MCSP Seminar - Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions

The final MCSP Seminar of the term will take place on Tuesday, March 25 at 11:30 in SC 134.  The featured speaker will be Kevin Gerstle, a graduate student in mathematics at the University of Iowa.  He will deliver a presentation entitled, "Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions."
(See below for an abstract.)  As always, refreshments (cookies and beverages) will be provided.  We hope to see you and your students there!

-Ben


March 25 Speaker: Kevin Gerstle, University of Iowa graduate student

Title: "Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions"

Abstract:
Models of random motion can be used in all scientific disciplines to study phenomena ranging from the rise and fall of stock prices to the motion of pollen particles through water. In particular, models of Brownian motion can be used to describe the behavior of random, continuous motion through any number of dimensions.

By letting these randomly moving particles, ie: Brownian particles, travel through a two-dimensional domain, we can learn valuable information about the shape and structure of the domain by determining how far from their starting points Brownian particles will first hit the domain's boundary. In doing so, we will construct the "harmonic measure distribution functions" (HMD-functions) for these domains and discuss just what information these functions encode. For example: are the domains bounded? Do they have any corners or cusps? Do they have any holes in them? Are their boundaries connected?

We will examine the HMD-functions of several different types of domains using both geometrical and computational methods and then look in particular at a class of circle domains for which the HMD-functions are of particular interest. In doing so, we will use concepts from analysis, geometry, probability, and computational theory in order to define these functions and to explain their significance.

Math Symposium at Simpson College

Midwest Undergraduate Mathematics Symposium

Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, 2014

Simpson College - Carver Science Center - Indianola, Iowa

You, your students, and your colleagues are invited to attend the 11th annual Midwest Undergraduate Mathematics Symposium (MUMS).  The purpose of MUMS is to promote, share, and celebrate student engagement in the mathematical sciences.  In addition to the contributed presentations, there will be two plenary talks and two panel discussions.  This year the plenary talks will be given by Dr. Jitka Stehnova from Mount Mercy University and Dr. Kathryn Leonard from California State University Channel Islands.

Undergraduate students and faculty are invited to present 10-15 minute talks or posters from any area of mathematics.  Possible topics for presentations include, but are not limited to:

·         results of class projects;
·         solutions to contest problems (Putnam Exam, modeling competitions, etc.);
·         results from undergraduate research projects (summer programs, capstone courses, etc.);
·         expository talks on interesting topics in mathematics;
·         papers on the history of mathematics;
·         mathematics education projects; and
·         independent work in mathematics, statistics, computer science, or related disciplines.

Abstracts are due by Friday, March 28.  Student travel stipends are available; they will be awarded in order received and as funding allows.

More detailed information can be found on the MUMS 2014 website (simpson.edu/math/mathematics-events/midwest-undergraduate-mathematics-symposium/) and in the attached call for presentations.  Have questions?  Contact the symposium directors, Dr. Heidi Berger (515-961-1837) and Dr. Bill Schellhorn (515-961-1321) at MUMS@simpson.edu.

Funding for MUMS 2014 is provided by NSF grant DMS-0846477 through the MAA Regional Undergraduate Mathematics Conferences program (maa.org/RUMC).  Additional funding is provided by the Simpson College Mathematics Department (simpson.edu/math).

We hope that you are able to attend!

Applied Math REU in California

UC Merced Applied Mathematics 
2014 Summer Undergraduate Research Program
June-August, 2014

[Click here for flyer]

The Applied Math Summer Undergraduate Research Program at UC Merced is called the ARCHIMEDES Summer Program, and it stands for Applied ResearCH In ModEling and Data-Enabled Science. The objectives of the program are to:

1. Introduce students to scientific computing to strengthen programming skills,
2. Use mathematical models to solve real-world problems,
3. Apply computational tools to research level problems, and
4. Analyze results using data and translate into scientific context.

The ARCHIMEDES Program will run for 9 weeks. In the first week, students will participate in a computational "bootcamp" designed to develop fundamental computational skills, preparatory to doing research during the rest of their summer program. The students will then work intensely for the remaining eight weeks, inteams of four and with a faculty mentor, on projects with strong computational and modeling components. Students will actively participate in weekly workshops and presentations to practice and improve their oral communication skills. They will also produce a technical report and a poster, and present at a public research symposium at the end of the program.

PROJECTS

1. Sensitivity Analysis of a Mathematical Model of Blood Coagulation. Blood coagulation is a large network of biochemical reactions that produces an enzyme necessary to clot formation and the cessation of bleeding. Mathematical models have been developed to better understand blood coagulation and to predict outcomes of perturbations to the reaction network. Assessing the predictive capability of such models is crucial if they are to be used to inform clinicians. In this project, students will first learn the biology of blood coagulation, basic theory of ODEs and methods to solve them using MATLAB, and core methodology of sensitivity analyses. They will incorporate cellular-surface binding into a current mathematical model of coagulation, perform sensitivity analysis of the model to its kinetic rate constants, and determine the predictive capability of the model. They will compare results from the mathematical model with those from other models and experiments published in biological literature.Project Mentors: Prof. Karin Leiderman and Prof. Suzanne Sindi.

2. Optimization Methods in Imaging. With the advent of cheaper cameras, large volumes of data in the form of images are generated everyday. To process such data, fast, robust, accurate, and scalable computational methods are needed. This research project will focus on optimization methods for extracting information from noisy and inexact observations from imaging. In particular, we are interested in applications where a sequence of measurements are obtained, such as videos. These problems are high-dimensional. Thus, large-scale optimization methods are needed to solve these problems. For this project, students will (1) model how the signal is projected onto the observed data, (2) solve the recovery problem using large-scale optimization algorithms, and (3) analyze the results and compare them to known data to evaluate the model and the optimization methods. This project will consider different types of approaches for optimization, such as first-order methods and matrix-free methods.Project Mentor: Prof. Roummel Marcia.

APPLICATION
Applications will be due on March 1, 2014. They will consist of the following:

1. Application form (download here)
2. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member (download form here)
3. Transcript from current institution (non-official transcripts will be acceptable).

Email application forms and transcripts to archimedes at ucmerced dot edu. All applicants must a United States citizen or permanent U.S. resident.

All qualified undergraduate students are encouraged to apply to this summer program. Particular emphasis will be placed on broadening the participation of members of groups historically underrepresented in science and engineering: women, African Americans, Alaska natives, American natives, Hispanic Americans, Native Pacific Islanders, and persons with disabilities.

CONTACT
If you are interested in this program, send an email for further information:
Program Director: Prof. Roummel Marcia (rmarcia at ucmerced dot edu)
Program Co-Director: Prof. Karin Leiderman (kleiderman at ucmerced dot edu)

PIMS Undergraduate Workshop on Supersymmetry

The PIMS Undergraduate Workshop on Supersymmetry will be held at the
Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences at the University of
British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, on May 25-31, 2014.

In physics, supersymmetry is a pairing between different types of
particles.  One may study supersymmetry mathematically by using graph
theory and abstract algebra.  The PIMS workshop is a weeklong program
for undergrads.  It will combine lectures introducing research problems
in math and physics with problem-solving sessions and opportunities for
career development.

For more information, or to apply, visit the workshop website:

http://people.uwec.edu/whitchua/supersymmetry/

Travel funding is available for US and Canadian citizens and permanent
residents.

Research Experience at Winthrop University

I am happy to announce that Winthrop University will be hosting a Research Experience for Undergraduates program: Bridging Applied and Theoretical Mathematics from May 28^th through July 25^th.  This summer's research themes are Interactions between differential equations and cancer biology and Interactions between algebraic geometry, combinatorics and phylogenetics. More detailed information is available at http://www.birdnest.org/wureu/.  Applications are due on February 28^th and are available https://www.mathprograms.org/db.  

We welcome applications from all hard working mathematics students, and especially those from groups traditionally underrepresented in mathematics graduate programs.  This program is designed for students from primarily undergraduate institutions, and other who may have limited access to research experiences.

Feel free to forward this to others you think might benefit from a summer mathematics research experience in a welcoming environment.