Math Dept 2016-2017 Newsletter 7
Monday, 7 November 2016
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Past newsletters can now be reached via the department website.
[Click on ŇRead 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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Combinatorics Seminar
Mondays at 2pm, in room 203.
Coordinator: Lou Shapiro
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Geometry & Topology
Seminar
This week the speaker will be Joseph Yeager.
Title: Compact Riemann Surfaces.
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 2:10--3:00 in Annex III, room
231.
Neil Hindman
will be talking about "An Elementary Introduction to MartinŐs Axiom"
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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Fridays
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Mathematics
Department Colloquium
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Friday, November 11
VeteranŐs Day Holiday
4.10 to 5 pm, ASB-B 213
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Fluid dynamics seminar
Note from Neil: No more pizza and drinks if
attendance is low, especially among students.
Seminar usually takes place after
colloquium, and at 4.30 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. (from Aziz Yakubu) Workshop on infectious
diseases at Howard university
December 3, 2016.
Participation in this workshop is free and lunch will be provided.
For more
information, please see the website at: http://humathbio.weebly.com.
To register,
go to: http://tinyurl.com/humathbio
2. (From
Aziz Yakubu) The Duke University workshop on Applications of Mathematics to
Physiology and Medicine:
May 21-31 2017
An Undergraduate Workshop website is up and
accepting applications.
Application website:
https://www.mathprograms.org/db/programs/491
SAMSI's Undergraduate
Workshop: February 27-28, 2017
Apply
for workshop: http://samsi.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8d81ec133891cc606c5dc3af&id=44edee1498&e=7c2b0bab85
Application
deadline is Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Location:
SAMSI, Research Triangle Park, NC
The
Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) will host a
two-day undergraduate workshop
on topics of current interest in statistics and
applied mathematics.
In
addition to an overview of current and planned SAMSI Research Programs,
the program topic Optimization (OPT) will be
covered in some depth.
In previous newsletters:
(from Aziz Yakubu) The 2017 Building Future
Faculty (BFF) program
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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1. (from Louise
Raphael) Obituary for Ralph Turner by a
Good Friend (who wishes to remain anonymous)
In Memoriam for Dr. Ralph B. Turner
Dr. Ralph B. Turner, who
passed away on September 10th, 2016, at the age of 87 years, had been drawn to
the study of mathematics in high school because, as he said, he "began to
realize that
there was a world in which you could figure things out logically". Accepted at Howard University in 1945,
he commuted from his home in Prince George's County to college by bus, and
earned his way through college by working as a waiter in the US Senate dining
room. While at Howard, Ralph was
very fortunate and grateful to have been mentored in mathematics by the
world-renowned probabilist, Professor David Blackwell, University of California,
Berkeley.
Ralph graduated summa cum laude in the Class of '49.
With the limited
opportunities available in that era, Ralph taught mathematics for a number of
years at Southern University in Baton Rouge. As the mid 1950's presented new
opportunities, Ralph was hired by IBM in 1958. He worked for several years at the
company's research center before transferring to its System Development
Division (SDD) in Endicott, New York.
IBM granted him leave to obtain a master's degree at the University of
Wisconsin, and later a doctorate at Brown University. Dr. TurnerŐs thesis in fluid mechanics
was a theoretical model of the physical SeaWorld conditions required for the
development of a tsunami. His model
was not conclusive, but one of the stages that has led to more conclusive
models.
Upon his return to IBM
Endicott, Dr. Turner was promoted to senior engineer, and transferred in 1974
to IBM's newly opened SDD in Gaithersburg, Maryland. During the early 1980's, IBM introduced
a faculty loan program: with several colleges and universities to bring expertise
in the commercial and computing world closer to undergraduate college
students. Dr. Turner
taught one academic year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
another year at the University of Houston.
Dr, Turner
retired from IBM in 1987 and, to his great joy, returned to his alma mater,
where he taught in the Howard University Department of Mathematics for a number
of years. Dr. Turner
enjoyed exchanging ideas and thoughts with all of his colleagues and students. He also enjoyed the luncheons in the
cafeteria and the book club discussions, which had been organized by Professor
Carrie Cowherd of the Classics Department.
Dr. Turner particularly relished his many discussions, especially on the
changes at Howard University over the past half-century, with his friend and
well-known classmate, Professor Leslie Hicks of the Psychology Department.
During his adult life,
Ralph Turner quietly helped many people when he saw them caught in the under
tide of life. During his years in
Endicott, Ralph was a Big Brother to a number of teenage children. After his retirement from IBM,
Ralph served as a representative payee for the Montgomery County Mental Health
Association until 2015. Through
this program, he became familiar with the inside of prisons and the ravages of
mental afflictions. Ralph was also
a past Master of his Masonic Lodge.
Ralph Turner was an avid
bridge player for nearly 50 years, playing in countless sanctioned games of the
American Contract Bridge League (ACBL).
He enjoyed estimating the probabilities of the card layouts and the
logical partnership communication that the game offers as well as the
opportunities provided by a level playing field. Ralph maintained many longstanding
friendships in the bridge world and was well known for his generosity and
humor. He served on the ACBL
Goodwill Committee for a number of years.
Although Ralph Turner's
travel in life took him down many paths, his outlook was grounded in his
faithful devotion to the Westphalia United Methodist Church in Upper Marlboro,
where he attended services beginning in childhood. After his return to Maryland
in 1974. Ralph served on various church committees and offices. He also sang in the choir.
Gifted with an
unforgettable resonance, Ralph TurnerŐs voice in song reflected his persona quite
well. Commanding a wide vocal
range, he sang with a very melodic quality that occasionally had a distant
melancholic undertone.
2. (from Talitha Washington) Project
showcasing the contributions
of African-American Mathematicians
There is interest from the AMS and the new Education and Diversity
Office, to run a "Lathisms (http://lathisms.org)-type"
project
for Black History Month, of
Black mathematicians.
Please let me know if you would like to work on such project and I
would be happy to recommend you.
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SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
(from various sources)
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1. (from
Dennis Davenport) 2017 Summer
Program in Biostatistics & Computational Biology at the Harvard T.H. Chan
School of Public Health
Digital
brochure can be found online
Bridge to PhD at U Penn
The
goal of this program is to increase the number of PhDŐs awarded in mathematics at
Penn to members of groups that are traditionally underrepresented. This program
is different than typical MasterŐs programs as students will be fully funded
and prepared for entry into our PhD program. Therefore, we are seeking students
with the persistence and passion to pursue the training they need to be ready
for a PhD in mathematics.
For
more details, see http://bridge.math.upenn.edu.
2. Opportunities at various federal
agencies
Dept Of Energy Scholars
Internship Program
Application Open Through December 15, 2016
For
information and to apply click here.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
2017 HS-STEM Summer Internships
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Science and Technology Directorate Office of University Programs
sponsors a
10-week summer internship program for students majoring in homeland security
related science,
technology,
engineering and mathematics (HS-STEM) disciplines.
Application deadline: December 7, 2016, 11:59PM
EST
Applications and supporting materials must be
submitted at
https://www.zintellect.com/Posting/Details/2595
Detailed information about the internships can be
found at
http://www.orau.gov/dhseducation/internships/
EPA is looking for Computational Biologist with the Office of Research and Development
at the EPA facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.
The
Biologist will assist the Bioinformatics team in the integration of datasets
relevant to human genetic susceptibility.
For the full position description and to apply,
visit our website: https://www.zintellect.com/Posting/Details/2689
In previous newsletters:
(from
Aziz Yakubu) 2017 ONR Summer Faculty
Fellowship
(from Dennis
Davenport) Budapest Semesters in Mathematics Education (BSME) program
(from Dennis
Davenport) National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
(GRFP)
(from Aziz Yakubu) Student Recruitment Visit for Harvard MD and PhD
programs
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INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
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1. (From Aziz Yakubu)
Role of Math in Biology today
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37630414