofit initiative focused on reducing cancer healthcare disparities in underserved communities, which provides free yearly cancer screenings for uninsured people in Washington, DC. More from our department website about how she worked with Dr. Hogan to develop models to improve cancer screenings.
(b) Scholarship Day
We plan to bring back our scholarship day. This year we will celebrate outstanding undergraduates on April 1 (date to be confirmed). Please send nominations and letters of recommendations to Sam Hopkins.
2. Kamal Barley has published “Old Quantum Mechanics of Bohr and Sommerfeld from Modern Perspective” in Physics-Uspekhi vol 69, 74–93 (2026).
3. (Thanks to Bourama Toni) Open House for new BS in Data Science program
Open House for our new BS in Data Science, showcasing our dual BS programs in Mathematics and Data Science will be held on Thursday, April 2, 8:30-7pm at the Blackburn center. There will be talks, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. All are invited.
In previous newsletters
HU Research Month 2026
Videos from “Journeys of Black Mathematicians”
3rd annual spring meeting for MARMA (Mar 21, at Howard)
SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
(from various sources)
1. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport)
a) Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowships
Support for research faculty in STEM areas bringing expertise to new area : one year of mentored training and up to $1.5 million for five years of research in new area in mathematics or the natural sciences. Deadline May 14.
b) Karen EDGE fellowship for mid-career mathematicians
The Karen EDGE Fellowship Program seeks to support and enhance the research programs of mathematicians from underrepresented racial groups. The award consists of $8,000 per year for three years.
c) Erdos Institute Summer 2026 Programs
The Institute is a multi-university collaboration that helps graduate students and PhDs get rewarding jobs in industry and supplements professional development mentorship in graduate school programs. They offer various courses and workshops.
2. The Generation Teach Summer Teaching Fellowship is an award-winning opportunity for your students to grow as leaders, teachers, and young professionals while receiving $3,000 to support their education. Generation Teach co-creates loving communities where generations of students, teachers, and leaders learn, grow, and develop. 99% of our teaching fellows report developing transferable skills that extend beyond the teaching profession.
All majors are encouraged to apply; no teaching experience is required. Upcoming application deadlines are March 15 and April 15.
3. (Thanks to Talitha Washington) Amazon training program in Machine learning
Amazon Web Services Machine Learning University has programs for educators and administrators who wish to learn how to use AI in their fields.
4. The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) is hiring instructors and teaching assistants for this upcoming summer. CTY offers advanced academic programs for gifted elementary, middle, and high school students. Positions are available at residential colleges on the East and West coasts. More Information
5. Opportunities at DHS and DOE
a) Marine Energy Fellowship
6 months to a year fellowship for graduate students who want to work on developing new technologies for energy from waves, tides, etc., Deadline March 27.
In previous newsletters
Position at US Naval Academy
2026 SLMath Summer Graduate Schools.
Memphis Teacher Residency.
MSRI-UP 2026.
Robert Moses scholarship.
and several internship opportunities.
INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
1. Jesse Jackson : Champion for Education
Rev. Jackson, who passed away on Feb 17, advocated for improving educational opportunities for all. Throughout his career pushed for more equitable forms of public school aid for impoverished communities.
He also argued that increased support for education programs was essential in creating opportunities for young people who might otherwise end up in the criminal justice system.
2. (Thanks to Sam Hopkins) The First Proof Project (Testing AI solutions for research-level probems)
Website for the project: 1stproof.org
“First Proof” is a set of ten math questions to evaluate the capabilities of AI systems to autonomously solve problems that arise naturally in the research process.
From the authors: “About the Project: In baking, the first proof, or bulk fermentation process, is a crucial step in which one lets the entire batch of dough ferment as one mass, before dividing and shaping it into loaves. This project represents our preliminary efforts to develop an objective and realistic methodology for assessing the capabilities of AI systems to autonomously solve research-level math questions. After letting these ideas ferment in the community, we hope to produce a more structured benchmark. We present a diverse set of 10 research-level math questions, drawn from algebraic combinatorics, spectral graph theory, algebraic topology, stochastic analysis, symplectic geometry, representation theory, lattices in Lie groups, tensor analysis, and numerical linear algebra. Each question arose naturally in the research process of the authors and has been answered with a proof of roughly five pages or less, but the answers have not yet been posted online."
Incidentally, Sam also gave a talk at the joint meetings in Washington last month on using math to benchmark AI.