2018-2019 Seminar Series
Fall 2018
Wednesday, November 14th
Speaker: Dr. Ben Kane, Assistant Professor University of Hong Kong
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: TBD
Monday, November 5th
Speaker: Dr. Robert Lemke Oliver, Assistant Professor Tufts University
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: COLH 446
Title: Prime numbers, randomness, and the gambler's fallacy
Wednesday, September 5th
Departmental Seminar
Speaker: Daniel T. Michaels, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, National Institute for Newman Studies
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: COLH 446
Title: "Interactive and Interoperable - Technology for Image-based Resources"
SPRING 2018
Wednesday, April 25th
Speaker: Olga Litvinova, Fulbright Visiting Researcher
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: College Hall 104
FALL 2017
Thursday, November 30th
Speaker: Dr. Simonetta Frittelli, Associate Professor Duquesne University
Time: 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Location: College Hall 444
Monday, November 27th
Speaker: Timothy Ireland, Duquesne Alum
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Location: College Hall 444
Title: "Getting to Why: how mathematical modeling shapes our understanding of the world."
SPRING 2017
Wednesday, February 15th
Speaker: Vladimir Ginzburg, International Rolling Mill Consultants
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Title: Introduction to a Toryx - One Step Beyond Elementary Math
Friday, February 24th
Speaker: James Ricci, Daemen College
Time: TBD
Location: College Hall 446
Title: Searching for Solutions to Polynomial Equations: A Survey of Results from Euclid to Present Day
Abstract:The quadratic formula can give us a false sense of understanding of just how difficult it can be to find solutions to polynomial equations. Looking at higher degree polynomials or multivariable equations quickly complicates matters. Even restricting our attention to only whole number solutions makes some natural questions very difficult to solve: Can you list all of the numbers that arise as the sum of two squares? This list will include all of the perfect squares, but also includes numbers like 1+4=5 or 4+9=13. So, can you classify every number that can be written in this way? These kinds of problems have intrigued mathematicians for centuries and have been studied by some of the most famous mathematicians in history including Euclid, Pythagoras, Gauss, and Fermat. This talk will give a brief history of these types of questions and survey some of the results obtained from Ancient Greece to present day. Only a basic knowledge of polynomials and precalculus will be assumed!
Wednesday, March 22nd
Speaker: Thomas Dean, U. of Illinois at Chicago
Time: 2:00- 3:00
Location: College Hall 446
Title: Forcing and the Continuum Hypothesis
FALL 2016
Thursday, September 15th
Speaker: Barry Minemyer, The Ohio State University
Time: 3:10 - 4:00 pm
Location: College Hall 439
Title: The geometry of n-dimensional triangles via edge length
Wednesday, September 28th
Speaker: Tyelr Gaona and Donovan Ramsey, Duquesne University
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Title: TBA
Wednesday, October 12th
Speaker: Dr. Ben Linowitz, Oberlin College
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Title: TBA
Monday, October 24th
Speaker: Dr. Chris Rasmussen, Wesleyan University
Time: 11:00 - 11:50 am
Location: College Hall 446
Title: TBA
Friday, November 4th
Speaker: Dr. Katie Haymaker, Villanova University
Time: 11:00 am
Location: College Hall 446
Title: Winning a bet using error-correcting codes
Abstract: This talk will introduce two known historical instances in which betting games could be "won" by using error-correcting codes. The first is a football pool challenge, in which a bet consists of predicting the outcome of a list of games, where each game can result in a Win, a Loss, or a Draw. The second example is a more recent lottery game that involves choosing 6 numbers between 1 and 46. An error-correcting code is a subset of an n-dimensional vector space with some special properties. In this talk we will see how codes arise naturally in the setting of lottery tickets and football pools. We'll outline the connections between these games and particular codes, and talk about how codes can be used to win.