2020-2022 Seminar Series
Spring 2022
Thursday, March 17th
Speaker: Javier Gomez-Calderon Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and former Mathematics Coordinator at Penn State New Kensington.
Time: 10:50am-12:05pm
Location: College Hall 220
Light refreshments will be provided
Title: Fermat's Last Theorem, An accessible over look and appreciation of one of the most famous problems in Mathematics
Abstract:This is a talk for a general math audience. The main purpose of the talk is to illustrate why Fermat's Last Theorem is one of the most famous problems in the history of mathematics. Following a historical approach, we show how this famous problem promoted an amazing development of mathematics, from Pythagoras (VI BC) to our contemporary Mathematician Andrew Wiles. This is an accessible talk where concepts of advance mathematics are briefly discussed.
Fall 2021
Friday, November 5th
Speaker: Ms. Natalie Gilbert, Duquesne computer science alumna, Software Manager at PNC Bank
Time: 3:00pm
Location: College Hall 446
Refreshments will be provided
Title: A Day in the LIfe of a Post Grad CS Student
One of our BSCS alums, Natalie Gilbert, is currently a software manager at PNC bank and is interested in sharing some of what she has learned in the "real world" with Duquesne computer science students. She will be presenting a seminar on career options for CS graduates, including:
• Lead Developer
• Architect
• Software Manager
• Database/Mainframe Administrator
• Security Specialist
• Technical Business Analyst
*Ms. Gilbert has the authority to hire developers at PNC and is open to students bringing their resumes to the seminar*
Spring 2021
Monday, March 29th
Speaker: Dr. Hayley Iben, Duquesne computer science alumna, Director of Engineering at Pixar
Time: 4:30pm presentation; 5:30pm: Learn about Dr. Iben's career path + Q&A
Location: Virtual, Zoom information available upon request (rebholzb@duq.edu)
Title: Simulating Hair for Animated Films
Abstract: Hair simulation in animated feature films presents many challenges, ranging from incorporating artistic control to dealing with extreme, non-physical character motion. In a production environment, hair simulation needs to be fast, stable, and usable without excessive parameter tuning in order to produce content efficiently. These challenges only increase when simulating a variety of hair styles on numerous characters in the film. In this talk I will present our method for stably simulating stylized hair that addresses these artistic needs and performance demands. In addition to the underlying hair model that defines the physical motion, I will discuss various artistic controls and approaches used to produce our final hair simulations in several feature films.
Monday, March 8th
Speaker: James Matuk, Duquesne Mathematics alumni and Ph.D. Candidate in Statistics at Ohio State University
Time: 2pm presentation, 3pm Q&A with students about graduate school
Location: Virtual presentation, Zoom information available upon request (rebholzb@duq.edu)
Title: Shape-Based Classification of Curves
Abstract: Functional Data Analysis and Statistical Shape Analysis are research areas in statistics that are concerned with the summarization, visualization, classification, prediction, and inference for data that vary over a continuum. Of particular interest are planar curves which are useful in describing boundaries of objects in images. In this talk, I will begin with an overview of the primary challenges for analysis of planar curves and the Elastic Shape Analysis (ESA) framework which provides tools for working with these data. Then, I will present a Bayesian model within the ESA framework for shape-based classification of curves that is motivated by an application from environmental anthropology.
Spring 2020
Wednesday, February 19th
Speaker: Ms. Coralyn McCauley
Time: 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
Location: College Hall 449
Refreshments will be provided
Title: Employment opportunities for math majors
During the seminar, Coralyn McCauley (DU Career Development Seminar) will provide an overview of Handshake, an online tool for finding internships and jobs. We will also discuss what job titles you might look for when searching for employment opportunities and how to create a resume that highlights your skills as a math major.