Seminar Archive
2018 - 2019 Seminars
Spring 2019
Monday, April 15th
Speaker: Tim Ireland, Quantitative Researcher at Rotella Capital Management (Duquesne Class of 2017)
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Location: COLH 444
Title: "How to make good decisions: a statistical introduction to reinforcement learning"
Wednesday, March 13th
Speaker: James Matuk
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: COLH 446
Title: Functional and Shape Data Analysis
Abstract: Functional and shape data analysis is a field in statistics that concerns itself with data that takes the form of vector valued functions defined on a time domain. This format encompasses data sources that are used in many scientific fields including biomarkers in medicine, functional magnetic resonance imaging time courses in neuroscience, and signature data and image contours in computer vision. While these data are rich with information, they are difficult to work with because of their distinctive nature.
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"
2017 - 2018 Seminars
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."
2016 - 2017 Seminars
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.
2015 - 2016 Seminars
SPRING 2016
Wednesday, January 20th
Speaker: Dr. Dr. Brian Harbourne, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Time: 2:00 - 2:50 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Poster with details
Thursday, March 10th
Speaker: Dr. Scott Christley, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Time: 3:00 - 3:50 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Monday, March 21st
Speaker: Dr. Darci Kracht, Kent State University
Time: 2:00 - 2:50 pm
Location: College Hall 105
Thursday, March 31st
Speaker: Timothy Converse, Pine Richland High School
Time: 4:30 - 5:30 pm
Location: College Hall 446
FALL 2015
Friday, November 13th
Topic: Experiences from Google
Speaker: Timothy James, Google and University of Pittsburgh
Time: 2:00 - 2:50 pm
Location: College Hall 444
Poster with details
Monday, October 19th
Topic: A career in actuarial science
Speaker: Jami Eckman, Mercer
Time: 3:00 - 3:50 pm
Location: College Hall 444
Poster with details
Wednesday, September 23rd
Topic: 17 Weird Facts About Science Writing That Will Totally Blow Your Mind
Speaker: Dr. Anna Haensch, Duquesne University
Date: Wednesday, September 23rd
Time: 2:00 - 2:50 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Poster with details
Friday, September 11th
Topic: Undergraduate Research in Mathematics
Speakers: Kinardi Isnata, James Matuk, AJ Vogt, and Thomas Dean
Date: Friday, September 11th
Time: 12:00 - 1:50 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Poster with details
2014 - 2015 Seminars
Speaker: Special Agent Denise Holtz, FBI Pittsburgh
Date: January 26th 4:30 - 5:30 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Topic: Careers in the FBI
Poster with Abstract
Speaker: Dr. George Mikros, University of Athens
Date: February 6th 3:00 - 3:50 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Topic: "Author vs. Translator: Who reigns the text? Applying computational stylistics methods to translated literary texts"
Poster with Abstract
Speaker: Corlayn McCauley, Ph.D., DU Liberal Arts Career Counselor
Date: March 18th 12:00 - 12:50 pm
Topic: General information about careers and professional preparation for math and computer science majors
Speaker: Dr. Jeff Jackson, DU Department of Math and Computer Science
Date: April 1st 2:00 - 2:50 pm
Topic: "What is a theorem?"
Poster with Abstract
Speaker: Dr. Carl Cowen, IUPUI Department of Mathematical Sciences
Date: Monday, April 13th 3:00 - 3:50 pm
Topic: "How is New Mathematics Changing YOUR Life Today and in the Future?"
Poster with Abstract
Speaker: Dr. Bill Mance, University of North Texas Dept of Mathematics
Date: Tuesday, April 21st 9:25 - 10:40 am
Topic: Different Flavors of Normal Numbers
Poster with Abstract
Speaker: Torrey Gallagher, Ph.D. candidate at University of Pittsburgh
Date: November 17th 4:30 - 5:30 pm
Location: College Hall 446
Topic: Grad School in Mathematics
Poster with Abstract
Speaker: Xavier Szigethy, P.E., Bombardier Transportation
Date: October 16th 3:05 - 3:55 pm
Location: College Hall 104
Topic: Applied Mathematics in Engineering
Poster with Abstract
Speaker: Dr. Linda Braddy, Mathematical Association of America
Date: September 11th 3:00 - 3:50 pm
Location: College Hall 104
Topic: "You should be a math major!"
Poster with Abstract