Math Dept 2026-27 Newsletter 1
Monday, 5 September 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.
Welcome back to a new academic year! Hope all had a nice summer – Ed
MEETINGS AND SEMINARS IN THE DEPARTMENT
MONDAYS
Seminar on Topological Semigroups
Time TBA
On May 4 Neil Hindman spoke about “Cartesian Products of semigroups, FC, and SFC”
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 April 14, Joon Ha talked about “Understanding Diabetes through Mathematical Models”. On April 21, Ahmet Yildirim spoke about “A Memory Based Quantitative Framework for Postmortem Interval Estimation with Uncertainty Bounds.”
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.
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AI, combinatorics, and number theory seminar
Alternate Tuesdays 2 to 3pm.
On Sep 15, Dennis Davenport will be the speaker.
This is organized by Angelica Babei as part of her NSF grant.
Contact organizer for zoom link.
WEDNESDAYS
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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SIAM undergraduate research seminar
On April 8 Madison Simmons spoke.
Title: Validation of Real-World Treatment Comparative Effectiveness in Membranous Nephropathy using MENTOR Trial Data
More information : Contact Jillian Alexander
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THURSDAYS
Number Theory Seminar
Seminars are on Thursdays, 3.15 to 4.15pm.
On Sep 3, Angelica Babei spoke about noncongruence modular form and their computation.
Contact coordinators for zoom link.
Coordinators: Angelica Babei and Sankar Sitaraman
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FRIDAYS
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Friday Chill Math (problem session)
Jermaine McDermott is organizing informal problem sessions for students interested in exams such as the Putnam exam.
Fridays 1.30 to 3 pm, room 203.
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Graduate Students Seminar
Seminar meets fridays 2.30 to 3.30pm.
Contact person: Toni Smith
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Mathematics Department Colloquium
Fridays, 4.10 to 5pm. Room 109.
Our first three seminars were given by our own faculty. On Sep 4, Cheikh Ndiaye spoke on Mass, Interaction, and Uniformization in Conformal Geometry.
On August 28, Roberto De Leo spoke on Free maps on tori in critical dimension.
On August 21, Dennis Davenport spoke on Riordan Arrays, Pseudo-Involutions, and AI-Assisted Mathematical Discovery
The colloquium schedule and videos are available at this website: https://deleo.website/HU/colloquium.html
TALKS AND WORKSHOPS OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT
1. (Thanks to Talitha Washington) STATFEST 2026, Sep 17 and 24.
This workshop is free to register. It is aimed at under-represented student groups who might be interested in a career in Statistics.
2. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport) NAM undergraduate MATHFEST 2026
Sep 24-26, Winston-Salem University. Registration is closed now.
3. (Thanks to Talitha Washington) Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics (SUMS) conference
Saturday, Nov 7 at James Madison University.
4. (Thanks to Sam Hopkins) Towson University Undergraduate Research Conference
The Department of Mathematics at Towson University will host the 15th Regional Undergraduate Mathematics Research Conference. The conference will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 10 am until 5:30 pm on Towson University campus, which is located in the North Baltimore area (registration starts at 9:30 am). We invite undergraduate students (at all levels of their studies in Pure and Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Actuarial Science, and Mathematics Education) to present at the conference. Students can present results of completed original research in mathematical sciences or give an expository talk or give a talk about research projects in progress. They can also just attend the conference.
5. Mid-atlantic Algebra, Geometry and Combinatorics (MAAGC) workshop
Register by September 23 to receive full consideration for funding for travel and housing.
When: Friday to Sunday, October 23-25, 2026
Where: Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA
6. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport) Free webinars on grant proposal process, data science, etc.,
Organized by QEM network (Quality education for minorities)
Registration for Sep 10 talk on Data Science for Everyone.
In previous newsletters:
Fifth International Conference on Enumerative Combinatorics and Applications
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Talitha Washington gave the keynote address at SIAM meeting in July on “Shaping the Future of Applied Mathematics Education in the Age of AI,” highlighting the department’s work on AI. Conference Website
2. Congratulations to Joon Ha and Cheikh Ndiaye for their promotion to Full Professor.
3. Moussa
Doumbia writes:
“I'm honored to be selected as one of the inaugural AWS Machine
Learning University Faculty Fellows for the 2026–2027 cohort.
As
a Fellow, I'll facilitate AI/ML instruction and help university
faculty bring artificial intelligence and machine learning into their
teaching and research.
Why this matters to me: the biggest
bottleneck in AI education isn't student interest — it's equipping
educators to teach it well. This fellowship is a chance to work on
that problem directly, alongside AWS MLU.” Congratulations to
Moussa Doumbia.
4. Francois Ramaroson and his friend Jasbir Chahal recollect fond memories of their thesis advisor Prof. Takashi Ono (who recently passed away), along with his son Ken Ono, in the August issue of the Notices of the AMS.
5. Angelica Babei was awarded a grant from the NSF for her project "Collaborative Research: AIMing: Advancing Combinatorics and Number Theory with AI." Her collaborators are Kyu-Hwan Lee (University of Connecticut), Xiaoyu Huang (Temple University), and François Charton (Axiom Math and Ecole des Ponts / CERMICS). She writes: “This project aims to produce data-driven discoveries in combinatorics and number theory through new methods and paradigms based on artificial intelligence (AI). This is a 3-year grant. In addition to regular research activities, the grant supports a yearly summer school (the first one will be at Howard in Summer 2027!), as well as the bi-weekly online seminar on AI, combinatorics and number theory.”
6. Inaugural doctoral regalia meetup
During black history month the museum of African-American history and culture will host a doctoral regalia meetup. On Saturday feb 7 recent doctoral graduates from all disciplines are invited for a group photo and walk through the museum.
In previous newsletters
Videos from “Journeys of Black Mathematicians”
AMS Special Session organized by Ahmet Yildirim
SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
(from various sources)
1. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport)
Positions at Clark Atlanta University
Open faculty positions in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Clark Atlanta University, including Lecturer and tenure-track Assistant Professor positions beginning Fall 2026.
The department is chaired by Howard University graduate Dr. Lakeshia Legette Jones.
2. Environmental Management Scholarship Program for STEM Students
Program for undergraduates, in US DOE office of environmental management. Application due Nov 1.
In previous newsletters
Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) positions
and several internship opportunities.
INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES
1.(Thanks to Talitha Washington)
a) Warning on using AI tools for teaching and learning
Talitha Washington wrote: Please note that confidential information, personally identifiable information, or student education records should not be entered into AI systems in connection with teaching and learning activities. At the moment, the only Howard University AI tool that has privacy and security safeguards is Microsoft Copilot. Think of using non-Howard University AI tools as equivalent to putting the data out on the World Wide Web. Hence, please be good stewards of student privacy and their creative works.
b) Leiden Declaration on AI use in mathematics
"This declaration calls for action to address the challenges posed by the use of artificial intelligence within mathematics research. It is the result of a community initiative and is endorsed by the International Mathematical Union (IMU).”
2. OPEN AI proves difficult math problems
Open AI was able to prove ten research level mathematics and theoretical computer science problems. In related news, Claude (by Anthropic) was able to help mathematicians to improve the known estimate of number of zeroes of the Riemann Zeta function on the critical line.
3. A Tribute to the Mathematically Marvelous Soccer Ball
“As the World Cup final approaches, take a moment to appreciate the beautiful symmetries of humanity’s favorite truncated icosahedron.”
NYTimes article from July 17
4. 2026 Fields Medals awarded to four mathematicians
From IMU website