Speaker: Alvaro Lozano-Robledo (UConn) Title: From Diophantus to Bitcoin: why are elliptic curves everywhere? Abstract: Elliptic curves are ubiquitous in number theory, algebraic geometry, complex analysis, cryptography, physics, and beyond. They were present in Diophantus’ Arithmetica (3rd century AD) and, nowadays, they are more relevant than ever as a key ingredient in the algorithms that,…Continue Reading 3-20-2025: Alvaro Lozano-Robledo, “From Diophantus to Bitcoin: why are elliptic curves everywhere?”
Category: Uncategorized
3-4-2025: Andrew Putman, “The topology of the mapping class group.”
Speaker: Andrew Putman (Notre Dame) Tuesday Mar. 4, 3:30pm, ENGR 209 Title: The topology of the mapping class group Abstract: I will give a survey of the mapping class group, focusing on topological aspects but assuming no prior background on the subject….Continue Reading 3-4-2025: Andrew Putman, “The topology of the mapping class group.”
2-27-2025: Siddhi Krishna, “Braids: What, How and Why”
Speaker: Siddhi Krishna (Columbia) *Where and when: 4:30-5:30pm in ENGR 209 Title: Braids: What, How and Why Abstract: Braids are one of my favorite objects within math — in addition to being really useful, they help unify many different areas of math, including algebra, topology, geometry, combinatorics, and more! In this talk, I’ll tell you…Continue Reading 2-27-2025: Siddhi Krishna, “Braids: What, How and Why”
2-21-2025: Karl Schwede, “Measuring singularities over the complex numbers, in characteristic p> 0, and over the p-adic integers.”
Speaker: Karl Schwede (University of Utah) Fri. Feb. 21, 3:00 pm, Bell 2269 Title: Measuring singularities over the complex numbers, in characteristic p > 0, and over the p-adic integers. Abstract: Given a polynomial equation, one can consider it over the complex numbers and measure its singularities using geometric or analytic techniques. One may also…Continue Reading 2-21-2025: Karl Schwede, “Measuring singularities over the complex numbers, in characteristic p> 0, and over the p-adic integers.”
11-21-2024: Matthew Hedden, “Knot theory and complex curves”
Speaker: Matthew Hedden (Michigan State University) Title: Knot theory and complex curves Abstract: The modern study of knots and links has important roots in the theory of algebraic curves, where links encode subtle features of singularities. The interaction between links in 3-dimensional manifolds and algebraic curves in complex surfaces continues to be a rich source…Continue Reading 11-21-2024: Matthew Hedden, “Knot theory and complex curves”
11-07-2024: Jason Cantarella, “The Riemannian Geometry of Polygons and Polymers”
Speaker: Jason Cantarella (University of Georgia) Title: The Riemannian Geometry of Polygons and Polymers Abstract: Biopolymers like DNA and proteins and biopolymer networks like collagensurround us, but many of their features remain surprisingly poorly understood. In this talk, we discuss how the geometry of configuration spaces provides a theoretical framework for understanding polymer and network…Continue Reading 11-07-2024: Jason Cantarella, “The Riemannian Geometry of Polygons and Polymers”
10-31-2024: Avishek Chakraborty, “Efficient Spatial Models for Datasets over Large Lattices”
Speaker: Avishek Chakraborty (University of Arkansas) Title: Efficient Spatial Models for Datasets over Large Lattices Abstract: In this talk, we shall focus on spatial models where association depends on adjacency instead of distance. Such models have broad applicability including datasets indexed by geographical units or observations connected through a graph or network. Depending on the…Continue Reading 10-31-2024: Avishek Chakraborty, “Efficient Spatial Models for Datasets over Large Lattices”
10-03-2024: Ariel Barton, “Linear elliptic partial differential equations”
Speaker: Ariel Barton (University of Arkansas) Title: Linear elliptic partial differential equations Abstract: In this talk we will discuss some history and results for boundary value problems, that is, for functions that satisfy a differential equation in a domain and some conditions on its boundary. We will discuss suitable differential operators, specifically the Laplace operator…Continue Reading 10-03-2024: Ariel Barton, “Linear elliptic partial differential equations”
09-12-2024: Matt Day, “On some groups related to braiding”
Speaker: Matt Day (University of Arkansas) Title: On some groups related to braiding Abstract: We will discuss braiding from a mathematical perspective, and define somediscrete groups that are related to braids. We will state some classical theoremson these groups, and build up to recent results and questions. Nospecial background will be assumed. Diagram Credit: Trevor…Continue Reading 09-12-2024: Matt Day, “On some groups related to braiding”