LSU
Mathematics

# Calendar

Time interval:   Events:

Tuesday, September 18, 2001

Posted November 17, 2003

3:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (Room 321 Lockett)

Stanislav Zabic, Louisiana State University Department of Mathematics Graduate Student
Optimizing the Design of the Michelin PAX Tire System

Abstract: This talk analyzes a problem encountered by the Michelin Corporation in the design of a 'run-flat', or PAX, tire system. A PAX tire system consists of an aluminum wheel of larger-than-conventional radius, a low-profile tire, and a special rubber support ring inside and concentric with the tire. The goal of the support ring is to provide a safe driving transition in case of a flat tire. After the air has deflated from the tire, the support ring carries the entire load of the car. We will discuss ways to optimize the design of the support ring. This research was carried out during the summer of 2001, while the speaker was a visitor at North Carolina State University.

Tuesday, October 2, 2001

Posted September 14, 2003

3:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Michael Malisoff, LSU
Lyapunov Functions and Viscosity Solutions, Part 1

Tuesday, October 16, 2001

Posted September 14, 2003

3:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Michael Malisoff, LSU
Lyapunov Functions and Viscosity Solutions, Part 2

Tuesday, November 6, 2001

Posted September 14, 2003

3:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Michael Malisoff, LSU
Lyapunov Functions and Viscosity Solutions, Part 3

Monday, September 23, 2002

Posted October 14, 2003

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Lockett 240

Stephen Shipman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Boundary projections and Helmoltz resonances 1

Monday, September 30, 2002

Posted October 14, 2003

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Tuesday, September 30, 2003 Lockett 240

Stephen Shipman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Boundary projections and Helmoltz resonances 2

Monday, October 14, 2002

Posted October 23, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Harris Wong, Department of Mechanical Engineering
A d-function model of facets and its applications

Monday, October 21, 2002

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Stephanos Venakides, Department of Mathematics, Duke University
The Semiclassical Limit of the Focusing Nonlinear Schroedinger Equation

Tuesday, October 22, 2002

Posted March 25, 2004

3:40 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Vinicio Rios, LSU Department of Mathematics Ph.D. Student
A Theorem on Lipschitzian Approximation of Differential Inclusions

Monday, October 28, 2002

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Robert Lipton, Mathematics Department, LSU
Field Fluctuations, Spectral Measures, and Moment Problems

Monday, November 11, 2002

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Christo Christov, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Nonlinear Waves and Quasi-Particles: The Emerging of a New Paradigm

Monday, November 18, 2002

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Karsten Thompson, Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University
Modeling Multiple-scale Phenomena in Porous Materials

Monday, November 25, 2002

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Endel Iarve, Materials Directorate Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the University of Dayton Research Institute, Dayton Ohio
Mesh-independent modeling of cracks by using higher-order shape functions

Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm The Deans conference room 3225, CEBA

Endel Iarve, Materials Directorate Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the University of Dayton Research Institute, Dayton Ohio
Effect of splitting on tensile strength distribution of unidirectional carbon fiber composites

Special Civil Engineering and Applied Analysis Seminar

Monday, January 13, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

2:00 pm Lockett 285

Boris Baeumer, University of Otago, New Zealand
Fractal Transport and Dispersion: Limits of Continuous Time Random Walks

Monday, January 27, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Distributional Solutions of Singular Integral Equations

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

test

Posted January 28, 2004

until Wednesday, January 29, 2003 Originally scheduled for Thursday, January 30, 2003

test

Friday, February 7, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Wilfrid Gangbo, Department of Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology
Inequalities for generalized entropy and optimal transportation

Monday, February 10, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Yitshak Ram, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana State University
Inverse Problems and Eigenvalue Assignment in Vibration and Control

Monday, February 17, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

Lockett 240

Yuri Antipov, Mathematics Department, LSU
Functional-difference equations and applications

Monday, February 24, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Jay Walton, Department of Mathematics, Texas A & M University
Dynamic Fracture Models in Viscoelasticity

Monday, March 10, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Manuel Tiglio, Department of Physics, Louisiana State University
Summation by parts and dissipation for black hole excision

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett 240

Stephen McDowall, Department of Mathematics, Western Washington University Priklonsky
Total boundary determination of electromagnetic material parameters from boundary data

Thursday, March 20, 2003

Posted October 8, 2003

Anton Deitmar, Mathematical Sciences Department, University of Exeter
Class number asymptotics in degree 3

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Friday, March 21, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett Hall

Oscar Bruno, Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics, California Institute of Technology
New high-order, high-frequency methods in computational electromagnetism

Monday, March 24, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett Hall 240

Mayank Tyagi, Mechanical Engineering Department, Louisiana State University.
Issues in Large Eddy Simulations of Complex Turbulent Flows

Monday, March 31, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett Hall 240

Tidal Flow and Transport Model

Monday, April 7, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett Hall 240

Paul Martin, Department of Mathematical and Computer Science, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
Fundamental solutions and functionally graded materials

Thursday, April 10, 2003

Posted September 10, 2003

8:30 am - Sunday, April 13, 2003 TBA

Louisiana Conference on Mathematical Control Theory (MCT'03)

Conference Web Page:
http://www.math.lsu.edu/~malisoff/LCMCT

Monday, April 14, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:00 pm Lockett Hall 240

Boris Belinskiy, Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Boundary Value Contact Problems

Tuesday, April 29, 2003

Posted September 19, 2003

3:30 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Peter Wolenski, LSU Department of Mathematics Russell B. Long Professor
Clarke's New Necessary Conditions in Dynamic Optimization

Monday, May 5, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

3:30 pm Lockett Hall 240

Jannette Frandsen, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, LSU
A Tuned Liquid Damper Model for Frequency Response Predictions of a Coupled System

Monday, August 25, 2003

Posted July 31, 2003

Classes begin

Posted August 20, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 277

Gunter Lumer, University of Mons-Hainaut and Solvay Institute for Physics and Chemistry, Brussels
Multiparameter dynamics in macrophysics of clouds on flat and general surfaces, or in certain supply-management aspects

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Posted August 26, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Jesus Pascal, Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela Telephone: 011-58-414-3602104
Free Boundary Control Problem

Monday, September 1, 2003

Posted July 31, 2003

Labor Day Holiday

Tuesday, September 2, 2003

Posted July 31, 2003

Final day for dropping courses without receiving a grade of W

Wednesday, September 3, 2003

Posted September 2, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Square Integrable Representations and Frames

Thursday, September 4, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

Final date for adding courses and section changes

Monday, September 8, 2003

Posted September 4, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Jung-Han Kimn, Mathematics Department, LSU
Overlapping Domain Decomposition Methods

Abstract

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Posted September 5, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Square Integrable Representations and Frames II

Posted September 8, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Eric Hillebrand, Economics Department, LSU
Unknown Parameter Changes in GARCH and ARMA Models

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Posted September 2, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Yuri Antipov, Mathematics Department, LSU
Functional-difference equations and applications

Abstract

Friday, September 12, 2003

Posted September 5, 2003

3:00 pm Lockett 2

Agenda and Course Descriptions

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Posted September 10, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 237

Marco Schlichting, Universitat Essen, (Germany)
Negative K-theory of derived categories

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Posted September 8, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Square Integrable Representations and Frames III

Thursday, September 18, 2003

Posted August 26, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 243 Lockett Hall

Amha Lisan, Mathematics Department, LSU
Transitive flows and associated congruences and groups

Abstract

Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk.

Friday, September 19, 2003

Posted September 4, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 243 Lockett Hall

Kalyan B. Sinha, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore
Non-commutative Analysis

Abstract

Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk.
Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Monday, September 22, 2003

Posted September 18, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Karl Heinrich Hofmann, Darmstadt University, Germany Professor Emeritus
How did the adjoint functor theorem get into Lie theory?

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Posted September 4, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Blaise Bourdin, Department of Mathematics and Center for Computation & Technology, LSU
Brittle fracture seen as a free discontinuities problem

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Posted September 10, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 243 Lockett Hall

Marco Schlichting, Universitat Essen, (Germany)
Hermitian K-theory and Algebraic Bott Periodicity

Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk.
Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Thursday, September 25, 2003

Posted August 26, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 243 Lockett Hall

Michael M. Tom, Mathematics Department, LSU

Abstract

Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk.

Monday, September 29, 2003

Posted September 17, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Horst Beyer, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Golm, Germany, and Dept. of Mathematics, LSU
On the Stability of the Kerr Black Hole

Abstract

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

Posted September 8, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 282

Helena Verrill, Mathematics Department, LSU
Examples of rigid Calabi-Yau 3-folds

Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Posted September 4, 2003

until Thursday, October 2, 2003 Tickfaw State Park

Details

Thursday, October 2, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

until Friday, October 3, 2003

Fall Holiday

Offices remain open

Monday, October 6, 2003

Posted September 23, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Olivier Sarbach, Dept. of Mathematics and Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, LSU
The initial-boundary value formulation of Einstein's equations

Abstract

Tuesday, October 7, 2003

Posted October 1, 2003

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Patrick Gilmer, Mathematics Department, LSU
Integrality for TQFTs

Wednesday, October 8, 2003

Posted October 6, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Shijun Zheng, LSU
The Perturbation of the Fourier Transform and Schroedinger Operators (continued)

Monday, October 13, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

until Saturday, October 18, 2003

Midterms

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Posted September 11, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 282

Paul van Wamelen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Analytic Jacobians in Magma

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Posted October 8, 2003

3:40 pm 240 Lockett Hall

Meeting of the Full Professors

The meeting is to consider promotion cases. Anthony has the files for review.

Thursday, October 16, 2003

Posted October 3, 2003

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 381

Guoli Ding, Mathematics Department, LSU
Some new problems on graph embeddings

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

Posted October 15, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 239

Paul van Wamelen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Analytic Jacobians in Magma II

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

Posted October 17, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Shijun Zheng, LSU
The wavelet decomposition for operator multiplication

Posted October 15, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm

Stochastic Navier-Stokes

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Posted October 21, 2003

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Richard A. Litherland, Mathematics Department, LSU
On the Ozsvath-Szabo homology theory

Posted September 12, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 282

Charles Neal Delzell, Mathematics Department, LSU
A generalization of Polya's theorem to signomials with rational exponents

Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Posted October 24, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Yongdo Lim, Kyungpook National University
Best Approximation in Riemannian Geodesic submanifolds of Positive Definite Matrices

Thursday, October 30, 2003

Posted October 14, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 243 Lockett Hall

Horst Beyer, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Golm, Germany, and Dept. of Mathematics, LSU
On the Completeness of the Resonance Modes of the Poschl-Teller Potential

Abstract
Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk.

Monday, November 3, 2003

Posted August 14, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Gilles Francfort, Université Paris Nord, France
Brittle fracture evolution: a variational standpoint.

[Abstract]

Wednesday, November 5, 2003

Posted October 30, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Mark Davidson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Generating Functions and Representation Theory

Friday, November 7, 2003

Posted October 14, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:40 pm 243 Lockett Hall

Charles Frohman, University of Iowa
Symplectic measure, Reidemeister torsion and the Jones polynomial

Monday, November 10, 2003

Posted August 14, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Yonggang Huang, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The fundamental solution of intersonic crack propagation

Abstract

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Posted November 3, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 282

Eric Baxter, University of New Orleans
Prime time

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Posted November 7, 2003

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm

Mark Davidson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Generating Functions and Representation Theory

Posted November 11, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Stochastic Navier-Stokes II: Some Basic Estimates

Friday, November 14, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

Final date for resigning/dropping courses

Posted October 28, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 235, Lockett Hall

Andrej Cherkaev, University of Utah
TBA

To be followed by a "Special Fluid Dynamic" seminar at the Chimes.

Monday, November 17, 2003

Posted August 27, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett hall

Andri Gretarsson, California Institute of Technology and LIGO livingston observatory
Detecting Gravitational Waves

Abstract

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Posted September 24, 2003

2:30 pm 240 Lockett Hall

Yuan Wang, Florida Atlantic University
A Relaxation Theorem for Differential Inclusions with Applications to Stability Properties

Abstract: The fundamental Filippov-Wazewski Relaxation Theorem states that the
solution set of an initial value problem for a locally Lipschitz differential inclusion is dense in the solution set of the same initial value problem for the corresponding relaxation inclusion on compact intervals. In this talk, I will discuss a complementary result which says that the approximation can be carried out over non-compact or infinite intervals provided one does not insist on the same initial values. To illustrate the motivations for studying such approximation results, I will briefly discuss some quick applications of the result to various stability and uniform stability properties.
Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Posted November 18, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Vochita Mihai, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student

Posted November 14, 2003

5:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (Room 321 Lockett)

Suat Namli and his Turkish friends will generously make a Turkish Ramadan dinner for our faculty, students, and families. We look forward to another fabulous feast!

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Posted September 24, 2003

3:40 pm - 4:40 pm 243 Lockett

Yuan Wang, Florida Atlantic University
Input-to-State Stability of Nonlinear Control Systems

Abstract

Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk.
Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Friday, November 21, 2003

Posted November 17, 2003

1:30 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (room 321 Lockett)

Angie Traumonte, Blue Cross Blue Shield

This is the first meeting of the Actuarial Student Association. There will be pizza and refreshments served at the meeting.

Monday, November 24, 2003

Posted October 23, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett Hall Originally scheduled for 4:00 pm, Monday, October 27, 2003

Peter Y Huang, LSU, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Direct Numerical Simulation of Multiphase Flows in Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fluids

[Abstract]

Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Posted November 18, 2003

2:30 pm 240 Lockett Hall

Tzanko Donchev, University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, BULGARIA
Singular Perturbations in Infinite Dimensional Control Systems

Abstract: We consider a singularly perturbed control system involving differential inclusions in Banach spaces with slow and fast solutions. Using the averaging approach, we obtain sufficient conditions for the Hausdorff convergence of the set of slow solutions in the sup norm. We present applications of the theorem to prove convergence of the fast solutions in terms of invariant measures and convergence of equi-Lipschitz solutions. We also present some illustrative examples.

Thursday, November 27, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

until Friday, November 28, 2003

Thanksgiving Holiday

Offices closed

Wednesday, December 3, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

until Sunday, December 7, 2003

Concentrated study period

Saturday, December 6, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

Classes end

Monday, December 8, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

until Saturday, December 13, 2003

Final exams

Posted November 17, 2003

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Darko Volkov, Department of Mathematical Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Integral equation methods for the statics and the dynamics of an electrified fluid bridge

Monday, December 15, 2003

Posted December 14, 2003

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm 285 Lockett

David Levin, University of Utah
Modern Topics in Random Walks

Refreshments at 2:00 in the Keisler Lounge.

Abstract: I will survey some of my work relating to random walks: dynamical random walks and reconstruction of sceneries visited by a random walk. Dynamical random walks are easily constructed "coin tossing" analogues of infinite dimensional diffusions. We discuss the existence of times where atypical random walk behavior is seen, and give connections to the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process on Wiener space. (Joint work with Khoshnevisan and Mendez.) Hidden Markov chains are widely applicable probabilistic models: a noisy function of an underlying stochastic process is seen, while the process itself is unobserved. We describe such models where an unknown scenery is explored by a hidden random walk, and discuss when reconstruction of this underlying scenery is possible. (Joint work with Pemantle and Peres.)

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Posted December 17, 2003

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Patricia Hersh, University of Michigan
A GL_n(q) analogue of the partition lattice and discrete Morse theory for posets

Cofffe at 2:00 in the Keisler Lounge Abstract

Friday, December 19, 2003

Posted August 11, 2003

Commencement

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Posted January 8, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 285

Diane Maclagan, Stanford University
Toric Hilbert schemes

Abstract: Toric Hilbert schemes have broad connections to other areas of mathematics, including optimization, geometric combinatorics, algebraic geometry, and representations of finite groups and quivers. They parameterize all ideals in a a polynomial ring with the simplest possible multigraded Hilbert function. I will introduce these objects, and discuss some of the applications.

Monday, January 19, 2004

Posted January 16, 2004

Martin Luther King Day

Offices closed

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Posted January 16, 2004

Classes begin

Thursday, January 22, 2004

Posted January 15, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
Elementary Mathematics for Teachers: A mathematician's perspective

This talk describes a mathematics course, designed by mathematicians, for prospective elementary teachers. I will describe three unique features of the course: the extensive use of the Primary Mathematics books from Singapore, the idea of a teaching sequence", and the use ofteacher's solutions" in class and in homework. The course is based on a new textbook I wrote with T. Parker: Elementary Mathematics for Teachers. The goal of the textbook and the course is to present the mathematics clearly and correctly while keeping the focus on material that elementary school teachers will be addressing in their classrooms.

Refreshments in the Lounge at 3:00

Friday, January 23, 2004

Posted January 15, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
Seiberg-Witten invariants of 4--manifolds with circle actions, with applications to symplectic topology.

Ever since the introduction of Donaldson invariants in the early 1980's, efforts to calculate diffeomorphism invariants of 4-manifolds centered upon large classes of smooth manifolds that have some additional structure. One such class of manifolds thought to have promise was 4-manifolds with effective circle actions, but the extra structure given by such manifolds turned out to be insufficient for calculating Donaldson invariants. However, it is possible to calculate their Seiberg-Witten invariants. In this talk I will give an overview of the Seiberg-Witten invariants and describe formulas for calculating the Seiberg-Witten invariant of 4-manifolds with circle actions. I will also discuss some results on the topology of symplectic 4-manifolds which follow from those calculations.

Refreshments in the Lounge at 3:00

Monday, January 26, 2004

Posted January 15, 2004

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 237

Malabika Pramanik, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Averaging and maximal operators for curves in R^3

We consider the L^p regularity of an averaging operator over a curve in R^3 with nonvanishing curvature and torsion. We also prove related local smoothing estimates, which lead to L^p boundedness of a certain maximal function associated to these averages. The common thread underlying the proof of these results is a deep theorem of T. Wolff on cone multipliers. This is joint work with Andreas Seeger of University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Refreshments in Lounge at 2:00

Posted January 8, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Petr Kloucek, Computational and Applied Mathematics department, Rice University
Stochastic Modeling of the Functional Crystalline Materials

Abstract

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Posted January 16, 2004

Final day for dropping courses without receiving a grade of W

Thursday, January 29, 2004

Posted January 16, 2004

Final date for adding courses and section changes

Posted January 15, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Susan Wilson, Michigan State University, College of Education
Reforming Mathematics Education; Lessons from California

Refreshments in the Lounge at 3:00

Monday, February 2, 2004

Posted January 27, 2004

3:00 am - 3:50 am Lockett 381

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The symplectic group, the symplectic semigroup, and the Ricatti Equation

Posted January 27, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Tara Brendle, Department of Mathematics, LSU
On finite order generators of the mapping class group

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Wednesday, February 4, 2004

Posted February 2, 2004

4:30 pm James Keisler lounge (Room 321 Lockett)

Actuarial Student Association Meeting

There will be opportunities to sign-up for study groups preparing for the actuarial exams. Refreshments will be served.

Thursday, February 5, 2004

Posted January 29, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Pramod Achar, University of Chicago
Equivariant K-theory of the unipotent variety

Abstract:
The equivariant K-theory of the unipotent variety in a complex algebraic group has two natural bases, one indexed by the set $Lambda^+$ of dominant weights, the other by the set $Omega$ of irreducible representations of centralizers of unipotent elements. Lusztig's work on cells in affine Weyl groups led him to conjecture that the change-of-basis matrix relating these two bases is upper-triangular, and that in particular there is a natural bijection between $Lambda^+$ and $Omega$. This question has been treated in the work of Bezrukavnikov, Ostrik, Xi, and others. I will discuss an approach to the problem that, in the case of $GL(n)$, results in an explicit combinatorial algorithm for computing the bijection. I will also discuss connections to the Springer correspondence, duality, and other topics.

Monday, February 9, 2004

Posted January 27, 2004

3:00 am - 3:50 am Monday, February 2, 2004 Lockett 381

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The symplectic group, the symplectic semigroup, and the Ricatti Equation II

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Posted February 4, 2004

3:30 pm Lockett 15

Meeting of the professorial faculty.

The meeting is to discuss hiring for this year and a 3rd year review file.

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Posted January 29, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 243

Tatyana Foth, University of Michigan
Quantization, Kahler manifolds, and automorphic forms

Abstract:
I shall talk about results and problems that appear in the interplay between three subjects:
1. quantization (which can be regarded as an attempt to construct a finite-dimensional representation of the Lie algebra of smooth functions on a compact symplectic manifold with the Poisson bracket);
2. varying Kahler structure on a compact Kahler manifold with the symplectic form being kept fixed;
3. holomorphic automorphic forms on a bounded symmetric domain in C^n (for example, on the open unit ball in C^n with the Bergman metric).

Refreshments served in Keisler Lounge at 2pm.

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Posted January 22, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 235, Lockett Hall Originally scheduled for 3:30 pm, Friday, February 13, 2004

Vladimir Mityushev, Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris (France), and Pedagogical University in Slupsk (Poland)
Effective properties of composites with unidirectional cylindrical fibers

Abstract

Friday, February 13, 2004

Posted February 4, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Irina Mitrea, Cornell University
On the Spectral Radius Conjecture in Two Dimensions

Monday, February 16, 2004

Posted February 12, 2004

3:00 pm - 5:50 am Lockett 381

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The symplectic group, the symplectic semigroup, and the Ricatti Equation III

Posted February 12, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Ian Agol, University of Illinois, Chicago
Tameness of hyperbolic 3-manifolds

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Posted February 16, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Ruhai Zhou, Univ of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Analysis and computations of nematic polymers

Friday, February 20, 2004

Posted January 9, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 235, Lockett Hall

Marcus Sarkis, Institito de Matematica Pura e Aplicada (IMPA, Brazil) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Schwarz Methods for Partial Differential Equations

Abstract

Monday, February 23, 2004

Posted January 16, 2004

until Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Mardi Gras holiday

Offices remain open on Monday and Wednesday

Friday, February 27, 2004

Posted February 9, 2004

Annual Reports Due Today

You can submit annual reports by using the on-line form located here.

Monday, March 1, 2004

Posted January 14, 2004

3:40 pm 235 Lockett Hall Originally scheduled for 3:30 pmMonday, February 9, 2004

We show that any continuous plane path that turns to the left has a
well-defined distribution, that corresponds to the radius of curvature of
smooth paths. As a byproduct, we will learn to divide by 0! These ideas were
inspired by a talk by Professor H. Wong in the Applied Analysis Seminar some
months ago, where he showed how to use Dirac delta functions to model facets
in crystals.

Wednesday, March 3, 2004

Posted February 27, 2004

4:45 pm - 6:00 pm 319 Lockett Hall

Actuarial Student Association Meeting

Guest speakers will be Phillip Clesi, Truman Breithaupt and Gregg Schneider. These are professional actuaries working in the New Orleans area. Refreshments will be available.

Monday, March 8, 2004

Posted January 16, 2004

until Saturday, March 13, 2004

Midterms

Posted March 7, 2004

3:00 pm - 3:50 am Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Fuglede conjecture and related problems.

Student Math Club Talk

Posted February 2, 2004

4:15 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 243

Serge Lang, Yale University Member, National Academy of Sciences
Recipient, Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Algebra
Dirac Families

Math Majors and other interested students are especially encouraged to come to this talk.
Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Tuesday, March 9, 2004

Posted February 2, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Wednesday, March 10, 2004 Lockett 285

Serge Lang, Yale University Member, National Academy of Sciences
Recipient, Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Algebra
The Heat Kernel and Theta Inversion Formulas

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana
Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Posted January 30, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Originally scheduled for 3:30 pmThursday, February 26, 2004

Carl Mueller, University of Rochester
Properties of the Random String

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana

Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Thursday, March 11, 2004

Posted March 5, 2004

2:30 pm Lockett 2

Meeting of the Tenured Faculty

Posted January 29, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Stig Larsson, University of Goteberg, Chalmers University
The finite element method for a linear stochastic parabolic partial differential equation driven by additive noise

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana

Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Friday, March 12, 2004

Posted March 8, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Graham Denham, University of Western Ontario
The Homotopy Lie Algebra of an Arrangement

Posted March 4, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Mark Meerschaert, University of Nevada, Reno
The Fractal Calculus Project

Monday, March 15, 2004

Posted February 3, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett Hall 235

Gregory Kriegsmann, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Complete Transmission Through a Two-Dimensional Diffraction Grating

Abstract: The propagation of a normally incident plane electromagnetic wave through
a two-dimensional metallic grating, is modeled and analyzed using S-Matrix
theory. The period of the structure $A$ is on the order of the incident wave
length $lambda$, but the height of the channel $H$ separating the grating
elements is very small in comparison. Exploiting the small parameter $H/A$
an approximate transmission coefficient is obtained for the grating. For a
fixed frequency this coefficient is $O(H/A)$ due to the thinness of the channel.
However, near resonant lengths it is $O(1)$. That is, for certain widths
the structure is transparent. Similarly, for a fixed length the transmission
coefficient has the same resonant features as a function of frequency. This latter
feature makes this grating potentially useful as a selective filter.

Posted March 8, 2004

3:03 pm - 3:52 pm Lockett 381

Simon Gindikin, Rutgers University
Some explicit formulas in integral geometry

Posted March 4, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Loukas Grafakos , University of Missouri, Columbia
Calderon's program, the bilinear Hilbert transforms, and the Carleson-Hunt theorem

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Posted January 16, 2004

Posted January 27, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

John Willis, Cambridge University Fellow, Royal Society of London (FRS)
Bounds for the Effective Constitutive Relation of a Nonlinear Composite

Abstract:
For a nonlinear composite, a bound on its effective energy density does not induce a corresponding bound on its constitutive relation, because differentiating a bound on a function does not automatically bound its derivative. In this work, a method introduced by G.W. Milton and S.K. Serkov for bounding directly the constitutive relation is refined by employing a linear comparison material, in a similar way that Talbot and Willis introduced such a material to obtain bounds of Hashin--Shtrikman'' type for the effective energy of a nonlinear composite. The original Milton--Serkov approach produces bounds with a close relationship to the classical energy bounds, of Voigt and Reuss type. The bounds produced in the present implementation are closely related to bounds of Hashin--Shtrikman type for the composite. It is demonstrated by means of examples that the approximate constitutive relation that is obtained by differentiating the energy bound can be on the boundary of the bounding set, obtained here, for the exact constitutive relation, but a simple counterexample is presented to show that this is not always the case.

(This talk reports on joint work with D R S Talbot.)
Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Posted March 2, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Simon Gindikin, Rutgers University
Complex geometry and complex analysis on real symmetric spaces

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Monday, March 22, 2004

Posted March 15, 2004

3:00 pm - 3:50 pm Lockett 381

Karl Heinrich Hofmann, Darmstadt University, Germany Professor Emeritus
Commuting exponential matrices and Lie theory

Posted February 11, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 235, Lockett Hall

John Strain, University of California Berkeley
High-order fractional step methods for constrained differential equations

Abstract

Posted March 3, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm tba

Neal Stoltzfus, Mathematics Department, LSU
Diagonalization of the Lickorish Form on Non-crossing Chord Diagrams

Posted March 3, 2004

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

K Saito, Meijo University
Levy Laplacian and its Applications

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents.
LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Posted March 4, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Fritz Gesztesy, University of Missouri, Columbia
On the spectrum of Schrödinger operators with quasi-periodic algebro-geometric KdV potential

Refreshments will be served in Keisler lounge at 3pm.

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Posted March 3, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Alberto Setti, Universita' dell'Insubria - Como
Maximum principle on Riemannian manifolds: an overview

Refreshments will be served in Keisler lounge at 3pm.
Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents.
LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Thursday, March 25, 2004

Posted February 11, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett Hall 285

Thomas Kerler, Ohio State University
Topological Quantum Field Theories

TQFT can be thought of as measures on topological spaces that behave nicely=functorially under the gluing of spaces. We will motivate the formalism and give an elementary construction of TQFT's starting from nothing more than the basic Seifert van-Kampen Theorem. From there we will expand on more general TQFT properties, formalisms and constructions, sketch some problems of finiteness and quantization, and present a few typical applications of TQFTs.

Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk.
Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Monday, March 29, 2004

Posted March 22, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett

Thomas Kerler, Ohio State University
Mapping Class Group Representations from TQFT

Abstract: The TQFTs of Witten Reshetikhin Turaev imply representations of the mapping class
groups over the cyclotomic integers Z[\zeta] for \zeta a prime root of unity. These
representations are highly structured and allow "perturbative" filtrations due to the
rich ideal structure of Z[\zeta]. It is not too surprising that they are related to
well known filtrations of the mapping class groups, given, for example, by the
Johnson subgroups. We will describe such explicit relations in "low order" examples.

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents.
LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Posted March 4, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Salah-Eldin Mohammed, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
The Stable Manifold Theorem for Stochastic Partial Differential Equations

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Posted March 3, 2004

2:30 pm 240 Lockett Hall

Zhijun Cai, Department of Mechanical Engineering, LSU Ph.D. Candidate

Abstract: This talk deals with the output regulation of uncertain, nonlinear, parametric strict-feedback systems in the presence of additive disturbance. A new continuous adaptive control law is proposed using a modified integrator backstepping design that ensures the output is asymptotically regulated to zero. Despite the disturbance, the adaptation law does not need the standard robustifying term (e.g., sigma-modification or e1-modification) to ensure the aforementioned stability result. A numerical example illustrates the main result.

Posted March 5, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

David Kirshner, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, LSU
What Ails Elementary Algebra Education: Historical, Psychological, and Philosophical Perspectives

Refreshments in Keisler Lounge at 3pm

Thursday, April 1, 2004

Posted March 31, 2004

3:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss a senior hire at the level of full professor. A ballot will follow.

Monday, April 12, 2004

Posted January 16, 2004

Final date for resigning/dropping courses

Posted April 1, 2004

3:00 pm - 3:50 pm Lockett 381

Shijun Zheng, LSU
Operator representation in wavelet bases and Application in PDE's. Part 2.

Abstract. We give a short review on recent development on wavelet-based numerical solution of time-dependent partial differential equations. The fundamental idea is to use wavelet to give sparse matrix representations of the solution operators involved. Thus it leads to a fast algorithm for efficient approximation of the solution to the equation. We demonstrate the general scheme by considering the anisotropic diffusion problem arising in modeling thin film image processing. Other examples are advection-diffusion equations in $CFD$, including the connection with the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in semigroup formulation.

Posted April 12, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 235 Lockett Hall

Horst Beyer, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Golm, Germany, and Dept. of Mathematics, LSU
On some vector analogues of Sturm-Liouville operators

Abstract: The talk considers a general class of densely defined, linear symmmetric operators in Hilbert space, which originate from the separation of vector partial differential operators (PDO) in three dimensions, which are invariant under the rotation group. Those PDO describe spheroidal Lagrangian adiabatic oscillations of spherically symmetric newtonian stars (treated as ideal fluids) in the so called Cowling approximation' in stellar pulsation theory. Their extension properties turn out to be very similar to that of minimal Sturm-Liouville operators. In particular close analogues of Weyl's famous theorems hold. On the other hand the spectral properties of their self-adjoint extensions are quite different. In particular every extension has a non-trivial essential spectrum. Finally, a result is given which allows to determine the resolvent of the self-adjoint extensions, which are perturbed by a matrix' of integral operators of a specific general type. Those perturbed operators are generalizations of operators governing spheroidal adiabatic oscillations of spherically symmetric stars.

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Posted February 15, 2004

2:30 pm Lockett Hall, Room 240

Frederic Mazenc, Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, FRANCE
Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems with Delay in the Input

Abstract: We present three results on the problem of globally uniformly and locally exponentially stabilizing nonlinear systems with delay in the input through differentiable bounded feedbacks: 1) We solve the problem for chains of integrators of arbitrary length. No limitation on the size of the delay is imposed. An exact knowledge of the delay is not required. 2) We solve the problem for an oscillator with an arbitrary large delay in the input. A first solution follows from a general result on the global stabilization of null controllable linear systems with delay in the input by bounded control laws with a distributed term. Next, it is shown through a Lyapunov analysis that the stabilization can be achieved as well when the distributed terms are neglected. It turns out that this main result is intimately related to the output feedback stabilization problem. 3) We solve the problem for a family of nonlinear feedforward systems when there is a delay in the input. No limitation on the size of the delay is imposed. An exact knowledge of the delay is not required.

This visit is supported by the Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents Grant LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13.

Thursday, April 15, 2004

Posted January 9, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Friday, April 16, 2004 235, Lockett Hall

Guillermo Goldsztein , School of Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology
Perfectly plastic heterogeneous materials

Abstract

Posted March 23, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Ronald Stanke, Baylor University
Differential Operators, SL(2,R) Invariance and Special Functions

Refreshements in the Lounge one half hour befiore talk

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents.
LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Mathematics-Physics Joint Colloquium

Posted April 13, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 152 Coates Hall

Ravi Rau, Department of Physics and Astronomy, LSU
Supersymmetry in Quantumn Mechanics

Monday, April 19, 2004

Posted March 23, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 235 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm

Ling Long, Iowa State University
On Atkin-Swinnerton-Dyer congruence relations

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana

Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Posted March 1, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 235, Lockett Hall

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Racah coefficients, subrepresentation semirings, and composite materials--An application of representation theory to material science

Abstract

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Posted April 2, 2004

3:40 pm 15 Lockett Hall

A question-and-answer session with the two candidates for chair

The meeting is open to Mathematics Department professors and instructors.

Candidates’ answers to written questions will be available to professors and instructors shortly after Spring Break.

Thursday, April 22, 2004

Posted March 28, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 281

Boris Rubin, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Selected problems of integral geometry and small denominators on the sphere

Monday, April 26, 2004

Posted April 20, 2004

3:00 pm - 3:50 pm Lockett 381

Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University
Zeta integrals and Radon transforms on the space of rectangular matrices

Posted April 7, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Paul Saylor, University of Illinois
What Does Radar Have to Do with Solving Sets of Linear Equations?

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Posted March 31, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 281

Thierry Lévy, École normale supérieure and CNRS
Two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory is almost a topological field theory

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Posted February 15, 2004

2:30 pm Lockett Hall, Room 240

Michael Malisoff, LSU
Remarks on the Strong Invariance Property for Non-Lipschitz Dynamics

Abstract: Topics in flow invariance theory provide the foundation for considerable current research in modern control theory and optimization.Starting from strong invariance and its Hamiltonian characterizations, one can develop uniqueness results and regularity theory for proximal solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations, stability theory, infinitesimal characterizations of monotonicity, and many other applications. On the other hand, it is well appreciated that many important dynamics are non-Lipschitz, and may even be discontinuous, and therefore are beyond the scope of the known strong invariance characterizations. Therefore, the development of conditions guaranteeing strong invariance under less restrictive assumptions is a problem that is of considerable ongoing research interest. In this talk we will report on some recently developed sufficient conditions for strong invariance for discontinuous differential inclusions. This talk is based in part on the speaker's joint work with Mikhail Krastanov and Peter Wolenski.

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Posted March 16, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett

Paulo Lima-Filho, Texas A&M
Applications of operads and ternary trees to polynomial map

Using ternary trees we build operads and use them to define a family of ideals in the (non-commutative) algebra generated by pointed ternary trees. These constructions have several applications to iterations of polynomial maps and conjectures in algebraic geometry. This is an essentially self-contained talk, accessible to a general audience and to graduate students. Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk.

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents.

LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Friday, April 30, 2004

Posted April 30, 2004

2:00 pm Lockett 301 D

Costel Ionita, Mathematics Department, LSU
Class Groups and Norms of Units

Posted April 20, 2004

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Ziemowit Rzeszotnik, University of Texas, Austin
Norm of the Fourier transform on finite abelian groups

Posted April 26, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235

Paulo Lima-Filho, Texas A&M

ABSTRACT: We provide a complete presentation of the RO(Z/2)-graded
equivariant cohomology ring of real quadrics under the action of the
Galois group. Then we exhibit its relation to classical objects in
topology and to motivic cohomology over the reals.

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of
Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Monday, May 3, 2004

Posted April 27, 2004

3:00 pm - 3:50 pm Lockett 381

Dave Larson, Texas A&M
Wavelet sets and Frames

Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Posted March 29, 2004

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm Hill Memorial Library

Reception for Dr. Richard Anderson

Please join us for a reception honoring Dr. Richard Anderson and his accomplishments in mathematics and mathematics education.

Refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by the Cain Center and the Department of Mathematics

Thursday, May 6, 2004

Posted May 3, 2004

3:00 pm James Kiesler Lounge, 319 Lockett Hall

Spring Math Awards Ceremony

The Porcelli Scholarships, The Betti and Robert Giles Senior Mathematics Award, The David Oxley Memorial Graduate Student Teaching Award, and Certificates of Teaching Excellence (for graduate assistants) will be awarded. Refreshments will be provided. This will also serve as the colloquium tea for the colloquium which follows.

Posted April 3, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Milton C. Lopes Filho, Penn State University and UNICAMP, Brazil
Open problems on mathematical hydrodynamics

Abstract: Mathematical hydrodynamics is primarily concerned with the behavior of solutions of the incompressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations. These nonlinear systems of PDEs have a rich mathematical structure that keeps hydrodynamics a topic of current interest in mathematical research. One illustration of the cogency of this topic is the choice of the singularity problem for the Navier-Stokes equations as one of the seven Millenium Prize Problems. Problems in the field of mathematical hydrodynamics often reduce to proving that solutions of the incompressible flow equations behave as actual fluids are known to behave. In this talk we will examine a few instances where the known behavior of real fluids leads to open problems on the behavior of solutions of the incompressible flow equations, exploring the power, and the limitations, of modern analytic techniques used in the treatment of these problems.

Refreshments will be served in the lounge one half hour before the talk. Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Friday, May 7, 2004

Posted April 26, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 235, Lockett Hall

Helena Nussenzveig Lopes, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Brasil) and Penn State University
On vortex sheet evolution

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana
Board of Regents. LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13
Abstract

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Posted May 7, 2004

3:30 pm Lockett 285

Faculty Meeting

The agenda is a report on the upcoming program review and hiring.

Friday, May 14, 2004

Posted May 13, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Cun-Quan Zhang, West Virginia University

Refreshments in Keisler Lounge at 3pm

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Posted May 7, 2004

10:00 am Lockett 301 D

Vochita Mihai, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student

Monday, June 28, 2004

Posted June 7, 2004

3:00 pm 301D Lockett Hall

Troels Johansen, Mathematics Department, LSU Graduate Student
Orbit structure on the Silov boundary of a tube domain and the Plancherel decomposition of a causally compact symmetric space, with emphasis on the rank one case

Thursday, July 8, 2004

Posted June 18, 2004

11:30 am 301D Lockett Hall

Mihaly Kovacs, Mathematics Department, LSU Graduate Student
On qualitative properties and convergence of time-discretization methods for semigroups

Graduate Advisors: Frank Neubrander (LSU) and Istvan Farago (Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary)

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Posted July 19, 2004

until Friday, August 13, 2004 LSU Union Building

New International Student Orientation for the Fall semester of 2004 will be held on Thursday and Friday, August 12-13, 2004. International Orientation begins Thursday, August 12, 2004 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. in the Royal-Cotillion Ballroom of the LSU Union. At 8:15 a.m. on Friday, August 13, new international students are to report to 51 Himes Hall for Michigan English testing (written English). Appintments will be scheduled for Spoken English Interviews for all International Graduate Assistants.

Monday, August 16, 2004

Posted July 19, 2004

9:00 am - 3:00 pm Friday, August 20, 2004 386 Lockett Hall

Registration of New Graduate Students, Monday through Friday

All new graduate students in mathematics should visit the Director in 386 Lockett Hall to register for courses between Monday and Friday this week. A list of other items to which new students must attend that week will be provided at that office, so please visit early rather than late!

Posted July 19, 2004

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Core-1 Comprehensive Exam in Analysis

This is part of the PhD Qualifying Exam. Graduate students need to pass the three Core-1 tests and any one of the six possible Core-2 tests by January of the second year of study. All students taking Comprehensive Exams should pre-register for them with the Graduate Director.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Posted July 19, 2004

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Core-1 Comprehensive Exam in Topology

This is part of the PhD Qualifying Exam. Graduate students need to pass the three Core-1 tests and any one of the six possible Core-2 tests by January of the second year of study. All students taking Comprehensive Exams should pre-register for them with the Graduate Director.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Posted July 19, 2004

8:15 am - 12:30 pm LSU Union Theater Lobby

This is the Graduate School's required Orientation Meeting for all new graduate students at LSU. Coffee, donuts and juice will be served at 8:15 AM and lunch will be served later. There will be an Information and Resource Fair included in the Cotillion Ballroom starting at 11 AM.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Posted July 21, 2004

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Room 235, Lockett Hall

Orientation Meeting for Graduate Students leading recitations in Math 1431 and 1022

Graduate Students assigned to lead recitation sections for Math 1431 (Business Calculus) and 1022 (Trigonometry) will learn how to help undergraduates with MAPLE TA, a computer program which will be used this fall to support instruction in those subjects. Graduate Students who have been assigned to lead recitations in these subjects will receive a note about this in their letter boxes in Room 301 in August.

Posted July 19, 2004

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Core-1 Comprehensive Exam in Algebra

This is part of the PhD Qualifying Exam. Graduate students need to pass the three Core-1 tests and any one of the six possible Core-2 tests by January of the second year of study. All students taking Comprehensive Exams should pre-register for them with the Graduate Director.

Friday, August 20, 2004

Posted July 19, 2004

1:00 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Core-2 Comprehensive Exams

Graduate students need to pass the three Core-1 tests and any one of the six possible Core-2 tests by January of the second year of study. All students taking Comprehensive Exams should pre-register for them with the Graduate Director. Since there is a choice of Core-2 Exam subjects, Core-2 Exams will be offered only according to the requests of students who have registered.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004

Posted August 27, 2004

3:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Stanislav Zabic, Louisiana State University Department of Mathematics Graduate Student
Impulsive Systems

Wednesday, September 8, 2004

Posted August 20, 2004

3:30 pm Lockett 5

Provost Palm speaks to the faculty.

The Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, Risa Palm, will visit the Mathematics Department and discuss the National Flagship Agenda.

Friday, September 10, 2004

Posted August 23, 2004

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Atchafalaya Room of the Union

A&S Assistant Professor Meeting

Come Meet the Deans! Refreshments will be served

Monday, September 13, 2004

Posted September 3, 2004

3:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall Originally scheduled for 3:00 pm, Wednesday, September 8, 2004

Stanislav Zabic, Louisiana State University Department of Mathematics Graduate Student
Impulsive Systems, Part II

Posted September 8, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 243 Lockett

Bill Schellhorn will speak.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Posted September 9, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 282

Helena Verrill, Mathematics Department, LSU
Finding the Picard Fuchs differential equations of certain families of Calabi-Yau varieties

Posted September 8, 2004

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 284

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
Introduction to 4-Manifold Theory, I

Posted August 24, 2004

4:30 pm The James Keisler Lounge (321 Lockett)

Actuarial Student Association Meeting

Organizing meeting to set up study groups, propose speakers, and introduce new officers.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Posted September 9, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Jens Christensen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Uncertainty principles generated by Lie-groups

Monday, September 20, 2004

Posted September 20, 2004

3:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Norma Ortiz, Mathematics Department, LSU Ph.D. Student
An Existence Theorem for the Neutral Problem of Bolza

Posted September 8, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 243 Lockett

Steven Wallace will speak.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Posted September 17, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 282

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Modular forms on noncongruence subgroups and Atkin-Swinnerton_Dyer congruences

Posted September 20, 2004

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 284

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
Introduction to 4-manifold theory, II

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Posted September 17, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Jens Christensen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Uncertainty principles generated by Lie-groups

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Posted September 17, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Group and quantum group actions on algebras and composite materials

Monday, September 27, 2004

Posted September 21, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 381

Norma Ortiz, Mathematics Department, LSU Ph.D. Student
An existence theorem for the neutral problem of Bolza, Part II

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Posted September 9, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 282

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Higher algebraic K-theory of forms and Karoubi's fundamental theorem

Posted September 21, 2004

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 284

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
Introduction to 4-Manifolds III

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Posted September 22, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Jens Christensen, Mathematics Department, LSU
An Uncertainty Principle Related to the Euclidean motion group

I will show that a well known uncertainty principle for functions on the circle can be derived from the generators of the Euclidean motion group.

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Posted September 23, 2004

3:30 am - 4:30 am Lockett 277

On the regularization of generalized functions

Monday, October 4, 2004

Posted September 29, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Vinicio Rios, LSU Department of Mathematics Ph.D. Student
Strong Invariance for Dissipative Lipschitz Dynamics

Posted September 8, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 243 Lockett

Jean Bureau will speak.

Tuesday, October 5, 2004

Posted September 30, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 239

Mark Davidson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Generating functions associated to Highest Weight Representations

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Posted September 30, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Group and Hopf algebra actions on central simple algebras.

Monday, October 11, 2004

Posted August 4, 2004

3:00 pm Lockett 2

Meeting with the Dean of the College.

Dean Ferreyra will meet with faculty members to discuss the chair's evaluation.

Posted October 6, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Vinicio Rios, LSU Department of Mathematics Ph.D. Student
Strong Invariance for Dissipative Lipschitz Dynamics, Part II

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Refreshments

Posted October 4, 2004

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Keisler Lounge

Refreshments before talk of Gregor Masbaum

Scheduled not to conflict with Algebra Seminar Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Posted September 9, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Tuesday, October 5, 2004 Lockett 282

Ambar Sengupta, Mathematics Department, LSU
Calculus Reform, or How (super)Algebra simplifies Calculus (on manifolds)

Posted October 8, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Kiseop Lee, University of Louisville
Insider's hedging in a jump diffusion model

Posted September 24, 2004

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 284

Gregor Masbaum, University Paris 7
Integral lattices in TQFT

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Posted September 24, 2004

3:00 pm Allen 35

Meeting of the Tenured Faculty

Promotion Cases: One to associate professor, two to full professor, and one tenure only.

Monday, October 18, 2004

Posted October 13, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

George Cazacu, LSU Department of Mathematics Ph.D. student
A characterization of stability for dynamical polysystems via Lyapunov functions

Posted September 22, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Debra Czarneski will speak on Zeta functions for graphs

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Posted October 18, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 312

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Group and Hopf algebra actions on central simple algebras. II

Posted September 17, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 282

Pramod Achar, Mathematics Department, LSU
Hecke algebras and complex reflection groups

Saturday, October 23, 2004

Posted July 19, 2004

9:30 am - 4:30 am Tickfaw State Park Originally scheduled for 9:00 am, Saturday, September 18, 2004

Monday, October 25, 2004

Posted October 20, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

George Cazacu, LSU Department of Mathematics Ph.D. student
Closed relations and Lyapunov functions for polysystems

Posted October 12, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Jeremy J. Becnel will give a talk on "Windows 2020: Built on Quantum Technology"

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Posted October 20, 2004

3:00 pm Lockett 284

Hiring Plan

The IRC is finishing their hiring plan and will release the document soon. The meeting is to discuss the plan.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Posted October 22, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 281

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Group and Hopf algebra actions on central simple algebras. III

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Posted October 20, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Fernando Rodriguez-Villegas, University of Texas at Austin
The Many Aspects of Mahler's Measure

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13 Refreshments will be served in the lounge at 3pm.

Friday, October 29, 2004

Joint Topology and Algebra/Number Theory Seminar

Posted October 25, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Fernando Rodriguez-Villegas, University of Texas at Austin
"Mahler's measure and the Dilogarithm"

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Monday, November 1, 2004

Posted October 22, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Khaled Qazaqzeh will give a talk on "The Parity of the Maslov Index" (joint work with P. Gilmer)

Tuesday, November 2, 2004

Posted September 10, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Tuesday, October 26, 2004 Lockett 282 Originally scheduled for 9:00 amMonday, October 4, 2004

Robert Perlis, Mathematics Department, LSU
Disconnected thoughts on Klein's four group

Wednesday, November 3, 2004

Posted November 3, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Group and Hopf algebra actions on central simple algebras. IV

Friday, November 5, 2004

Posted September 10, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 239, Lockett Hall

Enrique Reyes, University of New Orleans
Practical finite difference modeling approaches to environmental problems: Louisiana coastal land loss.

Abstract

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Posted November 3, 2004

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Group and Hopf algebra actions on central simple algebras. V

Friday, November 12, 2004

Posted October 13, 2004

3:30 pm 239, Lockett Hall

Stephen Shipman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Anomalous electromagnetic transmission mediated by guided modes

Monday, November 15, 2004

Posted November 10, 2004

3:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Michael Malisoff, LSU
New Constructions of Strict Input-to-State Stable Lyapunov Functions for Time-Varying Systems

This talk is based on the speaker's joint work "Further Remarks on Strict Input-to-State Stable Lyapunov Functions for Time-Varying Systems" with Frederic Mazenc (arXiv math.OC/0411150).

Computational Mathematics/CCT Seminar

Posted November 8, 2004

3:00 pm 338, Johnston Hall

Oren Livne, School of Computing, University of Utah
A Multigrid Overview

Monday, November 22, 2004

Posted November 3, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Peter Wolenski, LSU Department of Mathematics Russell B. Long Professor
Introduction to control Lyapunov functions and feedback

Posted November 11, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Michael Aristidou will talk about "Laguerre Functions for the Cone of Positive Definite Real Matrices"

Monday, November 29, 2004

Posted November 25, 2004

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Peter Wolenski, LSU Department of Mathematics Russell B. Long Professor
Introduction to control Lyapunov functions and feedback, Part II

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Posted November 18, 2004

3:10 pm Lockett 277

Meeting of the Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty

online voting, delegating hiring authority, promotion/tenure/evaluation discussion

Friday, December 3, 2004

Posted October 26, 2004

3:30 pm 239, Lockett Hall

Jonathan Dowling, Louisiana State University, Department of Physics Hearne Professor of Theoretical Physics at LSU, Quantum Sciences and Technologies Group
Effective densities of state

Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Party

Posted November 29, 2004

12:00 pm James Keisler lounge (Room 321 Lockett)

Christmas Party

Food, Awards, and Food.

Posted November 29, 2004

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 277 Lockett

Christopher Leininger, Columbia University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Topology
Teichmuller disks in geometry and topology

Refreshments in Keisler Lounge at 3:00 PM

Friday, December 10, 2004

Posted October 26, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 239, Lockett Hall

Petr Plechak, Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick Candidate for Associate Professor Position in Scientific Computation
TBA

Sunday, January 9, 2005

Posted December 9, 2005

Locket 285

Marie-José Bertin, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris
TBA

Monday, January 10, 2005

Posted January 3, 2005

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett Hall

Core-I Analysis

Comprehensive (PhD Qualifying) Exam

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Posted January 3, 2005

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett Hall

Core-I Topology

Comprehensive (PhD Qualifying) Exam

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Posted December 27, 2005

1:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Core-1 Analysis Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam

This is the first of the three component tests of the Core-1 part of the PhD Qualifying Exam. If unsure weather or not you are required to take this test, please consult the Graduate Director and read the link http://www.math.lsu.edu/grad/CompSignF2005.pdf to sign up.

Posted January 3, 2005

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett Hall

Core-I Algebra

Comprehensive (PhD Qualifying) Exam

Friday, January 14, 2005

Posted January 3, 2005

1:00 pm - 4:30 pm Room 285 Lockett

Core-II Exams (all)

Comprehensive (PhD qualifying) Exam

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Posted December 13, 2004

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Selim Esedoglu, UCLA Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Applied Math
Threshold dynamics for the piecewise constant Mumford-Shah

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Posted January 5, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Burak Aksoylu, University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Computational Eng. and Science Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Scientific Computation
Local refinement and single/multi level preconditioning with applications in biophysics, computer graphics, and geosciences

Friday, January 21, 2005

Posted October 3, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Michel Jabbour, University of Kentucky
TBA

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Posted December 13, 2004

3:40 pm Lockett 285 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Thursday, January 20, 2005

Valeriy Slastikov, Carnegie mellon University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Applied Math
Geometrically Constrained Walls

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Posted January 25, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Symmetric Spaces with Seminegative Curvature

Friday, January 28, 2005

Posted January 24, 2005

1:40 pm Lockett 138

Tara Brendle, Mathematics Department, Cornell University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Topology
Mapping class groups and complexes of curves

Posted October 27, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 235, Lockett Hall

Asher Rubinstein, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tulane University
Failure Analysis of Thermal Barrier Coatings

Abstract

Posted January 24, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Brendan Owens, Mathematics Department, Cornell University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Topology
Four-manifolds with prescribed boundary and applications to knot theory

Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Posted January 21, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Masako(Marta) Asaeda, Mathematics Department, University of Iowa Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Topology
Generalizations of Khovanov homology

Posted January 21, 2005

4:00 pm Keisler Lounge

Spring Organizational Meeting of the ASA

Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Posted January 25, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Symmetric Spaces of Seminegative Curvature

Posted January 26, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Hongyu He, Mathematics Department, LSU
Tensor Products of Oscillator Representations

Friday, February 11, 2005

Posted January 26, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Ai-Ko Liu, U. C. Berkeley, Mathematics Candidate for Assistant Professor in Geometric Analysis
Cosmic String, Family Seiberg-Witten theory and Harvey-Moore Conjecture

Monday, February 14, 2005

Posted February 11, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

The VIGRE grant and the Friday site visit.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Posted January 31, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Justin Sawon, Department of Mathematics, SUNY at Stony Brook Candidate for Assistant Professor in Topology
Derived equivalence of algebraic varieties

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Posted February 4, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Symmetric Spaces of seminegative curvature

Posted February 10, 2005

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Life Sciences A 663 Access Grid Video Conference Room

Daniel C. Cohen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Topology and Combinatorics of boundary manifolds of arrangements

Joint Virtual Seminar with the University of Iowa

Posted January 31, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Yann Rollin, MIT, Department of Mathematics Candidate for Assistant Professor in Geometric Analysis
Construction of Kaehler surfaces with constant scalar curvature

Friday, February 18, 2005

VIGRE panel site

Posted February 16, 2005

8:00 am - 4:45 pm James E. Keisler Mathematics Lounge

VIGRE panel site visit

The VIGRE panel will interview with various students, faculty, and administrators throughout the day.

Posted October 26, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 239, Lockett Hall

Susanne Brenner, Department of Mathematics, University of South Carolina

Abstract

Monday, February 21, 2005

Posted February 12, 2005

3:30 pm Lockett 285

Meeting of the Tenured Faculty

Discuss the third year review cases.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Posted February 16, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Leticia Barchini, Oklahoma State University at Stillwater
Positivity of Zeta distributions and small representations

Abstract: We study positivity of zeta distributions associated to noneuclidean Jordan algebras. The values of the complex parameter s for which the distributions are positive is determined. A theory analogous to the classical theory of Riesz distributions and Wallach set is developed. We claculate the distributions when they are positive. For each value of s for which the zeta distribution is positive we build a Hilbert space. These Hilbert spaces are representations spaces for the conformal groups of the Jordan algebras involved. In this way we build an explicit family of small (non holomorphic) representations.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Posted February 16, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Leticia Barchini, Oklahoma State University at Stillwater
Remarks on the characteristic cycle of discrete series of SU(p,q)

Posted February 21, 2005

3:30 pm 2150 CEBA

Michael Malisoff, LSU
An Introduction to Input-to-State Stability

Posted February 20, 2005

3:30 pm Lockett 285

William Schellhorn, LSU
Virtual Strings for Closed Curves with Multiple Components

Abstract: A Gauss paragraph is a combinatorial formulation of a generic closed curve with multiple components on some surface. A virtual string is a collection of circles with arrows that represent the crossings of such a curve. Every closed curve has an underlying virtual string and every virtual string has an underlying Gauss paragraph. A word-wise partition is a partition of the alphabet set of a Gauss paragraph that satisfies certain conditions with respect to the Gauss paragraph. This talk will discuss how the theory of virtual strings can be used to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for a Gauss paragraph and word-wise partition to represent a closed curve in the 2-sphere.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Posted February 21, 2005

2:00 pm - 2:50 pm Lockett 277

Stephen(Steve) Bryson, NASA Ames Research Center Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Scientific Computation
Central Methods for Balance Laws

Saturday, February 26, 2005

LSU High School Math Contest

Posted December 2, 2004

9:00 am - 4:00 pm

LSU High School Math Contest

This year the contest is being organized by Jacek Cygan. More information is at the Contest Website.

Monday, February 28, 2005

Student Seminar

Posted February 26, 2005

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm 3rd floor lounge, Lockett Hall

Consistency, Probability and Human Rationality

Wednesday, March 2, 2005

Posted February 22, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University
The Composite Cosine Transform on the Stiefel Manifold

Thursday, March 3, 2005

Posted February 23, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Yaniv Almog, Department of Mathematics/ Technion-I.I.T. Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Applied Math
Abrikosov lattices in finite domain

Friday, March 4, 2005

Posted October 26, 2004

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 235, Lockett Hall

Béatrice Rivière, Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh
Discontinuous Galerkin methods for incompressible flows

Abstract

Monday, March 7, 2005

Posted February 23, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Petr Plechak, Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick Candidate for Associate Professor Position in Scientific Computation
Approximation and coarse-graining of stochastic lattice systems

Student Seminar

Posted March 6, 2005

5:00 pm Math Lounge, third floor of Lockett

Card Shuffling

In "Proofs from THE BOOK," Martin Aigner and Gunter M. Ziegler discuss various methods of Card Shuffling, inclduing Top-in-at-random shuffles and riffle shuffles. Learn some basic Combinatorics or learn how to analyze random" shuffling using combinatorial reasoning. Bring your favorite deck of cards or your favorite card trick, and we'll discuss the mathematics of cards before the talk begins. There will be pizza, as usual, but all are encouraged to bring their own drinks.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

Posted March 4, 2005

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 282

Augusto Nobile, Mathematics Department, LSU
Algorithmic equiresolution

Posted March 1, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 239

Kee Lam, University of British Columbia
Low dimensional spinor bundles over projective spaces

Abstract: Given a k-dimensional vector bundle E over a
real projective space, the "geometric dimension problem" asks for the
maximal s such that E contains an s-dimensional trivial sub-bundle.
This problem originates from the study of immersions of projective
spaces into Euclidean space, and has been much pursued by topologists over
the last 40 years. As a general phenonmenon, k-s will be smaller
when k is divisible by a higher power of 2. In this talk we shall
examine such a phenonmenon from the view point of spinor representations,
and obtain some partial results. Some of these results turn out to be
best possible.

Posted March 1, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Brian Hall, University of Notre Dame
The range of the heat operator

Abstract: I will consider the heat operator both on Euclidean space and on certain symmetric manifolds such as spheres and hyperbolic spaces. I will begin by reviewing the heat equation itself, which describes how temperature distributions evolve in time. Then I will consider the following question: What class of functions does one obtain by taking an arbitrary initial temperature distribution and then running the heat equation for some fixed time t? The heat equation is very smoothing: the diffusion of heat smoothes out any rough edges in the initial temperature distribtion. Thus the functions obtained must be very nice ones and I will characterize them in terms of their analyticity properties. My talk will follow a recent reprint, available at www.arxiv.org/abs/math.DG/0409308.

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

Posted March 3, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University
The Composite Cosine Transform on the Stiefel Manifold II

Posted March 8, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 2150 CEBA

Rafal Goebel, University of California, Santa Barbara
Hybrid dynamical systems: solution concepts, graphical convergence, and robust stability

Hybrid dynamical systems, that is systems in which some variables evolve continuously while other variables may jump, are an active area of research in control engineering. Basic examples of such systems include a bouncing ball (where the velocity "jumps" every time the ball hits the ground) and a room with a thermostat (where the temperature changes continuously while the heater is either "on" or "off"), much more elaborate cases are studied for example in robotics and automobile design.

The talk will present some challenges encountered on the way to a successful stability theory of hybrid systems, and propose a way to overcome them. In particular, we will motivate the use
of generalized time domains, show how the nonclassical notion of graphical convergence appears to be the correct concept to treat sequences of solutions to hybrid systems, and how various other tools of set-valued and nonsmooth analysis may and need to be used.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Posted March 14, 2005

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm Keisler Lounge

Bogdan Oporowski, Mathematics Department, LSU
A Brief Introduction to Graph Theory

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Posted March 9, 2005

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 282

Jean Bureau, Louisiana State University
The Four Conjecture

Posted March 9, 2005

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Patrick Gilmer, Mathematics Department, LSU
Integral Lattices in TQFT

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Posted March 11, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Habib Ouerdiane, University of Tunis
Solutions of stochastic heat equations of convolution type

Friday, March 18, 2005

Posted March 11, 2005

11:10 am - 12:00 pm Lockett 381

Habib Ouerdiane, University of Tunis
Infinite dimensional entire functions and applications to stochastic differential equations

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Posted March 15, 2005

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 282

Jurgen Hurrelbrink, Mathematics Department, LSU
Quadratic Forms over Fields: The Splitting Pattern Conjecture

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Posted March 29, 2005

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Xiao-Song Lin, University of California Riverside
Representations of Braid Groups and Colored Homfly Polynomials

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa

Thursday, March 31, 2005

Posted March 28, 2005

2:00 pm Lockett 277

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

Meeting of the tenured and tenure track faculty to discuss the possibility of a Math-Biology program.

Posted February 22, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Alexander Figotin, University of Californina at Irvine
Nonlinear dispersive media

We study the basic properties of the Maxwell equations for nonlinear inhomogeneous media. Assuming the classical nonlinear optics representation for the nonlinear polarization as a power series, we show that the solution exists and is unique in an appropriate space if the excitation current is not too large. The solution to the nonlinear Maxwell equations is represented as a power series in terms of the solution of the corresponding linear Maxwell equations. This representation holds at least for the time period inversely proportional to the appropriate norm of the solution to the linear Maxwell equation. We derive recursive formulas for the terms of the power series for the solution including an explicit formula for the first significant term attributed to the nonlinearity. Coffee will be served in the Keisler Lounge at 3:00pm

Friday, April 1, 2005

Posted February 9, 2005

3:40 pm 239, Lockett Hall

Alexander Figotin, University of Californina at Irvine
Conservative extensions of dispersive dissipative systems

Abstract

Monday, April 4, 2005

Posted March 29, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Khaled Qazaqzeh, LSU
Integral Bases for the SU(2)-TQFT-modules in genus one

Student Seminar

Posted March 30, 2005

5:00 pm 3rd floor Lounge, Lockett Hall

Traffic Flow Along a Highway

Pizza will be served.

Posted April 4, 2005

5:00 pm James E. Keisler Mathematics Lounge

Traffic Flow on a Highway

The problem will be approached in analogy to fluid flow.

Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Posted March 15, 2005

3:10 am - 4:00 pm Lockett 282

Preeti Raman, Rice University
Hasse Principle for Classical groups

Abstract: I will discuss a conjecture due to Colliot-Thelene about Hasse principle for algebraic groups defined over the function field of a curve over a number field. I will also describe its relation to the classification of hermitian forms over such fields.

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

Posted March 31, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Racah Coefficients and Subrepresentation Semirings

Thursday, April 7, 2005

Posted March 29, 2005

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Vladimir Gaitsgory, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of South Australia
"to be announced"

Friday, April 8, 2005

Posted March 29, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm CEBA 2150

Vladimir Gaitsgory, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of South Australia
Limits of Occupational Measures and Averaging of Singularly Perturbed

Monday, April 11, 2005

Posted March 28, 2005

3:40 am - 4:30 am Lockett 285

Xiao-Song Lin, University of California Riverside
A folding problem of polygonal arcs in 3-space

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Posted April 4, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 282

Debra Czarneski, LSU
Zeta Functions of Finite Graphs

Abstract

LSU Chancellor's Distinguished Lecture Series

Posted April 7, 2005

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Design Building Auditorium

John Willis, Cambridge University Fellow, Royal Society of London (FRS)
New Waves in Solids

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Posted April 11, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Racah Coefficients and Subrepresentation semigroups. II

Posted March 31, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

John Willis, Cambridge University Fellow, Royal Society of London (FRS)

Abstract

Posted April 11, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:40 pm Lockett 381

Jesus Pascal, Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela Telephone: 011-58-414-3602104
On the Hamilton Jacobi Bellman Equation for a Deterministic Optimal Control Problem

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Posted March 1, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 241

Dror Bar-Natan, University of Toronto
Local Khovanov Homology

Abstract

Visit supported by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana
Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Posted April 16, 2005

3:40 pm James E. Keisler Mathematics Lounge

Meeting of the Actuarial Student Association

There is a visit by a consulting actuary. Refreshments will be served.

Friday, April 15, 2005

Posted March 15, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Life Science A663

Dror Bar-Natan, University of Toronto
I don't understand Khovanov-Rozansky homology

Abstract

Visit supported in part by Visiting Experts Program in Mathematics, Louisiana
Board of Regents LEQSF(2002-04)-ENH-TR-13

Monday, April 18, 2005

Posted April 15, 2005

11:00 am Coates 202

Martin Olbrich, Universität Göttingen
Automorphic distributions and dynamical zeta functions

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Posted April 11, 2005

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 282

Ways of ordering real algebras

Abstract

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Posted April 19, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Racah Coefficients and Subrepresentation Semirings III

Posted April 6, 2005

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Life Science A 663

Cameron Gordon, University of Texas, Austin
Knots with Unknotting Number 1 and Conway Spheres

Virtual Seminar with U Iowa.
Cameron Gordon is visiting U Iowa.

Posted April 15, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm CEBA 2150

Steven Hall, Louisiana State University, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Challenges in Measurement and Control with Biological Systems

Monday, April 25, 2005

Posted April 20, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

The purpose is to discuss Peter's Math Biology proposal.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Posted April 20, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 282

Helena Verrill, Mathematics Department, LSU
More modular Calabi-Yau threefolds

Abstract

Posted April 19, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Ambar Sengupta, Mathematics Department, LSU
Quantum Physics from Pure Logic

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Posted April 20, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 282

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Image of the Heat Transform on Symmetric Spaces

Posted April 26, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:40 pm CEBA 2150

Blaise Bourdin, Department of Mathematics and Center for Computation & Technology, LSU
From Geman and Geman to Mumford-Shah

This talk focuses on the issues raised by an apparently simple problem: extending Geman and Geman's weak-membrane model for the segmentation of signals to that of images. I will briefly describe the problems of image and signal segmentation, then present Geman and Geman's approach. I will illustrate the issue with its intuitive multi-dimensional extension. Then, I will present how one can derive the Mumford-Shah functional as the Gamma limit of a weak-membrane energy, and then extend it to the 2D and 3D cases. Time permitting, I will then
present numerical schemes based on the Mumford-Shah problem.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Posted March 15, 2005

11:00 am - 12:00 pm 104 Hill Memorial Library Originally scheduled for 3:40 pmTuesday, April 12, 2005

Roger Howe, Yale University
More than Mathematics for Teaching

Abstract: There has been substantial agreement among
professionals concerned with mathematics education
that the mathematical skills of the teaching corps needs
to be substantially upgraded. This is an urgent project
which will require huge effort. At the same time we
work on this, however, we should not lose sight of the
fact that there are certain jobs, in particular,
mathematics supervisor, which require substantially higher
levels of expertise than classroom teaching. Furthermore,
the system as a whole needs means to improve its understanding
of both mathematics teaching practice and curriculum.
This talk will discuss these issues, and some possible means for

Friday, April 29, 2005

Posted March 27, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Abhijit Champanerkar, University of South Alabama
Scissors congruence and Bloch invariants of hyperbolic 3-manifolds.

Abstract: I will give a background of scissors congruence in various geometries. The complexified Dehn invariant for scissors congruence in hyperbolic 3-space gives rise to invariants of hyperbolic 3-manifolds called Bloch invariants introduced by Neumann and Yang. I will talk about the variation of the Bloch invariant and its relation to the PSL A-polynomial.

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Posted April 25, 2005

3:10 pm 285 Lockett

Meeting of Instructors with Chair and ACI

Posted April 27, 2005

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 232

Tom Mark, Southeastern Louisiana University
Heegaard Floer invariants for fibered manifolds.

Heegaard Floer invariants, introduced by Ozsvath and Szabo several years ago,
are proving to be valuable tools in low-dimensional topology: in particular the theory
reproduces and extends many results obtained previously using Seiberg-Witten and/or Donaldson gauge theory, as well as yielding
novel results. I will discuss an ongoing project, joint with Slaven Jabuka,
whose goal is to understand the Ozsvath-Szabo invariants of Lefschetz fibered 4-manifolds. A natural place to start is to study the
Heegaard Floer homology groups of 3-manifolds that fiber over the circle,
particularly in terms of the
expression of their monodromy as a product of Dehn twists. We give some
preliminary results in this
area and indicate some directions for future work.

Thursday, May 5, 2005

Posted April 21, 2005

3:00 pm James Kiesler Lounge, 319 Lockett Hall

Spring Math Awards Ceremony

The Porcelli Scholarships, The Betti and Robert Giles Senior Mathematics Award, The David Oxley Memorial Graduate Student Teaching Award, and Certificates of Teaching Excellence (for graduate assistants) will be awarded. Refreshments will be provided.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Posted May 3, 2005

10:00 am Allen 102

Dean Ferreyra Meets with the Faculty

The Dean will speak with the Mathematics faculty about the chair's evaluation.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Posted June 17, 2005

10:30 am EE117

Li Qiu, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Perturbation Analysis beyond Singular Values -- A Metric Geometry on the Grassmann Manifold

Friday, July 15, 2005

Posted July 15, 2005

10:00 am EE 117

Boumediene Hamzi, University of California, Davis
The Controlled Center Dynamics

Friday, August 12, 2005

Posted June 29, 2005

8:30 am - 4:30 pm LSU Student Union Building

International Student Orientation

New international students should have been notified of this meeting in the packets containing I-20 forms for visas. This meeting is required for all new international students beginning their studies at LSU. Students will be informed when and where to take the required written English test and when and where to report for a spoken English interview with a faculty member from the ESL Program. If you did not receive notification or arrive late, go to International Services at 102 Hatcher Hall to find out what is required.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Posted July 12, 2005

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett

Core-1 Comprehensive Exam in Analysis

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Posted June 29, 2005

9:00 am - 12:00 pm Pleasant Hall, Room 148

Workshop & Orientation for TAs Assigned to the R2R Program

Ms. Rouse will hold a required R2R workshop on Tuesday and Thursday morning from 9 AM to noon for all TAs assigned to the R2R Program this fall semester. This includes both TAs who are assigned to tutor in the R2R Program and those assigned to teach in the R2R Program.

Posted July 12, 2005

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett

Core-1 Comprehensive Exam in Topology

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Posted June 29, 2005

8:30 am - 12:30 pm LSU Student Union Building

Orientation Meeting for All New Graduate Students at LSU

This is the Graduate School's required orientation meeting for all new graduate students at LSU.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Posted June 29, 2005

9:00 am - 12:00 pm Pleasant Hall, Room 148

Orientation & Workshop for TAs Assigned to R2R Program, Continued

Ms. Rouse's Orientation & Workshop for TAs assigned to the R2R Program will continue today from the Tuesday Orientation. This includes both TAs who are assigned to tutor in the R2R Program and those assigned to teach in the R2R Program.

Posted July 12, 2005

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett

Core-1 Comprehensive Exam in Algebra

Friday, August 19, 2005

Posted July 21, 2005

9:00 am - 12:00 pm Pleasant Hall, Room 148

Orientation for TAs assigned to TEACH in the R2R Program

Ms. Rouse will hold a required R2R workshop for all TAs assigned to teach in the R2R Program this fall semester. Those assigned only to tutor need not attend this meeting.

Posted June 29, 2005

9:00 am - 12:00 pm Lockett 235

Orientation for TAs Assigned Duties supporting Math 1431

Ms. Clement will begin the meeting in Room 235. After about an hour or more, the group will move to the computer lab on the 3rd floor.

Posted June 29, 2005

12:00 pm - 2:45 pm Lockett 237 at noon, followed by the Computer Lab at Pleasant Hall at 12:45. Originally scheduled for 9:00 am

Orientation for TAs Assigned to Math 1022

This meeting is required for those TAs who will be teaching Math 1022 labs. Meet in Lockett 237. Ms. Neal will go over the way the course is run via Maple, Semester Book, etc. At 12:45 the meeting will move to the Computer Lab in Pleasant Hall.

Posted July 12, 2005

1:00 pm - 4:30 pm Room 285 Lockett

Core-2 Comprehensive Exams

Core-2 Comprehensive Exams will be offered in each Core-2 subject which has been requested.

Friday, August 26, 2005

Posted August 22, 2005

10:40 am conference room, Lockett 301D

Meeting of the new Assistant Professors

The meeting is for our new assistant professors but all the assistant professors are invited.

Tuesday, September 6, 2005

Posted August 16, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Non-cyclic covers of knot complements

Wednesday, September 7, 2005

Posted August 26, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 284

Grant Writing

The meeting is for our new assistant professors and those looking for guidance in writing their grant applications.

Thursday, September 8, 2005

Posted August 24, 2005

5:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge, Lockett 321

First ASA Meeting

Organizational Meeting

Monday, September 12, 2005

Posted September 12, 2005

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Koszul Duality

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Posted September 8, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Brendan Owens, LSU
Floer homology of double branched covers

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Posted September 8, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Mark Davidson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Differential Recursion Relations for Laguerre Functions on Symmetric Cones

Posted September 8, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Hui-Hsiung Kuo, Mathematics Department, LSU
Interacting Fock spaces associated with probability measures

Monday, September 19, 2005

Posted September 14, 2005

2:35 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 285

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Koszul Duality II

continuation of previous algebra seminar

Posted September 9, 2005

3:40 pm Lockett 241

Meeting of the Full Professors

A presentation and discussion about a promotion to full professor.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Posted September 9, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Brendan Owens, LSU
Floer homology of double branched covers, Part II

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Posted September 18, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Mark Davidson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Differential Recursion Relations for Laguerre Functions on Symmetric Cones II

Posted September 17, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Jae Gil Choi , Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (Visiting Faculty)
Generalized analytic Feynman integrals and conditional generalized analytic Feynman integrals on function space

Friday, September 23, 2005

Posted September 20, 2005

10:40 am - 11:30 am conference room, Lockett 301D

Meeting of the new Assistant Professors

The meeting is for our new assistant professors and post doc but all the assistant professors are invited.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Posted September 19, 2005

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm 1030 Magnolia Wood Avenue

Si Si, Aichi Prefectural University, Japan
Some apects of Poisson noise

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Posted September 13, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Brendan Owens, LSU
Floer homology of double branched covers, Part III

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Posted September 21, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Image of the Segal-Bargman Transform

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Posted September 2, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235

Jacob Rubinstein, Indiana University
The weighted least action principle

Abstract

Monday, October 3, 2005

Posted September 29, 2005

3:30 pm Lockett 277

Meeting of the Instructors

The agenda will be to discuss teaching needs and assignments for the spring.

Posted September 21, 2005

3:35 pm - 4:30 pm Monday, September 26, 2005 Locket 285

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Koszul Duality III

continuation of previous algebra seminar

Posted September 20, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Jeremy Becnel, Stephen F. Austin State University
Delta Function for an Affine Subspace

Abstract

Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Posted September 19, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
Symplectic 4-manifolds with prescribed fundamental group

Wednesday, October 5, 2005

Dissertation defense rehearsal

Posted October 3, 2005

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 235

Tong Yi, LSU, Mathematics Graduate student
Broadcast in sparse optical networks using fewest converters

Posted September 28, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Image of the Segal-Bargman Transform II

Monday, October 10, 2005

Posted October 4, 2005

3:30 pm Locket 285

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Algebraic K-theory of singular varieties and a conjecture of Weibel

Posted October 5, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Jeremy Becnel, Stephen F. Austin State University
The Delta Function for an Affine Subspace II

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Posted October 4, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
Symplectic 4-manifolds with prescribed fundamental group, Part II

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Posted October 7, 2005

2:40 am - 3:30 am Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Image of the Segal-Bargman Transform III

Friday, October 14, 2005

Posted September 29, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 241 Lockett Hall

Robert Lipton, Mathematics Department, LSU
Multi-scale Stress Analysis

Many structures are hierarchical in nature and are made up of substructures distributed across several length scales. Examples include aircraft wings made from fiber reinforced laminates and naturally occurring structures like bone. From the perspective of failure initiation it is crucial to quantify the load transfer between length scales. The presence of geometrically induced stress or strain singularities at either the structural or substructural scale can have influence across length scales and initiate nonlinear phenomena that result in overall structural failure. In this presentation we examine load transfer between length scales for hierarchical structures when the substructure is known exactly or only in a statistical sense. New mathematical objects dubbed macrostress modulation functions are presented that facilitate a quantitative description of the load transfer in hierarchical structures. Several concrete physical examples are provided illustrating how these quantities can be used to quantify the stress and strain distribution inside multi-scale structures. It is then shown how to turn the problem around and use the macrostress modulation functions to design graded microstructures for control of local stress.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Posted October 4, 2005

3:40 pm Locket 285

Helena Verrill, Mathematics Department, LSU
Modular forms and Ramanujan's series for 1/pi

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Posted October 12, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Tara Brendle, Department of Mathematics, LSU
The Birman-Craggs-Johnson homomorphism and the homology of the Johnson Kernel

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Posted October 13, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Hongyu He, Mathematics Department, LSU
Some problems concerning positive definite functions

I will give an introduction about positive definitive function and its relation to unitary representation theory, Bochner's Theorem, Gelfand-Naimark-Segal construction etc. Then I will define positive definite distributions and introduce the extension problems, square root problems and the positivity roblem of Godement. This talk will be accessible to graduate students.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Posted October 13, 2005

5:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge, Lockett 321

Actuarial Student Association Meeting

Friday, October 21, 2005

Posted October 11, 2005

3:30 pm 241 Lockett Hall

Robert Lipton, Mathematics Department, LSU
Differentiation of G-limits and weak L-P estimates for sequences

Monday, October 24, 2005

Posted October 14, 2005

3:40 pm Locket 285

Pramod Achar, Mathematics Department, LSU
Koszul duality in representation theory

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Posted October 12, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm 285 Lockett

Tara Brendle, Department of Mathematics, LSU
The Birman-Craggs-Johnson homomorphism and the homology of the Johnson Kernel, Part II

Posted October 17, 2005

6:30 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (Room 321 Lockett)

Suat Namli and his Turkish friends will generously make a Turkish Ramadan dinner for our faculty, students, and families. We look forward to another fabulous feast!

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Posted October 21, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Carolyn Chun, Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand Former LSU graduate student
Unavoidable Parallel Minors of Large, 4-Connected Graphs

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Posted July 14, 2005

10:00 am - 3:00 pm Hilltop Arboretum, 11855 Highland Rd, Baton Rouge

Graduate Student Day & Orientation Conference

Program

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Posted October 20, 2005

2:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 381

Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University
The generalized Busemann-Petty problem on sections of convex bodies.

The generalized Busemann-Petty problem asks whether origin-symmetric convex bodies in $R^n$ with smaller $i$-dimensional central sections necessarily have smaller volume. This problem has a long history. For $i=2$ and $3$, the answer is still unknown if $n>4$. The problem is intimately connected with the spherical Radon transform. I am planning to give a survey of known results and methods, discuss some generalizations and difficulties.

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Posted October 28, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Brian Beavers, Mathematics Department, LSU Graduate student
Finding Cycles of All Sizes in Large Graphs and Matroids

Monday, November 7, 2005

Posted October 15, 2005

3:40 pm Locket 285

Jorge Morales, Mathematics Department, LSU
Quaternion orders, ternary quadratic forms and hyperelliptic curves

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Posted November 1, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Tara Brendle, Department of Mathematics, LSU
The Birman-Craggs-Johnson homomorphism and the homology of the Johnson Kernel, Part III

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

Posted October 27, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University
The generalized Busemann-Petty problem on sections of convex bodies.II

The generalized Busemann-Petty problem asks whether origin-symmetric convex bodies in $R^n$ with smaller $i$-dimensional central sections necessarily have smaller volume. This problem has a long history. For $i=2$ and $3$, the answer is still unknown if $n>4$. The problem is intimately connected with the spherical Radon transform. I am planning to give a survey of known results and methods, discuss some generalizations and difficulties.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Posted November 9, 2005

1:40 pm Lockett 284

Meeting of the Faculty

Update on the post Katrina budget situation.

Posted September 28, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Thursday, October 20, 2005

Richard Anderson, Louisiana State University (Emeritus) Emeritus Boyd Professor.
My Three Lives in Mathematics

Abstract

Refreshments will be served in the James E. Keisler Lounge one half hour before the talk.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Posted October 6, 2005

3:40 pm 241 Lockett Hall

Itai Shafrir, Department of Mathematics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
On the distance between homotopy classes of $S^1$-valued maps

Abstract: Certain Sobolev spaces of $S^1$-valued functions can be written as a disjoint union of homotopy classes. The problem of finding the distance between different homotopy classes in such spaces is considered. In particular several types of one-dimensional and two-dimensional domains are studied. Lower bounds are derived for these distances. Furthermore, in many cases it is shown that the lower bounds are sharp but are not achieved.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Posted November 9, 2005

3:40 pm Locket 285

Jorge Morales, Mathematics Department, LSU
Quaternion orders, ternary quadratic forms and hyperelliptic curves, part II

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Posted October 28, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Eric Todd Quinto, Mathematics Department, Tufts University
LIMITED DATA TOMOGRAPHY AND MICROLOCAL ANALYSIS

In this talk, we will describe limited data tomography problems that come up in applications, including electron microscopy and diagnostic radiology. In each of these tomography problems, certain singularities (boundaries, cracks, etc.) of the object are easily visible in the reconstruction and others are not. We will show how this phenomenon is reflected in the singular functions for the corresponding tomographic problems. A theoretical framework, microlocal analysis, will be given to explain the phenomenon, and we will include an elementary introduction to this idea. If time, we will outline our basic algorithm.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Posted November 9, 2005

3:40 pm Locket 285

Pramod Achar, Mathematics Department, LSU
How I learned to stop worrying and love stacks

Monday, November 28, 2005

Posted November 4, 2005

3:30 pm Locket 285 Originally scheduled for 3:30 pm, Monday, November 14, 2005

Planning meeting to decide graduate courses in algebra for next year

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Posted November 14, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Khaled Qazaqzeh, LSU
Integral Bases for Certain TQFT-Modules of the Torus

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Posted October 28, 2005

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm 381 Lockett Hall

Average local behavior of functions and Fourier Series

Posted November 9, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Jeremy Becnel, Stephen F. Austin State University
An Infinite Dimensional Integral Identity for the Segal-Bargmann Transform

Friday, December 2, 2005

Posted November 11, 2005

3:40 pm 239 Lockett Hall

Corey Redd, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Capturing Deviation from Ergodicity at Different Scales

Many researchers are interested in the topics of ergodicity and mixing, and
more importantly in methods by which these quantities can be measured. As
these properties may register differently based upon the space under
observation, it is also important that any measure be able to be applied at
different scales. Up to now, an energy based measure (L-2 norm) has
traditionally been used to assess the ergodicity and/or mixing of a system.
This method is less than ideal in part due to its non-uniqueness and
difficulty with assessment on varying scales. I will present a Lagrangian
based, multiscale method for measuring ergodicity that will attempt to address
these issues.
This talk will begin with background information on ergodicity and mixing and
the relationship between the two. From the abstract definitions, I will
derive an equation that will measure ergodicity on multiple scales. Following
that, results will be presented from some initial computations of the metric
on several test maps. Finally, computational issues will be discussed that
are specific to measuring ergodicity, as well as in comparison to a mixing
measure.

Monday, December 5, 2005

Posted December 2, 2005

3:30 pm Locket 285

Pramod Achar, Mathematics Department, LSU
Stacks II

Before the talk, we will have a 15 minute discussion of graduate courses for next year. Graduate students welcome.

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Posted November 20, 2005

4:10 pm - 5:00 pm 285 Lockett

Atle Hahn, University of Bonn and LSU
Towards a path integral derivation of the Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants

Monday, December 12, 2005

Posted November 30, 2005

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Changyou Wang, University of Kentucky Candidate for an Associate/Full Professor Position in Partial Differential Equations
Calculus of variations in L-infinity and Aronsson's equation

ABSTRACT: In this talk, I will discuss the basic issues for L-infinity variational problems, where one considers minimization problem of the supernorm functional: $$F(u,Omega)=esssup H(x,u(x),nabla u(x)), uin W^{1,infty}(Omega).$$ We will survey some recent developments on: (1) the existence of absolute minimizers (AM's), (2) the PDE characterization of AMs (i.e. Aronsson's equation or AE), (3) the relationship between AM and AE, and (4) regularity and uniqueness of AE. We will also discuss its connection with image interpolation, random game theory.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Posted December 11, 2005

12:00 pm Keisler Lounge

Christmas Party

The sign up sheet for dishes is on Karen's door (Lockett 304) not on the mail
and one fried) as well as the shared dishes.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Posted December 9, 2005

2:30 pm

Marie-José Bertin, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris
Lehmer's problem and Mahler measure

Friday, January 13, 2006

Posted December 27, 2005

1:30 pm

Core-1 Analysis Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam

This is the first of the three component tests of the Core-1 part of the PhD Qualifying Exam. If unsure weather or not you are required to take this test, please consult the Graduate Director and read the link to sign up.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Posted December 27, 2005

1:00 pm 285 Lockett Originally scheduled for 1:00 pm

Core-1 Topology Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam

This is the second of the three component tests of the Core-1 part of the PhD Qualifying Exam. If unsure weather or not you are required to take this test, please consult the Graduate Director and read the link to sign up.

Posted December 27, 2005

1:00 pm 285 Lockett

Core-1 Topology Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam

This is the second of the three component tests of the Core-1 part of the PhD Qualifying Exam. If unsure weather or not you are required to take this test, please consult the Graduate Director and read the link to sign up.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Posted December 27, 2005

1:30 pm

Core-1 Algebra Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam

This is the third of the three component tests of the Core-1 part of the PhD Qualifying Exam. If unsure weather or not you are required to take this test, please consult the Graduate Director and read the link to sign up.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Posted December 27, 2005

12:30 pm 285 Lockett

Core-2 Components (all) of the PhD Qualifying Exam

These are the Core-2 component parts of the PhD Qualifying Exam. If unsure weather or not you are required to take one of these tests, please consult the Graduate Director and read the link to sign up.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Posted January 23, 2006

2:30 pm Locket 285

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Stabilized Witt groups, Ranicki's lower L groups, and blow ups

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Posted January 24, 2006

4:30 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Daniel C. Cohen, Mathematics Department, LSU
tba

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

Posted January 13, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

David Damanik, California Institue of Technology Candidate for Full Professor Position
Structures of intermediate complexity and quantum dynamics

Abstract: We discuss the spreading properties of quantum particles in structures of intermediate complexity. Examples of interest include quasicrystals. We carry out a complete analysis for the Fibonacci Hamiltonian, which is the most prominent object in the mathematics and physics literature on quasicrystals.

Friday, February 3, 2006

Posted January 27, 2006

1:30 pm Lockett 137

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

Candidate discussion.

Monday, February 6, 2006

Posted February 1, 2006

2:30 pm Locket 276

Orderings of commutative rings with nilpotents

Posted January 18, 2006

4:00 pm Keisler Lounge

Actuarial Student Association Meeting

Spring Organizational Meeting of the ASA

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Posted February 3, 2006

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 284

Dana Scott, Carnegie Mellon University
Parametric Sets and Virtual Classes

Posted January 26, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Neal Stoltzfus, Mathematics Department, LSU
Root Posets and Temperley-Lieb Algebras

Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Posted January 24, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Determining Intertwining Operators

Thursday, February 9, 2006

Posted January 23, 2006

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm 277 Lockett

Robert B. Haber, Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Space-time Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Multi-scale Solid Mechanics

Abstract

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Posted February 8, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Ben McReynolds, UT Austin
Separable subgroups of mapping class groups

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Posted February 8, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Determining Intertwining Operators II

Monday, February 20, 2006

Posted February 17, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 232

Cartesian Closedness and Diffeological Spaces

This seminar is intended to be widely accessible to graduate students and
faculty, with a minimum of background assumed. During this semester we will
primarily develop the basic theory of diffeological spaces.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Posted January 30, 2006

10:00 am EE 117

Patrick De Leenheer, Department of Mathematics, University of Florida
Bistability and Oscillations in the Feedback-Controlled Chemostat

The chemostat is a biological reactor used to study the dynamics of species competing for nutrients. If there are n>1 competitors and a single nutrient, then at most one species survives, provided the control variables of the reactor are constant. This result is known as the competitive exclusion principle. I will review what happens if one of the control variables--the dilution rate--is treated as a feedback variable. Several species can coexist for appropriate choices of the feedback. Also, the dynamical behavior can be more complicated, exhibiting oscillations or bistability.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Posted February 15, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Dorin Dutkay, Rutgers University
Wavelets and self-similarity

In the past twenty years the theory of wavelets has proved to be extremely successful, with important applications to image compression and signal processing. The theory involves the consctruction of orthonormal bases in euclidian spaces generated by translations and dilations. A key feature of these consctructions is the property of self-similarity. We exploit this property and, using operator algebra methods, we offer a wider perspective on the subject. We show how techniques from the theory of wavelets can be used in many other contexts such as fractals, dynamical systems, or endomorphisms of von Neumann algebras. Thus, we can construct rich multiresolution structures with scaling functions and wavelets on fractals, solenoids, super-wavelets for Hilbert spaces containing L^2(R), or harmonic bases on fractal measures.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Research Presentation

Posted February 22, 2006

10:00 am 381 Lockett Hall

Patrick De Leenheer, Department of Mathematics, University of Florida
Michael Malisoff, LSU
An Informal Seminar on Monotone Systems

Posted February 17, 2006

11:40 am - 12:30 pm Johnston 338

Susanne Brenner, Department of Mathematics, University of South Carolina
Fast Solvers for $C^0$ Interior Penalty Methods

In this talk we will discuss fast solvers for $C^0$ interior penalty
methods for fourth order elliptic boundary value problems. We will
give a brief introduction to $C^0$ interior penalty methods, and
present convergence results for the V-cycle, W-cycle and F-cycle
multigrid algorithms, and also condition number estimates for
two-level additive Schwarz preconditioners. Numerical results will
also be reported.

Posted February 15, 2006

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 16

Dave Larson, Texas A&M
Wavelet Sets and Interpolation

A wavelet is a special case of a vector in a separable Hilbert space that generates a basis under the action of a collection, or "system", of unitary operators defined in terms of translation and dilation operations. We will begin by describing an operator-interpolation approach to wavelet theory using the local commutant of a unitary system that was developed by the speaker and his collaborators a few years ago. This is really an abstract application of the theory of operator algebras, mainly von Neumann algebras, to wavelet theory. The concrete applications of oeprator-interpolation to wavelet theory include results obtained and partially published results, and some brand new results, that are due to this speaker and his former and current students, and other collaborators.

Posted February 16, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Chris Hruska, University of Chicago Candidate for an Assistant Professor Position in Topology
Nonpositively curved spaces with isolated flats

Abstract: In the 1980s Gromov popularized the study of finitely generated groups using geometric techniques. He introduced and popularized notions of negative and nonpositive curvature in group theory, which have been highly influential in shaping the field of geometric group theory over the last two decades. The theory of negatively curved groups is extremely rich and exhibits many strong stability properties. On the other hand, the theory of nonpositively curved groups is much more delicate and less understood. In my thesis, I introduced the class of nonpositively curved groups with isolated flats''. These groups occur naturally throughout group theory and low-dimensional topology and can be considered as the simplest nontrivial generalization of a negatively curved group. They have many properties in common with negatively curved groups. In particular, in joint work with Bruce Kleiner, I have shown that such a group is relatively hyperbolic with respect to virtually abelian subgroups.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Posted February 2, 2006

until Sunday, February 26, 2006

See program announcement
Workshop in Harmonic Analysis and Fractal Geometry

http://www.math.lsu.edu/~olafsson/workshop06.html

Posted February 16, 2006

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 16

(Jennifer)Suzanne Hruska, Indiana University Candidate for an Assistant Professor Position in Analysis
The Dynamics of Polynomial Skew Products of C^2''

Our goal is to develop and use rigorous computer investigations to study the dynamics of polynomial skew products of C^2; i.e., maps of the form f(z,w) = (p(z), q(z,w)), where p and q are polynomials of the same degree d >= 2. The skew products we are most interested in studying are those maps which are Axiom A. Such maps have the simplest'' chaotic dynamics, and stability under small perturbation, thus are amenable to computer investigation. In this talk, we will describe a new class of skew products with interesting dynamics, and sketch how we have proven using rigorous computer techniques that sample maps from this class are Axiom A. This leads us to conjecture that all (or nearly all) maps in this class are Axiom A.

Posted February 17, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Li-yeng Sung, University of South Carolina Candidate for Possible Senior Professor Position
Fokas Transforms

Just as initial value problems for evolution partial differential equations in one spatial variable can be solved by means of the Fourier transform on the full-line, initial-boundary value problems on the half-line can be solved using Fokas transforms. In this talk we will present unified derivations of these transforms and discuss their applications to linear and nonlinear partial differential equations.

Friday, March 3, 2006

Posted February 23, 2006

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 277

Olga Plamenevskaya, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Topology
Heegaard Floer theory, knots, and contact structures

Abstract: Heegaard Floer theory is one of the most significant recent developments in low-dimensional topology. Reminiscent of gauge theory, it provides powerful invariants for 3-manifolds. Although defined via holomorphic disks, these 3-manifold invariants have an unexpected connection to combinatorial knot invariants developed by Khovanov. I will outline the construction of Heegaard Floer and Khovanov theories, as well as their relation (due to Ozsvath and Szabo). Then, I will expand these results to the world of contact topology, providing a new invariant for transversal knots, and bringing the correspondence between the two theories to a new level.

Posted February 23, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Alexander Retakh, University of Texas at Arlington Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Algebra
Structure Theory and Representations of Conformal Algebras

The last several decades saw a great deal of interaction between representation theory and modern mathematical physics. The search for rigorous algebraic formalism in areas such as string theory and conformal field theory led Kac and others to the concept of a conformal algebra. Apart from their physical applications, conformal algebras also turned out to be extremely useful in the study of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras. I will define conformal algebras, explain their relation to vertex algebras and superconformal algebras of string theory, the connection to Hamiltonian formalism in calculus of variations, and describe recent progress and conjectures in the field.

Monday, March 6, 2006

Posted January 31, 2006

2:30 am Locket 276

Edith Adan-Bante, University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast
On Conjugacy Classes and Finite Groups

abstract

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Posted February 23, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Matilde Lalin, University of British Columbia
Some aspects of the Multivariable Mahler Measure

Friday, March 10, 2006

Posted March 3, 2006

8:30 am Lockett 6 (in basement)

Guillermo Ferreyra, Mathematics Department, LSU
Faculty Forum with Dean Ferreyra

Posted February 27, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Chris Larsen, WPI and California Institute of Technology
Epsilon Stability - A new tool for studying local minimizers

Monday, March 13, 2006

Posted March 2, 2006

2:30 pm Locket 276

Juan Marco Cervino, University of Goettingen
The Minkowski-Siegel formula for quadratic bundles on curves

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Posted March 9, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Patrick Gilmer, Mathematics Department, LSU
Lollipop trees in TQFT

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Posted March 13, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 15

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

Discussion of two senior candidates. A vote will follow.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Posted March 17, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Leonid Berlyand, Department of Mathematics, Penn State University
The discrete network approximation and asymptotic fictitious fluid approach in modeling of highly packed composites

Posted March 17, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Achim Jung, Department of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, England
Semantic domains, or the curious incapability of mathematics in computer science

Abstract: In the mid-60s, Christopher Strachey and others begun a programme of describing the meaning of computer programs in a mathematical style. The approach is known as denotational semantics. From the beginning, Strachey was aware that set theory is not a good basis for such an endeavour, but it was not until Dana Scott developed his domain theory several years later that there was any mathematical basis at all. In this talk, I will try to explain why sets - without further structure - do not reflect well the realities of computing, and I will try to motivate why the domains of Scott, which carry an order and a topology, do a better job. There are several further computational phenomena which required Scott to restrict the concept of domain even further, but once this is done, a fairly pleasing and flexible semantic universe is obtained. In the spirit of this lecture, I will not dwell too much on the successes that domain theory has had in modelling computation, but rather present those phenomena which have resisted being incorporated into the model. One issue that is still not completely understood is the treatment of exact real numbers. On the one hand, real numbers seem ideally suited for a topological model but recent work by Escardo, Hofmann, and Streicher suggests that there is an inherent conflict between efficiency of the programming language and faithfulness to the mathematical concept.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Posted March 21, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Achim Jung, Department of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, England
Semantic domains, or the curious inapplicability of mathematics in computer science

ABSTRACT: In the mid-60s, Christopher Strachey and others begun a
programme of describing the meaning of computer programs in a mathematical
style. The approach is known as denotational semantics. From the
beginning, Strachey was aware that set theory is not a good basis for such
an endeavour, but it was not until Dana Scott developed his domain
theory several years later that there was any mathematical basis at all.

In this talk, I will try to explain why sets - without further structure -
do not reflect well the realities of computing, and I will try to motivate
why domains of Scott, which carry an order and a topology, do a better job.
There are several further computational phenomena which required Scott to
restrict the concept of domain even further, but once this is done, a
fairly pleasing and flexible semantic universe is obtained.

In the spirit of this lecture, I will not dwell too much on the successes
that domain theory has had in modelling computation, but rather present
those phenomena which have resisted being incorporated into the model. One
issue that is still not completely understood is the treatment of exact
real numbers. On the one hand, real numbers seem ideally suited for a
topological model but recent work by Escardo, Hofmann, and Streicher
suggests that there is an inherent conflict between efficiency of the
programming language and faithfulness to the mathematical concept.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Special Guest Lecture (CCT)

Posted March 21, 2006

3:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Bertil Gustafsson, University of Uppsala
High order one-step difference methods for wave propagation

Posted March 14, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Determining Intertwining Operators III

Friday, March 24, 2006

Posted March 8, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Johnston 338

Ken Mattsson, Center for Integrated Turbulence Simulations, Stanford University
Towards time stable and high order accurate schemes for realistic applications

For wave propagation problems, the computational domain is often large compared to the wavelengths, which means that waves have to travel long distances during long times. As a result, high order accurate time marching methods, as well as efficient high order spatially accurate schemes (at least 3rd order) are required. Such schemes, although they might be G-K-S stable (convergence to the true solution as delta x -> 0), may exhibit a non-physical growth in time, for realistic mesh sizes. It is therefore important to device schemes, which do not allow a growth in time that is not called for by the differential equation. Such schemes are called strictly (or time) stable. We are particularly interested in efficient methods with a simple data structure that parallelize easily on structured grids. High order accurate finite difference methods fulfill these requirements. Traditionally, a successful marriage of high order accurate finite difference and strict stability was a complicated and highly problem dependent task, especially for realistic applications. The major breakthrough came with the construction (Kreiss et al., in 1974) of non-dissipative operators that satisfy a summation by parts (SBP) formulation, and later with the introduction of  a  specific procedure (Carpenter et al., in 1994) to impose boundary conditions as a penalty term, referred to as the Simultaneous Approximation Term (SAT) method. The combination of SBP and SAT naturally leads to strictly stable and high order accurate schemes for well-posed linear problems, on rectangular domains. During the last 10 years, the methodology has been extended to handle complex geometries and non-linear problems. In this talk I will introduce the original SBP and SAT concepts, and further discuss the status today and the focus on future applications. In particular I will discuss some recent developments towards time stable and accurate hybrid combinations of structured and unstructured SBP schemes, making use of the SAT method.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Posted March 18, 2006

until Sunday, March 26, 2006 Lockett Hall, Room 241

First Louisiana-Texas-Topology-Retreat

Speakers: Tara Brendle (LSU),
Abhijit Champanerkar (USA),
Tim Cochran (Rice),
Stefan Friedl (Rice),
Gregor Masbaum (Paris VII),
Neal Stoltzfus (LSU)

Detailed Program

Monday, March 27, 2006

Posted March 22, 2006

2:40 pm Locket 276

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU

Posted March 9, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Johnston 338

Qian-Yong Chen, University of Minnesota Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
A new basis for spectral methods

Abstract: The spectral methods have been very successful in many applications, such as weather prediction, seismic imaging and etc. The main reason for their success is the exponential accuracy: For smooth problems on simple domains, spectral methods can achieve 10 digits accuracy, compared to 2 ~ 3 digits for finite difference or finite element methods with similar computational cost. However, there are still two issues with the Legendre/Chebyshev polynomials based spectral methods for non-periodic problems: the time-step size and the number of points needed to resolve a wave. In this talk, I address this two issues by using a new basis, the prolate spheroidal wave functions (PSWFs), for spectral methods. The relevant approximation theory will be covered. The advantage of the new basis over Legendre/Chebyshev polynomials will be showed for marginally resolved broadband solutions.

Posted March 8, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 381

K Saito, Meijo University
Constructions of stochastic processes associated

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Posted March 24, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University
On MATH 7390-1: Applied Harmonic Analysis (Fall 2006)

Abstract. I am planning to review a tentative content of this course which will be suggested to graduate students in Fall 2006. This is an introductory course in the theory of the Radon transform, one of the main objects in integral geometry and modern analysis. Topics to be studied include fractional integration and differentiation of functions of one and several variables, Radon transforms in the n-dimensional Euclidean space and on the unit sphere, selected aspects of the Fourier analysis in the context of its application to integral geometry and tomography. The talk will be illustrated by examples of mathematical problems that fall into the scope of this course.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Posted March 21, 2006

8:45 am - 4:30 pm Hill Memorial Library

1st Louisiana Joint Workshop for Academia and Industry.

website

Friday, March 31, 2006

Posted March 21, 2006

9:00 am - 12:00 pm Middleton Library, Conference Room 241 A

1st Louisiana Joint Workshop for Academia and Industry.

website

Posted March 24, 2006

9:00 am - 10:00 am 338 Johnston Hall/CCT

Christopher King, Northeastern University
Mathematical problems in quantum information theory

Abstract

Monday, April 3, 2006

Posted March 27, 2006

2:40 pm Locket 276

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Koszul duality and the derived category of coherent sheaves on a quadric (after Kapranov)

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Posted March 28, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Genkai Zhang, Department of Mathematics, Gothenburg University, Sweden
Radon, cosine and sine transforms on Grassmannians.

Posted March 29, 2006

6:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge Lockett 321

Lawrence Smolinsky, Mathematics Department, LSU
Ancient Constructions and the Modern Formulation

This talk is part I of "Geometric Constructions with Ellipses." A description of the talk is posted here. Part II will be given on April 19th by Aliska Gibbins.

Thursday, April 6, 2006

Posted March 27, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 112

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

The topics of the meeting will be a discussion of the graduate program and VIGRE.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Computing the Future Lecture sponsored by CCT

Posted April 13, 2006

11:00 am 338 Johnston Hall

D. C. Sorensen, Rice University, Department of Computation and Applied Mathematics
Gramian Based Model Reduction for Dynamical Systems

Here is the abstract. Please come for refreshments at 10:30 AM.

Posted April 5, 2006

3:45 pm Locket 276

Jeonghun Kim, Mathematics Department, LSU LSU graduate student of Robert Perlis

Note this is an hour later than the usual algebra seminar time.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Posted March 29, 2006

6:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge Lockett 321

Aliska Gibbins, Tulane
Elliptic Constructions

This talk is part II of "Geometric Constructions with Ellipses." A description of the talk is posted here. Part I was given on April 5th by Larry Smolinsky.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Posted April 10, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Atle Hahn, University of Bonn and LSU
Towards a path integral derivation of 3-manifold quantum invariants

Abstract: The study of the heuristic Chern-Simons path integral by E. Witten inspired (at least) two general approaches to quantum topology. Firstly, the perturbative approach based on the CS path integral in the Landau gauge and, secondly, the quantum group approach by Reshetikhin and Turaev. While for the first approach the relation to the CS path integral is obvious for the second approach it is not. In particular, it is not clear if and how one can derive the relevant R-matrices or quantum 6j-symbols directly from the CS path integral. In my talk, I will sketch a strategy that should lead to a clarification of this issue in the special case where the base manifold is of product form. This strategy is based on the torus gauge fixing procedure introduced by Blau and Thompson for the study of the partition function of CS models. I will show that the formulas of Blau and Thompson can be generalized to Wilson lines and that the evaluation of the expectation values of these Wilson lines leads to the same state sum expressions in terms of which shadow invariant of Turaev is defined. Finally, I will sketch how one can obtain a rigorous realization of the path integral expressions appearing in this treatment.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Posted January 26, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235

Yaniv Almog, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Boundary layers in superconductivity and smectic liquid crystals

CCT Computing the Future Series

Posted April 19, 2006

4:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

James Lambers, Petroleum Engineering, Stanford
A Multi-Pronged Research Strategy for Numerical Solution of Variable-Coefficient PDE

The abstract is posted here.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Posted April 5, 2006

3:45 pm Locket 276

Jeonghun Kim, Mathematics Department, LSU LSU graduate student of Robert Perlis
Arf equivalence of quadratic fields, Part II

Part I, given the previous week, is related to this talk, but not essential for understanding part II.

Posted April 13, 2006

4:40 pm James E. Keisler Lounge in Lockett 321

Hank Frantz, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana
Actuarial Mathematics: On the Job Examples

The speaker is an Associate Actuary BCBS of Louisiana. He will discuss mathematics from three examples in his work.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Posted April 19, 2006

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Life Science A663

David Futer, Michigan State University
"Geometry and combinatorics of arborescent link complements."

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa

Report on 1000-level Mathematics Courses

Posted April 20, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Report on the Computer-based and Large Lecture Courses

Results from the fall semester assessments.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Posted April 21, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Tomasz Przebinda, University of Oklahoma
Invariant Eigen-Distributions and Howe's Correspondence

Abstract: The notions of a group reduction, a character and an invariant eigen distribution play a crucial role in Harmonic Analysis on a Real Reductive Group. The classical groups may be organized in pairs. This leads to a correspondence of representations, which is compatible with Capelli identities. We shall explain a recent microlocal construction of invariant eigen distributions which is also compatible with Capelli identities. The hope is that this construction explains the behavior of the characters under Howe's correspondence.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Posted April 25, 2006

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Tomasz Przebinda, University of Oklahoma
Orbital Integrals and Howe's Correspondence

Abstract. In this talk I shall explain the construction of the invariant eigendistributions in more detail. In particular, we’ll show how it relates Harish-Chandra’s orbital on the Lie algebras via and the moment maps.

Posted April 13, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett, 235

Anna Zemlyanova, Department of Mathematics, LSU
The problem on reinforcement and repair of a hole in a plate with a patch

It is known that holes in a thin plate create undesirable stress concentration and can lead to the formation of cracks from the edge of the hole. I will consider the mechanical problem of repair of the hole by a two-dimensional patch. This problem will be reduced to the system of three singular integral equations. Uniqueness of the solution of the system will be proved. Numerical results will be given for some particular cases.

Monday, May 1, 2006

Posted March 13, 2006

2:30 pm Locket 276

Edith Adan-Bante, University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast
On Characters and Finite Groups

abstract

Posted April 18, 2006

3:30 pm James Kiesler Lounge, 319 Lockett Hall

Spring Math Awards Ceremony

The Porcelli Scholarships, The Betti and Robert Giles Senior Mathematics Award, The David Oxley Memorial Graduate Student Teaching Award, and Certificates of Teaching Excellence (for graduate assistants) will be awarded. Refreshments will be provided.

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Posted April 16, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Alissa Crans, University of Chicago/Loyola Marymount University
Self-Distributivity in Coalgebras

Abstract: Self-distributive binary operations have appeared extensively in knot theory in recent years, specifically in algebraic structures called quandles.' A quandle is a set equipped with two binary operations satisfying axioms that capture the essential properties of the operations of conjugation in a group. The self-distributive axioms of a quandle correspond to the third Reidemeister move in knot theory. Thus, quandles give a solution to the Yang-Baxter equation, which is an algebraic distillation of the third Reidemeister move. We formulate analogues of self-distributivity in the categories of coalgebras and Hopf algebras and use these to construct additional solutions to the Yang-Baxter equation.

Thursday, May 4, 2006

Posted April 19, 2006

3:40 pm 284 Lockett

Franco Rampazzo, Dipartimento di Matematica Pura ed Applicata, Università degli Studi di Padova Professor of Mathematical Analysis
Commutators of Flows of Non-Smooth Vector Fields

Professor Rampazzo's visit is sponsored by the Louisiana Board of Regents Grant "Enhancing Control Theory at LSU". This is one of two talks the speaker will give at LSU during May 2006. For abstracts of both talks, click here.

Monday, May 8, 2006

CCT Computing the Future Lecture Series

Posted May 3, 2006

1:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Walter Gander, Computational Science, ETH Zurich
Solving problems in scientific computing using Maple and Matlab

Refreshments follow the talk. The abstract is here

Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Posted April 18, 2006

1:30 pm 102 Allen Originally scheduled for 1:30 pm, Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Faculty meeting with Dean Ferreyra

Posted May 1, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Abhijit Champanerkar, University of South Alabama
On the Mahler measure of Jones polynomials

Abtsract: We show that the Mahler measure of the Jones polynomial and of
the colored Jones polynomials converges under twisting for any link. In
terms of Mahler measure convergence, the Jones polynomial behaves like
hyperbolic volume under Dehn surgery. We also show that after
sufficiently many twists, the coefficient vector of the Jones polynomial
and of any colored Jones polynomial decomposes into fixed blocks
according to the number of strands twisted. We will also discuss recent

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Posted April 19, 2006

3:40 pm 381 Lockett

Franco Rampazzo, Dipartimento di Matematica Pura ed Applicata, Università degli Studi di Padova Professor of Mathematical Analysis
Moving Constraints as Controls in Classical Mechanics

Professor Rampazzo's visit is sponsored by the Louisiana Board of Regents Grant "Enhancing Control Theory at LSU". This is one of two talks the speaker will give at LSU during May 2006. For abstracts of both talks, click here.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Posted March 28, 2006

until Thursday, May 25, 2006 To be announced

Louisiana Workshop on Mathematical Control Theory

Website

Monday, May 22, 2006

Posted May 2, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 235

Gnana Bhaskar Tenali, Mathematics, Florida Institute of Technology
FIXED POINT THEOREMS IN PARTIALLY ORDERED METRIC SPACES AND APPLICATIONS

Abstract. I?ll talk about some recent progress made on fixed point theorems in partially ordered metric spaces. In particular, I will discuss
a fixed point theorem for a mixed monotone mapping in a metric space endowed with a partial order, using a weak contractivity
type of assumption. Besides including several recent developments, such a theorem can be used to investigate a large class of problems.
As an application we discuss the existence and uniqueness of solution for a periodic boundary value problem.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Posted June 20, 2006

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm 277, Lockett Hall

Mathias Stolpe, Institut for Mathematik, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet
A method for global optimization of the stacking sequence in laminated composite shell structures

Abstract

Monday, August 21, 2006

Posted July 7, 2006

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett

Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam: Core-1 Analysis Test

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Posted July 7, 2006

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett

Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam: Core-1 Topology

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Posted August 8, 2006

8:30 am - 2:00 pm LSU Student Union

Orientation Meeting for all New Graduate Students at LSU

This orientation meeting is for all new LSU Graduate Students. It is conducted by the Graduate School.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Posted July 7, 2006

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett

Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam: Core-1 Algebra

Friday, August 25, 2006

Posted July 7, 2006

9:00 am - 11:00 am 235 Lockett followed by 3rd floor computer lab

Training Session for Math 1431 TAs

Please check with Dr. Cochran if you are unsure of your assistantship duties for fall 2006.

Posted August 22, 2006

11:00 am Computer Lab, 3rd floor Lockett

Orientation for Math 1022 Lab Assistants

All TAs assigned to serve as Lab Assistants in Math 1022 must attend this meeting, which is run by Ms. Karla Neal.

Posted July 7, 2006

12:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett

PhD Qualifying Exam: All Core-2 Tests

Posted August 8, 2006

1:00 pm - 6:00 pm LSU Union, Cotillion Ballroom

Teaching at LSU

This meeting is intended for all new Teaching Assistants at LSU. It will include a special session from 2:45-4:00 PM in the Vieux Carre Room for Math & Science TAs, featuring Alumni Professor Oxley and also award winning Math Graduate Assistant Julius Esunge. New TAs in Math should be sure to attend.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Posted July 20, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 235, Lockett Hall

Fernando Fraternali, California Institute of Technology and Università di Salerno
Free Discontinuity Approaches to Fracture and Folding

Abstract

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Posted August 15, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 15

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

Introduction of new faculty.
Amendment to the hiring plan.
Discussion of hiring including consideration of the joint hire discussed
here.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Posted August 31, 2006

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 381

Dirk Llewellyn Vertigan, Mathematics Department, LSU
Integer Flows and Cycle Covers: Introductory Lecture

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Posted September 5, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 282

Seva Joukhovitski, Mathematics Department, LSU
Splitting varieties and Bloch-Kato Conjecture

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Posted September 11, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Hongyu He, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Complementary series of the Universal Covering of the Symplectic Group

Abstract: Complementary series arise as pertubation of the (degenerate) principal series. I will first discuss Sahi's classification. I will then show that complementary series restricted to a symplectic subgroup "half" of its original size are unitarily equivalent to the corresponding restriction of the principal series. The equivalence is given by the "square" root of the intertwining operator expressed in terms of the mixed model, which I will define. This talk is closely related to G. Olafsson's talk last semester in which he discussed the intertwining operator expressed in terms of the compact model.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Posted September 1, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Locket 285

Kalyan B. Sinha, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore
Hilbert Tensor Algebras and Stochastic Differential Equations

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Posted August 22, 2006

9:45 am - 2:00 pm Hilltop Arboretum, 11855 Highland Rd, Baton Rouge

Graduate Student Picnic and Orientation Conference

Talks by faculty members and senior graduate students. Recreational Activities and Picnic Lunch. Please see Complete Details including Schedule of Events.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Posted September 12, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 282

Seva Joukhovitski, Mathematics Department, LSU
Splitting varieties and Bloch-Kato Conjecture II

Posted September 5, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 285

Patrick Gilmer, Mathematics Department, LSU
Surgery of type-p and quantum invariants of 3-manifolds

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Posted September 14, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Hongyu He, Mathematics Department, LSU
Complementary series of the Universal Covering of the Symplectic Group II

Abstract: Complementary series arise as pertubation of the (degenerate) principal series. I will first discuss Sahi's classification. I will then show that complementary series restricted to a symplectic subgroup "half" of its original size are unitarily equivalent to the corresponding restriction of the principal series. The equivalence is given by the "square" root of the intertwining operator expressed in terms of the mixed model, which I will define. This talk is closely related to G. Olafsson's talk last semester in which he discussed the intertwining operator expressed in terms of the compact model.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Posted September 13, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Michael Malisoff, LSU
Lyapunov Functions, Stabilization, and Engineering Applications

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Posted September 6, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Neal Stoltzfus, Mathematics Department, LSU
Dessins in Knot Theory

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Posted August 30, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 6

Meeting of the Tenured Faculty

Discuss a promotion to associate professor with tenure.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Posted September 18, 2006

3:30 pm 285 Lockett

Martin Hjortso, Louisiana State University Chevron Professor of ChemE
Some Problems in Population Balance Modeling

Friday, September 29, 2006

Posted September 26, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 282

Habib Ouerdiane, Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, Tunis
Introduction to Brownian Functionals, and Applications to Stochastic Differential Equations

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Posted September 19, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

David Cimasoni, UC Berkeley
Generalized Seifert surfaces and signatures of colored links

The Seifert surface is a well-known and very useful tool in link theory.
For instance, it permits to study the Alexander invariants, the Conway
polynomial, and the signature of an oriented link. In this talk, we
shall
introduce 'generalized Seifert surfaces' for colored links. They
provide a
geometric interpretation of the multivariable Alexander invariants
and of
the Conway potential function. They also make it possible to define (and
compute easily) a multivariable signature that generalizes the
Levine-Tristram signature. This multivariable signature turns out to
be a slight generalization of invariants introduced by P. Gilmer and L. Smolinsky.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Posted October 4, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Neal Stoltzfus, Mathematics Department, LSU
Skein Modules of Cylinders and Quantum Cluster Algebras

Friday, October 13, 2006

Posted October 4, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Indira Lara Chatterji, Ohio State University
A characterization of hyperbolicity.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Posted October 10, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Andy Sinton, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Direct and Inverse Limits in Geometry and Representation Theory

Abstract: Direct limits (i.e. unions) of finite-dimensional groups are a natural place to look for infinite-dimensional generalizations of the finite-dimensional representation theory and related geometry. In many situations, it turns out that the appropriate analog for the regular representation is a found by letting the direct limit group act on the inverse limit of a related (quotient) space. The first half of the talk will provide an overview of the results of Olshanski, Vershik, Borodin, and others in the cases of the symmetric group and compact symmetric spaces. In the second half I will discuss the state of the art for non-compact symmetric spaces, which I am working on with Gestur Olafsson. Only a basic background in representation theory and Lie groups will be assumed.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Posted October 13, 2006

3:10 pm Lockett 9

Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty

Hiring proposals.
A vote will be taken at the meeting.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Posted October 5, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Habib Ouerdiane, University of Tunis
Infinite Dimensional Complex Analysis and Application to Probability

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Posted October 12, 2006

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett, Room 6 (Basement)

Graduate Student Meeting for Career Guidance from Faculty - Refreshments at 3PM in Lounge

This meeting is required of all graduate students who have passed the General Exam. Those who have PhD Qualified are strongly encouraged to attend. Students for whom Qualifying is in the future are warmly invited to attend. A Math Faculty panel will make presentations and answer your questions. Panel includes Profs. Baldridge, Brendle, Malisoff, Olafsson, Richardson and Smolinsky. Refreshments at 3PM in Lounge!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Posted October 17, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Brendan Owens, LSU
Knot surgeries and negative definite four manifolds

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Posted September 1, 2006

2:00 pm - 5:00 pm Room 301D, Lockett Hall.

Final Exam for the Non-Thesis MS

This is the concluding part of the Final Exam for the non-thesis MS, the principal parts of which are the three core-1 Comprehensive Exams given earlier. See the Graduate Director for details. The Examining Committee will be Profs. Adkins (Chair), Oporowski, and Sundar.

Posted October 4, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Sarada Rajeev, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester
The Stochastic Geometry of Two Dimensional Turbulence

Abstract

Friday, October 27, 2006

Posted October 12, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 282 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Friday, October 20, 2006

Habib Ouerdiane, University of Tunis
Infinite Dimensional Complex Analysis, Holomorphy and Application to Gaussian and non Gaussian Analysis

Thursday, November 2, 2006

Posted September 26, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Darren Crowdy, Imperial College London and MIT
Vortex motion in complex domains: new theoretical perspectives

Here is the abstract. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Posted November 2, 2006

5:00 pm Keisler Lounge

Applications of Statistics to Public Health Issues

Professors Lynn R. LaMotte, Qingzhao Yu, and Julia Volaufova from the School of Public Health in the LSU Health Sciences Center will come to speak.

Friday, November 3, 2006

Posted October 31, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 282

Habib Ouerdiane, University of Tunis
Infinite Dimensional Complex Analysis, Holomorphy and Application to Gaussian and non Gaussian Analysis Part II

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Posted October 25, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Matilde Lalin, University of British Columbia
Functional equations for the Mahler measure of genus 1 curves

Thursday, November 9, 2006

Posted November 3, 2006

11:00 am - 12:00 pm Johnston 338

Ronald Fintushel, Michigan State University
Surgery on Nullhomologous Tori

Virtual Seminar together with Rice University

Posted October 5, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Paul Kirk, Indiana University
The geography of 4-manifolds with specified fundamental group

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Posted November 6, 2006

3:40 pm 282, Lockett

Suat Namli, Louisiana State University Graduate Student
A White Noise Analysis Approach to Orthogonal Polynomials

Monday, November 13, 2006

Posted November 1, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 284 Lockett Hall

Blaise Bourdin, Department of Mathematics and Center for Computation & Technology, LSU
Numerical implementation of a variational model of brittle fracture

Abstract: Fracture mechanics is a very active area of research, with vital applications. In recent years, the unexpected collapse of terminal 2F at Charles de Gaulle airport in France or the Columbia space shuttle disintegration upon re-entry illustrate the importance of a better understanding and numerical simulation of the mechanism of fracture. In the area of brittle fracture, the most widely accepted theories are based on Griffith’s criterion and limited to the propagation of an isolated, pre-existing crack along a given path. Extending Griffith’s theory into a global minimization principle, while preserving its essence, the concept of energy restitution in between surface and bulk terms, G. Francfort and J.-J. Marigo proposed a new formulation for the brittle fracture problem. The basis of their model is the minimization of a total energy with respect to any admissible displacement and crack field. The main advantage of this approach is to be capable of predicting the initiation of new cracks, computing their path, and accounting the interactions betwenn several cracks, in two and three space dimensions. Of course, this has a price both theoretically and numerically. In particular, in order to acheive global minimization with respect to any crack set, one has to devise special numerical methods. After briefly reviewing the issues of brittle fracture mechanics, I will present the Francfort-Marigo model. I will rapidly describe some elements of its analysis, and present a numerical approximation based on the properties of Gamma-convergence. I will derive necessary optimality condiions with respect to the global time evolution, and show how to use them in a minimization algorithm. Then, I will present some extensions of the original model, accounting for body forces (under some restrictions) or thermal loads, and describe how to adapt the numerical implementation. I will illustrate my talk with several large scale two and three dimensional experiments.

Posted November 3, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 284

Matthew Hedden, Michigan State University
The meaning and comparison of smooth concordance invariants

Abstract: In the past three years, several new invariants of smooth knot concordance have been discovered. This lecture will focus on two of these invariants, denoted $tau(K)$ and $s(K)$, respectively. Here $K$ denotes a knot in the three-sphere. The former invariant was discovered by Ozsvath and Szabo and independently by Rasmussen and is defined using the Floer homology theory for knots introduced by the aforementioned authors. $s(K)$ was introduced by Rasmussen and is defined in the context of Khovanov knot homology. The invariants share several formal properties and agree for many knots. In particular, each invariant is a homomorphism from the smooth knot concordance group to the integers, and each bounds the smooth four-genus, $g_4(K)$. Moreover, each invariant can be used to determine the smooth four-genera of torus knots and provide new proofs of Milnor's famous conjecture on the four-genera and unknotting numbers of these knots. It was conjectured by Rasmussen that $2tau$ and $s$ agree for all knots. If confirmed, this conjecture would point to a surprising connection between the analytically defined Ozsvath-Szabo homology theory and the combinatorially defined Khovanov homology. Moreover, it would seem to indicate a relationship between the gauge theory of three and four-manifolds and the quantum framework underlying the Jones polynomial. This lecture will explore Rasmussen's conjecture by discussing evidence for its validity and families of knots for which the conjecture holds. In this pursuit, it will be appropriate to briefly comment on the geometry contained by the $tau$ invariant - in particular I'll discuss a theorem which indicates that $tau$ can be used to detect when a knot arises as the intersection of a complex curve in $C^2$ with the three-sphere. This connection partially arises with the $s$ invariant. The main purpose, however, wil be to present the first counterexamples to Rasmussen's conjecture, discovered last year by myself and Philip Ording. The examples come from the Whitehead double construction. I will try to say some words about how Rasmussen's conjecture, though false, could be interpreted in the context of a larger conjecture connecting Floer homology to Khovanov homology, also due to Rasmussen.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Posted October 4, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Thierry Lévy, École normale supérieure and CNRS
Combinatorial aspects of the heat kernel measure on the unitary group

Abstract

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Posted November 6, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Jens Christensen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Time-Frequency analysis and Gelfand triples

In the 80's Feichtinger and Groechenig found a general class of Banach spaces tied to integrable group representations. These are called coorbit spaces and they are spaces for which the representation coefficients give isometric isomorphisms into other Banach spaces (for example weighted L_p spaces). A well known example is the class of modulation spaces, but also Besov spaces are coorbit spaces (this is rather loosely claimed by Feichtinger and Groechenig). I try to generalize the concept of coorbit spaces to make this construction easier and also possible for non-integrable square integrable representations. This work has been carried out together with Prof. Olafsson.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Posted October 20, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Larry Gerstein, University of California at Santa Barbara
Quadratic forms: classification and other problems

Here is the abstract. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Posted November 2, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 109 Nicholson

John Baez, Univeristy of California at Riverside
Higher Gauge Theory

This is a joint Mathematics and Physics & Astronomy Event.
Abstract

Monday, November 20, 2006

Posted November 1, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 284 Lockett Hall

Jung-Han Kimn, Mathematics Department, LSU
Parallel Implementation of Domain Decomposition Methods

Abstract: Many important problems from current industrial and academic research, including the numerical solution of partial differential equations, generate extremely large data sets beyond the capacity of single-processor computers. Parallel computation on multiple-processor super computers is therefore the key to increasing performance but efficient parallel algorithms for multiple-processor super computers with huge number of processors are still needed. Domain Decomposition methods comprise an important class of parallel algorithms that are naturally parallel and flexible in their application to a sweeping range of scientific and engineering problems. This talk gives a brief discussion of some issues when we implement parallel domain decomposition methods. We will present some of our recent theoretical and numerical results for parallel domain decomposition methods for elliptic and hyperbolic partial differential equations.

Monday, November 27, 2006

CCT Distinguished Guest Lecture

Posted November 21, 2006

11:00 am Life Sciences Building Annex A101

Ian Foster, The Computation Institute Argonne National Laboratory and the University Of Chicago Director of the Computation Institute Argonne National Laboratory
Scaling EScience Impact

An abstract and biography are available here.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Posted October 5, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235

Samuel M. Rankin, Director, American Mathematical Society Washington Office
Activities of the American Mathematical Society's Washington Office

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Posted September 29, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Phuc Nguyen, Purdue University
Nonlinear equations with power source terms and measure data

Here is the abstract. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Posted October 11, 2006

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Room 284 Lockett Hall

Michael Mascagni, Department of Computer Science, Florida State University
Using Simple SDEs (Stochastic Differential Equations) to Solve Complicated PDEs (Partial Differential Equations)

This talk begins with an overview of methods to solve PDEs based on the representation of point solutions of the PDEs as expected values of functionals of stochastic processes defined by the Feynman-Kac formula. The particular stochastic processes that arise in the Feynman-Kac formula are solutions to specific SDEs defined by the characteristics of the differential operator in the PDE. The Feynman-Kac formula is applicable to wide class of linear initial and initial-boundary value problems for elliptic and parabolic PDEs. We then concentrate our attention on elliptic boundary value problems that arise in applications in materials science and biochemistry. These problems are similar in that the PDEs to be solved are rather simple, and hence the associated SDEs that arise in the Feynman-Kac formula are likewise simple. However, the geometry of the problem is often complicated and amenable to several acceleration approaches particular to these simple SDEs. We will specifically describe the walk on spheres, Greens function first passage, last passage, walk on the boundary, and walk on subdomains methods in this context. These methods will be presented in the setting of several applications studied by the author and his research collaborators.

Friday, December 1, 2006

Posted November 28, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 282

Suat Namli, Louisiana State University Graduate Student
Orthogonal Polynomials of Exponential and Fractional Types and Beyond

Monday, December 4, 2006

Posted November 1, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Robert Lipton, Mathematics Department, LSU
Homogenization and Field Concentrations in Heterogeneous Media

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Posted November 13, 2006

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Suat Namli, Louisiana State University Graduate Student
A white noise analysis idea applied to orthogonal polynomials

Friday, December 8, 2006

Posted December 4, 2006

3:40 pm Lockett 282

Hong Yin, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student
Backward Stochastic Differential Equations

Monday, December 11, 2006

Posted November 1, 2006

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 284 Lockett Hall

Michael Stuebner, Louisiana State University
An inverse homogenization approach to stress constrained structural design

The presentation addresses the problem of optimal design of microstructure in composite materials. A computational method for grading the microstructure for the control of local stress in the vicinity of stress concentrations is developed. The method is based upon new rigorous multiscale stress criteria connecting the macroscopic or homogenized stress to local stress fluctuations at the scale of the microstructure. The approach is applied to different type of design problems.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Posted January 4, 2007

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett

Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam: Core-1 Topology

This exam is based on the subject matter of Math 7510.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Posted January 4, 2007

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Originally scheduled for 1:30 pm, Monday, January 8, 2007

Core-1 Comprehensive / Phd Qualifying Exam: Core-1 Analysis

This exam is based on the subject matter of Math 7311.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Posted January 4, 2007

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett

Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam: Core-1 Algebra

This exam is based on the subject matter of Math 7200.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Posted January 4, 2007

12:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett

Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exams: Core-2

All Core-2 Exams which have been requested by students will be offered at this time and place. NOTICE THE EARLIER STARTING TIME! Core-2 Exams last 3 and 1/2 hours.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Posted December 17, 2007

3:30 pm tba

tba

Monday, January 15, 2007

Posted January 28, 2007

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Meeting of the Tenured Faculty

Third year review cases. A vote will follow and continue through Mardi Gras break.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Posted December 17, 2007

3:30 pm tba

Paul Rabinowitz, University of Wisconsin E.B. Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics National Academy Member 1998 George David Birkhoff Prize in Applied Mathematics
tba

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Posted January 14, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Carlos A. Berenstein, University of Maryland
Internet Tomography

Abstract: The problem to be discussed is how to detect as early as possible an attack on a network by saturation. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Posted December 11, 2006

3:10 pm LOCKETT 10

Meeting with the LSU CIO

Brian Voss, the Chief Information Officer at LSU and Randy Hall, IT Faculty Liaison will visit the department and hold an open meeting to give mathematics faculty the opportunity to raise and discuss any needs or concerns about information technology at LSU.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Posted January 15, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Jan Dijkstra, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Here is the abstract. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Monday, January 29, 2007

A joint Algebra and Harmonic Analysis Seminar

Posted January 16, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Anne-Marie Aubert, CNRS and Institut de Mathematiques de Jussieu
Geometric structure in the representation theory of $p$-adic groups

Abstract: We will recall the Bernstein decomposition of the category of smooth representations of reductive $p$-adic groups. Then we will associate to each Bernstein component a (complex) affine variety. We conjecture that the periodic cyclic homology of the corresponding ideal in the Hecke algebra of the $p$-adic group is isomorphic to the cohomology (with complex coefficients) of this affine variety. In addition, we conjecture that there is a bijection between the points of the affine variety and the corresponding Bernstein component. This bijection (conjecturally) has a number of properties which relate to the representation theory of $G$. We will illustrate some properties of our conjecture on the exceptional group $G_2$.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Posted January 10, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Emille K. Davie, University of Georgia
Characterizing Right-Veering Surface Diffeomorphisms Via the Burau Representation

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Posted January 30, 2007

11:30 am - 12:30 pm Lockett 301D (Conference Room)

Michael Malisoff, LSU
On the Stability of Periodic Solutions in the Perturbed Chemostat

We study the chemostat model for one species competing for one nutrient using a Lyapunov-type analysis. We design the dilution rate function so that all solutions of the chemostat converge to a prescribed periodic solution. In terms of chemostat biology, this means that no matter what positive initial levels for the species concentration and nutrient are selected, the long-term species concentration and substrate levels closely approximate a prescribed oscillatory behavior. This is significant because it reproduces the realistic ecological
situation where the species and substrate concentrations oscillate. We show that the stability is maintained when the model is augmented by additional species that are being driven to extinction. We also give an input-to-state stability result for the chemostat-tracking equations for cases where there are small perturbations acting on the dilution rate and initial concentration. This means that the long-term species concentration and substrate behavior enjoys a
highly desirable robustness property, since it continues to approximate the prescribed oscillation up to a small error when there are small unexpected changes in the dilution rate function. This talk is based on the speaker's joint work with Frederic Mazenc and Patrick De Leenheer.

A^1 homotopy theory seminar

Posted January 30, 2007

2:00 pm Lockett 381

Organizational meeting

Posted January 18, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Kariane Calta, Cornell University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
Billiards, translation surfaces and associated dynamical systems

Abstract:
In this talk I will discuss some of the basic notions relevant to the
study of translation surfaces and provide several interesting
examples of such surfaces, including those that arise from billiard
tables. I will focus
on the dynamics of the geodesic flow on an individual
surface and the related dynamics of the action of SL(2,R) on the moduli
space of translation surfaces. I will also discuss recent advances in this
field, including some of my own results and their relationship to the work
of a number of other authors.

Friday, February 2, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted January 30, 2007

11:00 am 338 Johnston Hall

Thomas J.R. Hughes, The University Of Texas At Austin Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Computational Geometry And Computational Mechanics

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted January 30, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Thomas J.R. Hughes, The University Of Texas At Austin Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Variational Multiscale Methods in Computational Fluid Dynamics

The talk is a part of the CCT Colloquium Series.

Posted January 26, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Ioan Bejenaru, Univ of California, Los Angeles Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
Local and global solutions for Schroedinger Maps

Abstract: We introduce the Schroedinger Maps which can be thought as free solutions of the geometric Schroedinger equation. More exactly, while the classical Schroedinger equation is written for functions taking values in $\mathhb{C}$ (complex plane), the range of a Schroedinger Map is a manifold (with a special structure). We explain the importance of these Maps and what are the fundamental aspects one would like to understand about them. Then we focus on the particular case when the target manifold is $\mathbb{S}^2$ (the two dimensional sphere) and review the most recent results along with our contribution to the field.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Posted January 26, 2007

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Sunday, February 4, 2007 Lockett 237

(together with Rice University)

Schedule

Monday, February 5, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted January 25, 2007

10:00 am 338 Johnston Hall

Hae-Won Choi, National Center for Atmospheric Research Scientific Computing Division
Scientific Computing Technologies Devising High-Order Methods

Posted January 29, 2007

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Paul Saylor, University of Illinois
Stanford's Foresight and Forsythe's Stanford

Abstract:
What Stanford Was Like
What the Time Was Like
Over A Four Year Period
Starting with the Arrival of This New Man
Professor George Forsythe, In 1957
Plus A Bonus Look-Ahead to the Future

Posted January 29, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Mahta Khosravi, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
Spectral Asymptotics on Heisenberg Manifolds

abstract: Let R(t) be the error term in Weyl's law for (2n+1)-dimensional Heisenberg manifolds. Based on the Petridis-Toth conjecture R(t)=O_delta(t^{n-1/4+delta}). We discuss new pointwise and moment results that provide evidence for this conjecture in three dimensions and a proof for it in higher dimensions. The methods used also allow a proof of a new fifth moment result in the case of the Dirichelet Divisor problem.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Posted January 28, 2007

4:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (room 321 Lockett)

Actuarial Exams

Organizational meeting for preparation for spring exams. Math 4050 no longer will cover the entire FM exam. Supplementary lectures will be offered by Matthew Arnold. Refreshments will be served.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Posted February 4, 2007

11:30 am - 12:30 pm 239 Lockett

Michael Malisoff, LSU
Further Results on Lyapunov Functions for Slowly Time-Varying Systems

We provide general methods for explicitly constructing strict Lyapunov functions for fully nonlinear slowly time-varying systems. Our results apply to cases where the given dynamics and corresponding frozen dynamics are not necessarily exponentially stable. This complements our previous Lyapunov function constructions for rapidly time-varying dynamics. We also explicitly construct input-to-state stable Lyapunov functions for slowly time-varying control systems. We illustrate our findings by constructing explicit Lyapunov functions for a pendulum model, an example from identification theory, and a perturbed friction model. This talk is based on the speaker's joint work with Frederic Mazenc.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted February 2, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Closed model categories

Monday, February 12, 2007

Posted January 22, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Milen Yakimov, University of California, Santa Barbara
Poisson structures on flag varieties

Abstract: The geometry of Poisson structures originating from Lie theory found numerous applications in representation theory, ring theory, and dynamical systems. The linear Poisson structure on the dual of a Lie algebra provides the setting for the orbit method of Kirillov, Kostant, and Dixmier for the study of the unitary duals of Lie groups and the spectra of universal enveloping algebras. In this talk we will describe in detail the geometry of a class of Poisson structures on complex flag varieties and some of their relations to combinatorics (Schubert cells and their Deodhar partitions, cluster algebras, total positivity, the Springer and the Lusztig partitions of wonderful compactifications), ring theory (spectra of algebras of quantum matrices and other quantized algebras), integrable systems (Kogan-Zelevinsky systems). In the special case of hermitian symmetric spaces of compact type, these Poisson structures further elucidate the works of Wolf, Richardson, R\"ohrhle, and Steinberg on the structure of the orbits of certain Levi factors.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Posted February 9, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm Lockett 239

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Symplectic Group and Semigroup and Riccati Differential

Abstract: We develop close connections between important control-theoretic matrix Riccati differential equation and the symplectic matrix group and its symplectic subsemigroup. We use this example as a case study to demonstrate how the Lie theory of the subsemigroups of a matrix group can be applied to problems in geometric control theory. As an application we derive from this viewpoint the existence of a solution for the Riccati equation for all $t\geq 0$ under quite general hypotheses.

Posted January 29, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Christian Haesemeyer, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
On the algebraic K-theory of singularities

Abstract: Algebraic K-theory is a highly complicated invariant of algebraic varieties and rings, encoding arithmetic, geometric and algebraic information. In this talk, I will try to explain these different notions and give some idea as to how to isolate geometric from algebraic information in the case of singularities.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted February 8, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Closed model categories II

Posted January 28, 2007

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Meeting of the Tenured Faculty

Third year year cases. A vote will follow and continue through Mardi Gras break.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Posted February 12, 2007

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Keisler Lounge (Room 321 of Lockett)

This will include presentations by Professors Lawrence Smolinsky and William Hoffman about possible paid summer research jobs. For more information about REUs, see http://www.ams.org/outreach/reu.html.

Special Lecture

Posted January 25, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall

John Perry, University of Southern Mississippi
From Gauss to Groebner Bases

Abstract:
Gaussian elimination of linear systems into echelon form allows us to analyze the solution set of the linear system. What about systems of non-linear polynomials? In 1965, Bruno Buchberger discovered an algorithm that "triangularizes" such systems into Groebner bases. Using a Groebner basis, one can analyze the solutions much as one might analyze the echelon form of a linear system.
This talk introduces Groebner bases and Buchberger's algorithm; we present them as a generalization of Gaussian elimination and echelon form. We indicate some applications, describe some challenges in their computation, and conclude with some recent advances.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Posted January 29, 2007

11:00 am - 12:00 pm Johnston Hall Room 338

Fengyan Li, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Recent development in nonconforming methods for Maxwell equations

In this talk, I will discuss some recent developments in computational electromagnetism. Two schemes are formulated for the reduced time-harmonic Maxwell equations. One is using the classical nonconforming finite elements, the other is based on the interior penalty type discontinuous Galerkin methods. The operators in these schemes naturally define two Maxwell eigensolvers which are spurious free. Theoretical and numerical results will be presented to demonstrate the performance of these methods. This is joint work with Susanne Brenner and Li-yeng Sung (LSU).

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted February 12, 2007

11:00 am 338 Johnston Hall

Fengyan Li, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Sound and Sense; Beyond SenSurround

Thursday, February 22, 2007

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted February 8, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Seva Joukhovitski, Mathematics Department, LSU
Etale and Nisnevich topology

Posted February 13, 2007

3:40 pm Keisler Lounge (Room 321 of Lockett Hall)

This will include presentations by Cecil Taylor Alumni Professor Robert Perlis and possibly other professors about possible paid summer research jobs. For more information about REUs, see http://www.ams.org/outreach/reu.html or http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Posted February 14, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Milen Yakimov, University of California, Santa Barbara
Poisson structures on flag varieties

Abstract: The geometry of Poisson structures originating from Lie theory found numerous applications in representation theory, ring theory, and dynamical systems. The linear Poisson structure on the dual of a Lie algebra provides the setting for the orbit method of Kirillov, Kostant, and Dixmier for the study of the unitary duals of Lie groups and the spectra of universal enveloping algebras. In this talk we will describe in detail the geometry of a class of Poisson structures on complex flag varieties and some of their relations to combinatorics (Schubert cells and their Deodhar partitions, cluster algebras, total positivity, the Springer and the Lusztig partitions of wonderful compactifications), ring theory (spectra of algebras of quantum matrices and other quantized algebras), integrable systems (Kogan-Zelevinsky systems). In the special case of hermitian symmetric spaces of compact type, these Poisson structures further elucidate the works of Wolf, Richardson, R\"ohrhle, and Steinberg on the structure of the orbits of certain Levi factors.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Posted January 17, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 284 Lockett Hall

Itai Shafrir, Department of Mathematics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
On a minimization problem with a mass constraint involving a potential vanishing on two curves

We study a singular perturbation type minimization problem with a mass constraint over a domain or a manifold, involving a potential vanishing on two curves in the plane. We describe the asymptotic behavior of the energy as the parameter epsilon goes to zero, and in particular, how it depends on the geometry of the domain. In the case of the problem on the sphere we give a precise description of the limiting behavior of both the minimizers and their energies. This is a joint work with Nelly Andre (Tours).

Posted January 5, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Max Karoubi, University of Paris 7
Twisted K-theory, old and new

Abstract: Twisted K-theory has its origins in the author's PhD thesis [K1] and in the paper of P. Donovan and the author about 37 years ago. The objective of the lecture is to revisit the subject in the light of new developments inspired by Mathematical Physics. See for instance E. Witten Arxiv hep-th/9810188, J. Rosenberg. and M.F. Atiyah-G. Segal ArXiv math/0407054. The unifiying theme is the notion of K-theory of graded Banach algebras, already present in [K1], from which most of the new theorems in twisted K-theory are derived. Some explicit computations are also given in the equivariant case, related to previous known results. (see http://www.math.jussieu.fr/~karoubi/ or ArXiv mathKT/0701789 for more details)

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Posted February 6, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 243

Max Karoubi, University of Paris 7
K-theory and characteristic classes in number theory

ABSTRACT: Let A be an arbitrary ring. We introduce a Dennis trace map mod n, from K_1(A;Z/n) to the Hochschild homology group with coefficients HH_1(A;Z/n). If A is the ring of integers in a number field, explicit elements of K_1(A,Z/n) are constructed and the values of their Dennis trace mod n are computed. If F is a quadratic field, we obtain this way non trivial elements of the ideal class group of A. If F is a cyclotomic field, this trace is closely related to Kummer logarithmic derivatives; this trace leads to an unexpected relationship between the first case of Fermat's last theorem, K-theory and the number of roots of Mirimanoff polynomials. This is joint work with Thierry Lambre, see ArXiv math.NT/0006237 for more details.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Posted February 22, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm Lockett 239

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Symplectic Group and Semigroup and Riccati Differential (Part II)

Abstract: We develop close connections between important control-theoretic matrix Riccati differential equation and the symplectic matrix group and its symplectic subsemigroup. We use this example as a case study to demonstrate how the Lie theory of the subsemigroups of a matrix group can be applied to problems in geometric control theory. As an application we derive from this viewpoint the existence of a solution for the Riccati equation for all $t\geq 0$ under quite general hypotheses.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

A^1 homotopy theory seminar

Posted February 27, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Homotopy theory on a Grothendieck Topos

Monday, March 5, 2007

Posted January 29, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 284 Lockett Hall

Alexander Pankov, College of William and Mary
Gap solitons, periodic NLS, and critical point theory

Abstract: Here a gap soliton means a spatially exponentially localized standing wave solution of periodic nonlinear Maxwell equations, having a carrier frequency in a spectral gap. There is an enormous literature devoted to study of what should be gap solitons by means of approximate methods, e.g., envelope function approach, and numerical simulations (basically, in one dimension). These results provide a lot of information about such solutions, say, their shape. However, the existence of gap solitons is not a clear issue. In this talk we discuss the existence problem in the case of periodic Akhmediev-Kerr medium. We consider two-dimensional case and look for (TM) polarized solutions. Then the problem reduces to a (two-dimensional) periodic stationary NLS with cubic nonlinearity. To study this equation we employ critical point theory (specifically, the linking theorem) together with the so-called periodic approximations. This leads to the existence of TM gap solitons and provides an estimate for the rate of exponential decay. Finally, we discuss certain open mathematical problems.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Posted March 2, 2007

4:00 pm Lockett 240

Hong Yin, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student
Backward Stochastic Differential Equations

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Posted March 5, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm Lockett 239

Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Symplectic Group and Semigroup and Riccati Differential Equations (Part III)

Abstract: We develop close connections between important control-theoretic matrix Riccati differential equation and the symplectic matrix group and its symplectic subsemigroup. We use this example as a case study to demonstrate how the Lie theory of the subsemigroups of a matrix group can be applied to problems in geometric control theory. As an application we derive from this viewpoint the existence of a solution for the Riccati equation for all $t\geq 0$ under quite general hypotheses.

Posted February 28, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Michael Otto, University of Arizona
Poisson geometry and symmetric spaces

Abstract: Methods from Poisson/symplectic geometry can be used to study properties of Lie groups and associated symmetric spaces. A prominent example is provided by the classical symplectic convexity theorem of Atiyah and Guillemin-Sternberg and its connection with Kostant's convexity theorem for semisimple Lie groups. We will introduce several interesting Poisson structures on a symmetric space and discuss applications.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted March 5, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Definition of the A^1-homotopy category

Posted February 14, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Michael Otto, University of Arizona
The moment map in symplectic geometry and elsewhere

Abstract: The moment map is a central object of study in symplectic geometry. It also appears (in disguise) in several other branches of mathematics, such as linear algebra, classical mechanics, representation theory of Lie groups etc. This talk is intended to give an overview over some of its most interesting properties, most notably several convexity results and formulas of Duistermaat-Heckman type.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Posted March 8, 2007

5:00 pm James E. Keisler Mathematics Lounge (321 Lockett)

Charles Neal Delzell, Mathematics Department, LSU
On Hilbert's 17th Problem

Friday, March 9, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted February 12, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Isiah M. Warner, Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University Boyd Professor, Louisiana State University
Models for Creating and Sustaining Diversity among Undergraduate Students in Science

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Junior Topology Seminar

Posted March 7, 2007

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 276

Seminar on knot homology theories and related topics

Moshe Cohen (LSU): On Viro's description of Khovanov's knot homology

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted March 13, 2007

11:00 am 338 Johnston Hall

Pavel Bochev, Sandia National Laboratories
Mimetic Discretizations And What They Can Do For You

Abstract

Thursday, March 15, 2007

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted March 9, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Brown-Gersten property and Realization functors

Analysis/PDE Seminar

Posted March 14, 2007

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm 203 Prescott Hall

Delio Mugnolo , Institute for Applied Analysis, University of Ulm, Germany
Evolution Equations on Networks - Interaction is Complexity (Part II)

Simplified versions of many complex systems can be modeled as networks: the Internet, an animal's brain, electrical circuits, a highway system, a social community... Although the descriptions of ongoing phenomena (transmission of potential, mechanical vibrations, spread of information...) as well as other relevant issues are specific for each model, they all lead to the consideration of partial differential equations on 1-d structures. Begun in the 1950's in the framework of chemical physics, interest in investigations of differential models for network-shaped structures has been revived in the last 20 years. Ever since, networks and their pervasiveness in everyday life have made their way even to the mainstream press. The aim of this lecture series is to present an abstract approach to differential problems on networks that is based on an interplay of functional analysis and graph theory. While pursuing our mathematical targets, we will often be motivated by, think of, and even speak the language of theoretical neurobiological problems. Having applications in mind, we will formulate and prove theoretical results (well-posedness, maximum principles, asymptotic, qualitative properties...) so that they can be promptly interpreted as soon as specific models are considered. Some basic knowledge (e.g., what is a Sobolev space, the spectrum of an unbounded operator, or an incidence matrix) in operator theory, partial differential equations, and graph theory will prove useful, but is no strict prerequisite. To demonstrate the usefulness of the results, some time will be devoted to the mathematical analysis of a few neurobiological systems (preceded by a crash course in neuronal modeling).

Posted March 14, 2007

5:00 pm James E.Keisler Mathematics Lounge (321 Lockett)

Pramod Achar, Mathematics Department, LSU
Regular Complex Polytopes

This talk will be understandable to undergraduates.

Friday, March 16, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted March 13, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

David Skinner, Lawrence Berkeley Lab
"Integrated Performance Monitoring: HPC Workload Characterization"

Monday, March 19, 2007

Analysis/PDE Seminar

Posted March 17, 2007

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm 203 Prescott Hall

Delio Mugnolo , Institute for Applied Analysis, University of Ulm, Germany
Evolution Equations on Networks - Interaction is Complexity (Part III)

Simplified versions of many complex systems can be modeled as networks: the Internet, an animal's brain, electrical circuits, a highway system, a social community... Although the descriptions of ongoing phenomena (transmission of potential, mechanical vibrations, spread of information...) as well as other relevant issues are specific for each model, they all lead to the consideration of partial differential equations on 1-d structures. Begun in the 1950's in the framework of chemical physics, interest in investigations of differential models for network-shaped structures has been revived in the last 20 years. Ever since, networks and their pervasiveness in everyday life have made their way even to the mainstream press. The aim of this lecture series is to present an abstract approach to differential problems on networks that is based on an interplay of functional analysis and graph theory. While pursuing our mathematical targets, we will often be motivated by, think of, and even speak the language of theoretical neurobiological problems. Having applications in mind, we will formulate and prove theoretical results (well-posedness, maximum principles, asysmptotics, qualitative properties...) so that they can be promptly interpreted as soon as specific models are considered. Some basic knowledge (e.g., what is a Sobolev space, the spectrum of an unbounded operator, or an incidence matrix) in operator theory, partial differential equations, and graph theory will prove useful, but is no strict prerequisite. To demonstrate the usefulness of the results, some time will be devoted to the mathematical analysis of a few neurobiological systems (preceded by a crash course in neuronal modeling).

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Junior Topology Seminar

Posted March 14, 2007

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 276

Seminar on knot homology theories and related topics

Adam Lowrance (LSU) on the combinatorial description of Oszvath-Szabo Heegaard Floer knot homology by Manolescu-O.-S.-Thurston

Thursday, March 22, 2007

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted March 20, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Homotopy invariant cohomology theories and the Brown Gersten property

Junior Topology Seminar

Posted March 20, 2007

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 276

Seminar on knot homology theories and related topics

Adam Lowrance (LSU) on the combinatorial description of Oszvath-Szabo Heegaard Floer knot homology by Manolescu-O.-S.-Thurston, Part II

Posted March 20, 2007

5:00 pm Keisler Lounge (321 Lockett)

Large Deviations and Rare Events

Friday, March 23, 2007

Posted January 17, 2007

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Conference Room: 301D Lockett Originally scheduled for 1:00 pm

Concluding part of Final Exam for Non-Thesis MS

This is the concluding part of the Final Exam for the non-thesis MS, the principal parts of which are the three core-1 Comprehensive Exams given earlier. See the Graduate Director for details. The Examining Committee will be Profs. Adkins (Chair), Oporowski, and Sundar.

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted March 13, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Chokchai "Box" Leangsuksun, Louisiana Tech University Associate Professor in Computer Science and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology (CEnIT).
"Reliability-aware runtime system research for HPC"

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Posted March 20, 2007

3:10 pm B 10 Locket Hall

Posted March 26, 2007

4:00 pm 240 Lockett

Suat Namli, Louisiana State University Graduate Student
Orthogonal polynomials of the exponential and fractional type

Posted March 7, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 276

Kathy Zhong, Cal State Sacramento
Calculate Kauffman Polynomials of some Knots Using Kauffman Skeins

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Posted March 26, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm 239 Lockett

Feng Gao, LSU Department of Mechanical Engineering
A Generalized Approach for the Control of MEM Relays

Abstract: We show that voltage-controlled, electrostatic and electromagnetic micro-relays have a common dynamic structure. As a result, both types of microelectromechanical (MEM) relays are subject to the nonlinear phenomenon known as pull-in, which is usually associated with the electrostatic case. We show that open-loop control of MEM relays naturally leads to pull-in during the relay closing. Two control schemes - a Lyapunov design and a feedback linearization design - are presented with the objectives of avoiding pull-in during the micro-relay closing and improving the transient response during the micro-relay opening. Simulations illustrate the performance of the two control schemes in comparison to the typical open-loop operation of the MEM relay.

Posted March 23, 2007

3:00 pm

277 Lockett Hall

At 3:00 - Rank III promotion case for Ameziane Harhad

At 3:30 - Instructors meeting, mandatory for instructors

Posted March 14, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Hongyu He, Mathematics Department, LSU
Introduction to Theta Correspondence

In this talk, I will introduce Howe's dual reductive pair. I will then discuss
the basic theory of theta correspondence and its application in representation
theory. The talk will be accessible to graduate students.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Posted March 21, 2007

11:00 am Lockett 381 Originally scheduled for 4:40 pm, Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Stephen Bigelow, UC Santa Barbara
Representations of Planar Algebras

Time/Date Changed

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted March 29, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Some calculations in A^1-homotopy theory

Posted March 28, 2007

5:00 pm 321 Lockett (Keisler Lounge)

What Is A Control System?!

Check the math club web page for a complete list of math club events.

Friday, March 30, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted March 13, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Guan Qin, Texas A&M University Institute for Scientific Computation
"Mathematical Challenges and Hot Topics in Oil Reservoir Simulation"

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Posted March 30, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 130, Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
The Pythagorean Theorem: A Closer Look

Extensions and variants of the Pythagorean theorem are presented, first from the point of view of finite-dimensional, linear algebra and, later, in the framework of infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. The results discussed make contact with the work of Kostant, Atiyah, and Guillemin-Sternberg in the convex geometry of symmetric spaces, the work of Horn and Schur on spectral theory, matrix inequalities, majorization, and convex polytopes, and semi-commutative, metric geometry from the point of view of conditional expectations. The first of the two Pythagoras lectures will be relatively elementary, the second will be slightly more advanced, relying somewhat on the operator-algebra, survey lecture that follows the first lecture. There will be coffee and cookies in the Atrium, Howe-Russell E, at 3:00.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Posted March 30, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 130 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex.

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Operator Algebras: A Sampler

There will be coffee and cookies in the Atrium, Howe-Russell E, at 3:00.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted March 30, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Projective n-space in A^1-homotopy and other calculations

Posted March 30, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 130 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
The Pythagorean Theorem: An Advanced View

There will be coffee and cookies in the Atrium, Howe-Russell E, at 3:00.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Calculus Textbook and Webwork Presentation

Posted March 30, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Tuesday, April 17, 2007

University Calculus

An Addison Wesley representative will present their integration of Webworks with their book 'University Calculus' by Haas, Wier, and Thomas.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Junior Topology Seminar

Posted April 10, 2007

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 276

Seminar on knot homology theories and related topics

Godi Pruidze (LSU): Topology of robot motion planning

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 9, 2007

3:30 pm Life Sciences Building Annex A101 Auditorium

Alfred Z. Spector, Independent Consultant Former CTO and Vice President of Strategy & Technology for IBM's Software Group
"Towards a Software Science of Design."

Reception starting at 3:00 p.m. in lobby.

Posted April 10, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Hongyu He, Mathematics Department, LSU
Introduction to Theta Correspondence II

In this talk, I will introduce Howe's dual reductive pair. I will then discuss the basic theory of theta correspondence and its application in representation theory. The talk will be accessible to graduate students.

Posted March 30, 2007

4:00 pm Lockett 240

Wojbor Woyczynski , Case Western Reserve University Center for Stochastic and Chaotic Processes in Sciences and Technology
Nonlinear evolution equations driven by Levy diffusions

Abstract: Nonlinear evolution equations, such as conservation laws, KPZ Hamilton Jacobi equations develop surprising critical behavior when driven by Levy diffusions with infinitesimal generators with different asymptotic behavior of their symbols. A study of this type of formalism is motivated by physical problems related to deposition of thin semiconductor films and flows in random media.

Posted April 9, 2007

4:30 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (room 321 Lockett)

Material on Interest Theory Exam

Matthew Arnold will conduct the session.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Posted April 16, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm Room 239 Lockett

Peter Wolenski, LSU Department of Mathematics Russell B. Long Professor
The role of convexity in optimization and control theory.

Abstract: This talk will broadly survey the role of convexity in optimization theory, and outline its special place in optimal control. Roughly speaking, convexity plays the role in optimization analogous to that enjoyed by linearity in dynamical system theory. We shall illustrate this by discussing the features of local vs. global statements, generalized differentiation, duality, and representation formulas.

Posted April 15, 2007

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm 276 Lockett Hall

Chris Rodger, Auburn University
Hamilton decompositions in complete multipartite graphs

Calculus Textbook and Webwork Presentation

Posted March 30, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Calculus, Early Transcendentals

A Hoffman-Mifflin representative will present their integration of Webworks with their book 'Calculus, Early Transcendentals' by Larson, Hostedler, and Edwards.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted April 15, 2007

1:00 am - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Seva Joukhovitski, Mathematics Department, LSU
The category of spectra

Calculus Textbook and Webwork Presentation

Posted March 30, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Calculus, Early Transcendentals

A W. H. Freeman representative will present their integration of Webworks with their book 'Calculus, Early Transcendentals' by Rogowski.

Posted April 11, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Kevin Knudson, Mississippi State University
Algorithms in discrete Morse theory

Abstract: Discrete Morse theory was developed by Robin Forman to
provide a combinatorial analogue, for simplicial complexes, of classical
smooth Morse theory on manifolds. Constructing efficient discrete Morse
functions is a nontrivial task. In this talk, I will present an
algorithm that begins with a function h defined on the vertices of a
complex K and extends it to a discrete Morse function on the entire
complex so that the resulting discrete gradient field mirrors the large
scale behavior of h. This has applications to the analysis of point
cloud data sets and several examples will be given. No prior knowledge
of Morse theory (discrete or smooth) will be assumed.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Special Math Club Lecture

Posted April 14, 2007

5:00 pm 237 Lockett Hall

Paul Saylor, LSU Center for Computation and Technology
Numerical Analysis: Do Computers Really Compute? Who Knows? Google? YouTube? Math Knows.

Open to all undergrads. Here is a poster for this talk.

Friday, April 20, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 9, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Bruce N. Walker, Georgia Institute of Technology Sonification Lab
"Anditory Displays, Anditory Graphs, and Sonifications: Research and Design."

Monday, April 23, 2007

Posted March 8, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 284 Lockett Hall

Hong Zhang, Dept. of Computer Science, Illinois Institute of Technology and Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
Eigenvalue Problems in Nanoscale Material Modeling

Together with a group of material scientist, we intend to calculate the atomic and electronic structure of nanoparticles on a quantum-mechanical level. The mathematical core of this modeling is a sequence of large and sparse eigenvalue problems. In this talk, I will present the special requirements of the solutions, the challenges on the computational method, our algorithmic approach and software development. Numerical implementation on the advanced distributed computers will be demonstrated.

This work also demonstrates how to efficiently develop special-purpose application code on the top of available parallel software packages. By the end of the talk, as a PETSc developer, I will give a demo on using PETSc (Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation) as a tool for large scale numerical simulation.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Junior Topology Seminar

Posted April 23, 2007

3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 276

Seminar on knot homology theories and related topics

Cody Armond (LSU) : On Rasmussen's relation between Khovanov homology and sliceness

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Posted April 23, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm Room 239 Lockett

Peter Wolenski, LSU Department of Mathematics Russell B. Long Professor
The role of convexity in optimization and control theory (Part II)

Abstract: This talk will broadly survey the role of convexity in optimization theory, and outline its special place in optimal control. Roughly speaking, convexity plays the role in optimization analogous to that enjoyed by linearity in dynamical system theory. We shall illustrate this by discussing the features of local vs. global statements, generalized differentiation, duality, and representation formulas.

Posted April 24, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Hongyu He, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Introduction to Theta Correspondence III

In this talk, I will introduce Howe's dual reductive pair. I will then discuss the basic theory of theta correspondence and its application in representation theory. The talk will be accessible to graduate students.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 25, 2007

9:00 am 338 Johnston Hall

Larry Bergman, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Manager of the Mission Computing and Autonomous Systems Research Program Office at the jet Propulsion Laboratry (JPL).
"The Role of Information Technology in Robotic Space Exploration."

Posted April 19, 2007

4:00 pm Lockett 240

Walfredo Javier, Department of Mathematics, Southern University
Mutual information of certain multivariate distributions

Posted April 23, 2007

5:00 pm 237 Lockett Hall

Sharon Besson, Cain Center Geaux Teach Program Manager
Geaux Teach: LSU's Secondary Teacher Preparation Program

Friday, April 27, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 25, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

H. J. Siegel, Colorado State Univ., Dept. of Electrical and Comp. Engr. and Dept. of Comp. Sci.
"An Intro to Research Issues in Heterogeneous Parallel & Distributed Computing."

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 25, 2007

4:10 pm 338 Johnston Hall

H. J. Siegel, Colorado State Univ., Dept. of Electrical and Comp. Engr. and Dept. of Comp. Sci.
"Colorado State's Information Science & Technology Center (ISTeC)."

Monday, April 30, 2007

Posted April 7, 2007

3:30 pm The James Kiesler Lounge 319 Lockett Hall

Spring Math Awards Ceremony

The Porcelli Award for Academic Excellence, the Porcelli Scholarships, the Betti and Robert Giles Senior Mathematics Award, the David Oxley Memorial Graduate Student Teaching Award, and Certificates of Teaching Excellence (for graduate assistants) will be awarded. Refreshments will be provided.

Posted February 12, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 284 Lockett Hall

Lia Bronsard, Mc Master University,
Ginzburg-Landau vortices concentrating on curves.

We study the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau functional for superconductivity and the related Gross-Pitaevskii functional for Bose-Einstein Condensate. In a convex simply-connected domain, Serfaty has shown that the vortices accumulate around a single point in the domain as the Ginzburg--Landau parameter $kappatoinfty$. Our previous papers (with Aftalion and Alama) on multiply connected domains show that vortices may instead accumulate on an appropriate curve as $kappatoinfty$. In our recent result with S. Alama and V. Millot, we study the number and distribution of these vortices along the curve of concentration. Their distribution is determined by a classical problem from potential theory.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 25, 2007

1:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Mary Fanett Wheller, University of Texas at Austin Center for Subsurface Modeling, Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences
Multiscale Discretizations for Flow, Transport and Mechanics in Porous Media.

There will be a reception at 1:00. Additional information, including the abstract, is available here.

Posted April 17, 2007

2:30 pm Lockett 16

Meeting with the Dean

The Dean's annual meeting with the mathematics faculty.

Posted April 24, 2007

3:40 pm Lockett 136

Jens Hornbostel, University of Regensburg, Germany
Rigidity theorems for A^1-representable theories

We prove that for a large class of A^1-representable theories including
all orientable theories it is possible to construct transfer maps and to
prove rigidity theorems similar to those of Gabber for algebraic
K-theory. This extends rigidity results
of Panin and Yagunov from algebraically closed fields to arbitrary
infinite ones.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Posted May 1, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm Room 239 Lockett

Peter Wolenski, LSU Department of Mathematics Russell B. Long Professor
The role of convexity in optimization and control theory (Part III)

Abstract: This talk will broadly survey the role of convexity in optimization theory, and outline its special place in optimal control. Roughly speaking, convexity plays the role in optimization analogous to that enjoyed by linearity in dynamical system theory. We shall illustrate this by discussing the features of local vs. global statements, generalized differentiation, duality, and representation formulas.

Posted March 30, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

William Velez, The University of Arizona
Increasing the number of mathematics majors

Abstract

In the late 1980?s I began my efforts to increase the success rate of minorities in first semester calculus. The interventions that I devised were very time consuming and as the number of minority students increased, I could not manage that kind of effort. I developed my Calculus Minority Advising Program in an effort to meet with scores of minority students each semester. This program consists of a twenty-minute meeting with each student at the beginning of each semester. These meetings with students eventually transformed my own attitude about the importance of mathematics in their undergraduate curriculum.

I took over the position of Associate Head for Undergraduate Affairs in the department four years ago. I set a very modest goal for myself: to double the number of mathematics majors. With almost 500 mathematics majors I have reached that goal. I think the next doubling is going to be much harder to achieve. My work with minority students provided me with the tools to accept this new challenge of working with all students.

This talk will describe my own efforts to encourage ALL of our students that a mathematics major, or adding mathematics as a second major, is a great career choice.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 26, 2007

12:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Luisa T. Buchman, Univeristy of Texas at Austin Research Fellow
"Improved outer boundary conditions for Einstein's field equations."

A^1-homotopy theory seminar

Posted April 24, 2007

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Jens Hornbostel, University of Regensburg, Germany
Homotopy coniveau and slice filtration in stable A^1 homotopy theory (after Levine and Voevodsky)

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 26, 2007

3:00 pm A101 Life Sciences Building Annex

"Enterprise Transformation and the Future of Higher Education."

During the 130 years between 1860 and 1990 higher education was transformed, evolving from a limited province fo the cultural elite to a great instrument of state material and martial strength.

Posted April 23, 2007

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Raul Quiroga, Centro de Investigacion en Matematicas (cimat)
Actions of Noncompact Simple Lie Groups on Pseudo Riemannian Manifolds

Let G be a noncompact simple Lie group acting on a compact manifold M, and suppose that the G-action has a dense orbit and preserves a pseudoRiemannian metric. A general conjecture of R. Zimmer states that, for this geometric/dynamical setup, M is essentially a coset space of a semisimple Lie group H containing G. In this talk we will discuss some geometric conditions on the G-action on M that ensure the conclusion of Zimmer's conjecture.

Friday, May 4, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 26, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Q. Jim Chen, Louisiana State University Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
"Multi-scale modeling of storm surges and water waves."

Abstract: More than 50% of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of the shoreline and the coastal population continues to grow.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Posted May 4, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Raul Quiroga, Centro de Investigacion en Matematicas (cimat)
Rigidity results for pseudoRiemannian manifolds

Abstract: We will continue our discussion of compact pseudoRiemannian manifolds with a noncompact simple Lie group of isometries. It will be seen that such pseudoRiemannian manifolds have two very remarkable properties: 1) they carry large local isotropy groups, 2) they are locally homogeneous on an open dense subset. These will allow us to describe some structure results for the pseudoRiemannian manifolds considered. As a consequence, we will prove that if $M$ is an irreducible pseudoRiemannian manifold with an isometric action of $SO(p,q)$ and $dim(M) \leq dim(SO(p,q)) + p + q$, then the universal covering space of $M$ is a noncompact simple Lie group.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Posted May 3, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Hongyu He, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Introduction to Theta Correspondence IV

In this talk, I will introduce Howe's dual reductive pair. I will then discuss the basic theory of theta correspondence and its application in representation theory. The talk will be accessible to graduate students.

Friday, May 11, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted May 3, 2007

11:00 am 218 Johnston Hall

Joel de Guzman, Boost Consulting
"A cookbook approach to parsing and output generation with Spirit2"

Abstract: Spirit2 will debut at the Boost conference. It will be a complete parsing and output generation system that attempts to cover the whole spectrum from lexing to output generation.

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted May 3, 2007

2:00 pm Design Building Room Auditorium

Turner Whitted, Microsoft Research Pioneer in three-dimensional Computer Graphics
"Procedural Graphics"

Abstract: The re-introduction of programmability into graphics hardware has produced a tremendously flexible imaging platform.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted May 9, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Robert Moorhead, Mississippi State University Director of Visualizarion Analysis and Imaging Lab Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Director of GeoResources Institute
"The High Performance Computing Collaboratory at MSU."

The High Performance Computing Collaboratory (HPC2) at Mississippi State University is a federation of 5 entities, all focused on HPC applications.

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted May 9, 2007

3:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Song Zhang, Mississippi State University Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering
"Tensor Visualization For Finding Structures in Brain and Nematic Liquid Crystal."

Abstract: Matrix-valued datasets (so-called tensor field) have become more common in various disciplines of science. Compared to scalar dataset or vector field, tensor field incorporates more information at any one data point.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Posted May 21, 2007

8:30 am - 6:00 pm Thursday, May 31, 2007 237 Lockett Hall

Louisiana Workshop on Mathematical Control Theory (MCT'07)

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Posted May 9, 2007

until Sunday, June 3, 2007 tba

A second time around the Volume conjecture

Conference web-page

Friday, June 1, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted May 22, 2007

1:30 pm 152 Coates Hall

James Demmel, University of California - Berkeley Richard Carl Dehmel Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics
"The Future of High Performance Linear Algebra."

Abstract: Linear algebra is at the core of much scientific and engineering computing problem, so faster and more accurate algorithms and software are always welcome. We survey three areas of recent progress.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted May 25, 2007

3:00 pm 145 Coates Hall

Michael Lesk, Rutgers University Professor of Library and Information Science
"Scientific Data Libraries: Changing Research."

Reception at 2:30 p.m. in 145 Coates Hall. Abstract: The traditional paradigm of scientific research is being changed by our ability to gather enormous quantities of data with sensors and store them online.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Posted July 19, 2007

8:30 am Location TBA

Workshop on Control Theory and Mathematical Biology (Day 1 of 2)

Note: This is a TWO-DAY WORKSHOP, starting on Thursday July 26th at 8:30AM, and ending on Friday July 27th at 4:30PM. See http://www.math.lsu.edu/~malisoff/MCTMB.html for updated information.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Posted July 20, 2007

8:30 am Location TBA

Workshop on Control Theory and Mathematical Biology (Day 2 of 2)

Note: This is a TWO-DAY WORKSHOP, starting on Thursday July 26th at 8:30AM, and ending on Friday July 27th at 4:30PM. See http://www.math.lsu.edu/~malisoff/MCTMB.html for updated information.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Posted August 7, 2007

until Saturday, August 25, 2007 Room 244 Lockett: other locations for special activities

GEAUX

This is the Graduate Education and Acclimation to the University eXperience. Current graduate students conduct orientation activities for all the new Mathematics graduate students. See the GEAUX calendar at GEAUX.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Posted August 7, 2007

7:45 am - 12:00 pm Friday, August 17, 2007 Campbell Auditorium, Cox Communication Building

Required Orientation for All New International Graduate Students at LSU

Bring ID such as passport. This is where an international student receives an appointment for the required written English test and the required spoken English interview.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Posted August 7, 2007

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett

Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam in Core-1 Topology

For further information visit Graduate Exams.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Posted August 7, 2007

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett Originally scheduled for 1:30 pm

Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam in Core-1 Analysis

For further information see Graduate Exams.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Posted August 7, 2007

1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Room 285 Lockett Hall

Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam in Core-1 Algebra

For further information see Graduate Exams.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Posted August 7, 2007

12:30 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett

Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exams: All Core-2 Tests

For further information see Graduate Exams

Posted August 16, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:40 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Shinnosuke Oharu, Chuo University, Japan
Ecological models of red tide plankton in the coastal ocean.

Abstract: This talk will be concerned with a mathematical model consisting of an ecological model for a specific species of plankton and an ocean model, numerical models consistent with the PDE models, and computer simulations by means of new CFD methods.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Posted August 20, 2007

3:10 pm Lockett 6

Meeting of Research Faculty

Visitors for the academic year and other miscellaneous topics.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Posted August 27, 2007

5:10 pm - 6:00 pm Lockett 276

Adam Lowrance, Department of Mathematics, Vassar College
On Knot Floer Width and Turaev Genus

Monday, September 10, 2007

Posted September 5, 2007

4:30 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Steve Wallace, LSU
Surgery untying of knots

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Seminar on Algebraic K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted September 5, 2007

1:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Overview and Motivation

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Posted September 9, 2007

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Prescott 205

Alvaro Guevara, Dept of Mathematics, LSU
Student Seminar on Control Theory and Optimization

Introduction to Convex Analysis II

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted August 17, 2007

3:00 pm A101 Auditorium Life Sciences Building Annex

Tinsley Oden, University of Texas at Austin Director, Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences
Adaptive Multiscale Modeling of Large-Scale Molecular Systems

Frontiers of Scientific Computing Lecture Series There will be a reception at 4:00 pm. More info

Posted September 7, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Moshe Cohen, Department of Mathematics, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Introductory remarks on Khovanov homology

This is a virtual topology seminar together with U Iowa

Friday, September 14, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted September 11, 2007

2:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Philip Maechling, University of Southern California Information Technology Architect, Southern California Earthquake Center
"Seismic Hazard Modeling using Heterogeneous Scientific Workflows"

Abstract: As a part of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) program of seismic hazard research, we are using scientific workflow technologies to run large-scale high performance and high throughput scientific applications.

Monday, September 17, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted September 13, 2007

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Poojitha Yapa, Clarkson University Porfessor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
"Modeling Oil and Gas Discharges from Deepwater Blowouts."

Abstract: A computer model (CDOG) developed to simulate the behavior of oil and gas accidentally released from deepwater is presented. Deepwater is considered to be water depths in excess of 800 m.

Posted September 7, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Hee Jung Kim, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Topological triviality of smoothly knotted surfaces in 4-manifolds

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Seminar on Algebraic K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted September 18, 2007

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Exact categories and Quillen's Q-construction

Posted August 20, 2007

3:10 pm Lockett 6

Meeting of the tenured faculty

Promotion and tenure cases will be reviewed.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Student Seminar

Posted September 16, 2007

2:40 am - 3:30 am 203 Prescott

Silvia Jimenez, Dept of Mathematics, LSU
Student Seminar on Control Theory and Optimization

Lower Bounds on Field Concentrations

Posted September 13, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Neal Stoltzfus, Mathematics Department, LSU
Quasi-Trees and Khovanov homology

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa

Friday, September 21, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted September 13, 2007

2:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Brygg Ullmer, Louisiana State University Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science Center for Computation and Technology
"Tangible Interfaces for Visualization, Collaboration, and Education."

Abstract: Over the last decade, there has been rapidly growing interest in bridging human interaction between the physical and digital worlds.

Monday, September 24, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted September 13, 2007

1:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Thomas Fahringer, University of Insbruck-Austria Institute of Computer Science
Radu Prodan, University of Innsbruck-Austria Institute of Computer Science
"ASKALON: An Application Development and Runtime Environment for the Grid."

In this presentation we describe the ASKALON Grid application development and computing environment whose ultimate goal is to provide an invisible Grid to the application developer.

Posted September 14, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 233

Édouard Oudet, Laboratoire de Mathématiques, Université de Savoie, France
Constant width bodies in dimension 3

A body (that is, a compact connected subset K of Rn) is said to be of constant width α if its projection on any straight line is a segment of length α>0, the same value for all lines.

We present in this talk a complete analytic parametrization of constant width bodies in dimension 3 based on the median surface: more precisely, we define a bijection between some space of functions and constant width bodies. We compute simple geometrical quantities like the volume and the surface area in terms of those functions. As a corollary we give a new algebraic proof of Blaschke's formula. Finally, we present some numerical computations based on the preceding parametrization.

É. Oudet will be visiting the department this week (9/24 - 9/28). If you want to schedule a meeting with him, contact B. Bourdin.

Posted September 19, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
A symplectically aspherical manifold with b_1=1

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted September 21, 2007

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
The fundamental group of Quillen's Q-construction

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Posted September 26, 2007

2:40 am - 3:30 am Prescott 203

Student Seminar on Control and Optimization

Introduction to Differential Inclusions math.lsu.edu/dept/student_control_opt

Posted September 24, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Adam Lowrance, Department of Mathematics, Vassar College

Monday, October 1, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted September 24, 2007

11:00 am 338 Johnston Hall

Ravi Vadapalli, Texas Tech University Research Scientist, High Performance Computing Center, Applicant for CCT's CyD IT Analyst Position
"Deploying Regional Cyberinfrastructure for Strategic Appl. Development & Support"

Abstract: Grid Computing is an emerging collaborative computing paradigm to extend institutional/organization specific high performance computing capabilities greatly beyond local resources.

Posted September 28, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett Hall 233

Burak Aksoylu, Department of Mathematics and CCT
Physics-based preconditioners for solving PDEs on highly heterogeneous media

Eigenvalues of smallest magnitude become a major bottleneck for iterative solvers especially when the underlying physical properties have severe contrasts. These contrasts are commonly found in many applications such as composite materials, geological rock properties and thermal and electrical conductivity.

The main objective of this work is to construct a method as algebraic as possible that could efficiently exploit the connectivity of highly heterogeneous media in the solution of diffusion operators. We propose an algebraic way of separating binary-like systems according to a given threshold into high- and low-conductivity regimes of coefficient size O(m) and O(1), respectively where m >> 1. The condition number of the linear system depends both on the mesh size Δ x and the coefficient size $m$. For our purposes, we address only the m dependence since the condition number of the linear system is mainly governed by the high-conductivity subblock. Thus, the proposed strategy is inspired by capturing the relevant physics governing the problem. Based on the algebraic construction, a two-stage preconditioning strategy is developed as follows: (1) a first stage that comprises approximation to the components of the solution associated to small eigenvalues and, (2) a second stage that deals with the remaining solution components with a deflation strategy (if ever needed). The deflation strategies are based on computing near invariant subspaces corresponding to smallest and deflating them by the use of recycled the Krylov subspaces.

Due to its algebraic nature, the proposed approach can support a wide range of realistic geometries (e.g., layered and channelized media). Numerical examples show that the proposed class of physics-based preconditioners are more effective and robust compared to a class of Krylov-based deflation methods on highly heterogeneous media. We also report on singular perturbation analysis of the stiffness matrix and the impact of the number of high-conductive regions on various matrices.

Posted September 24, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University
A symplectically aspherical manifold with b_1=1, Part II

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Seminar on algebraic K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted October 2, 2007

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Quillen's theorems A and B

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Posted September 24, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Adam Lowrance, Department of Mathematics, Vassar College

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa

Posted September 28, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Jens Christensen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Bergman spaces and representations of SL_2

Graduate Students are encouraged to attend. Abstract: I will start by presenting a general framework for describing Banach spaces by use of representations. Next I will take a closer look at a specific representation leading to a characterization of Bergman spaces on the unit disc. The talk will most likely be split on two days.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Posted October 1, 2007

3:40 pm Lockett 381

Ambar Sengupta, Mathematics Department, LSU
Gaussian Matrix Integrals

Posted October 1, 2007

4:30 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett

Leonard F. Richardson, Mathematics Department, LSU

Friday, October 5, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted September 24, 2007

2:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Barbara Chapman, University of Houston Department of Computer Science
"OpenMP In The Multicore Era."

Dual-core machines are actively marketed for destop and home computing. Sysems with a larger number of cores are deployed in the server market. Some cores are capable of executing multiple threads.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted October 9, 2007

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Quillen's fundamental theorems

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Posted October 1, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Moshe Cohen, Department of Mathematics, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
On a result of Ozsvath and Manolescu

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa

Monday, October 15, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted September 19, 2007

3:00 pm Johnston Hall 338

Doug Arnold, Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, Minneapolis Director
Finite Element Exterior Calculus: A New Approach To The Stability Of Finite Elements

Posted October 2, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Neal Stoltzfus, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Bollobas-Riordan-Tutte polynomial as a tri-graded Poincare-polynomial (due to N. Forman)

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Posted September 19, 2007

10:00 am Johnston Hall 338

Doug Arnold, Institute for Mathematics and its Applications, Minneapolis Director
The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications

Abstract: The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) in Minneapolis is a leading research center, founded by the National Science Foundation in 1982. The primary mission of the IMA is to increase the impact of mathematics by fostering interdisciplinary research linking mathematics with important scientific and technological problems from other disciplines, industry, and society. Through a variety of programs, it provides opportunities for scientists, mathematicians, and engineers from academia and government labs and industry to make contact and interact with each other, to learn about new developments, and to stimulate the study of interesting and relevant problems and their solution. In this informal presentation the director of the IMA will discuss IMA operations, upcoming programs, and outcomes, in order to promote participation and gather input from LSU researchers.

Seminar on K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted October 14, 2007

1:40 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
K(Z) and the Vandiver conjecture

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Student Semina

Posted October 16, 2007

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Prescott 203

Qinqxia Li, LSU Math Dept.
An Introduction to Multi-objective optimal control problem

Posted October 3, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

John Etnyre, Georgia Institute of Technology
A geometric reason for the non-sharpness of Bennequin's inequality for some fibered knots

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa

Posted September 28, 2007

3:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381

Jens Christensen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Bergman spaces and representations of SL_2 II

Graduate Students are encouraged to attend. Abstract: I will start by presenting a general framework for describing Banach spaces by use of representations. Next I will take a closer look at a specific representation leading to a characterization of Bergman spaces on the unit disc. The talk will most likely be split on two days.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Posted October 15, 2007

1:40 pm 232 Lockett

John Etnyre, Georgia Institute of Technology
Knot Colorings---From Grade School to Grad School (and Back?) in One Hour

See https://www.math.lsu.edu/dept/ugrad/mathclub for a list of upcoming math club activities and an abstract and poster for this talk.

Posted September 28, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

John Etnyre, Georgia Institute of Technology
Invariants of embeddings via contact geometry

Abstract: I will describe a method to define, hopefully new, invariants of any embedded submanifold of Euclidean space. To define this invariant we will need to take an excursion into the realm of contact geometry and a recent generalization of Floer homology called contact homology. More specifically, after recalling various notions from contact geometry, I will show how to associate a Lagrangian submanifold to any embedded submanifold of Euclidean space. The invariant of the embedding will be the contact homology of this Lagrangian. Though the definition of this invariant is somewhat complicated it is possible to compute it for knots in Euclidean 3-space. Lenny Ng has combinatorially studied this invariant for such knots and has shown that it does not seem to be determined by previously known invariants but non the less has some connections with the classical Alexander polynomial of a knot. I will concentrate on the more geometric aspects of the invariant and ongoing work of Tobias Ekholm, Lenny Ng, Michael Sullivan and myself aimed at a better understanding of the invariant (in particular, showing that it is well defined in some generality).
There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Posted October 9, 2007

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 233

Michael Zabarankin, Stevens Institute of Technology
Generalized Analytic Functions in 3D Axially Symmetric Stokes Flows

Abstract
A class of generalized analytic functions, defined by a special case of
the Carleman system that arises from related potentials encountered in
various areas of applied mathematics has been considered. Hilbert
formulas, establishing relationships between the real and imaginary
parts of a generalized analytic function from this class, have been
derived for the domains exterior to the contour of spindle, lens,
bi-spheres and torus in the meridional cross-section plane. In
bi-spherical and toroidal coordinates, this special case of the Carleman
system has been reduced to a second-order difference equation with
respect to either the coefficients in series or densities in integral
representations of the real and imaginary parts. For spindle and lens,
the equation has been solved in the framework of Riemann boundary-value
problems in the class of meromorphic functions. For torus, the equation
has been solved by means of the Fourier transform, while for bi-spheres,
it has been solved by an algebraic method. As examples, analytical
expressions for the pressure in the problems of the 3D axially symmetric
Stokes flows about rigid spindle, biconvex lens, bi-spheres and torus
have been derived based on the corresponding Hilbert formulas.

Posted October 22, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Neal Stoltzfus, Mathematics Department, LSU
The Bollobas-Riordan-Tutte polynomial as a tri-graded Poincare-polynomial (due to N. Forman), Part II

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Seminar on K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted October 18, 2007

1:40 pm Lockett 381

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Algebraic cycles

Posted October 8, 2007

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Room 9, Lockett Hall

Career Guidance for Graduate Students - a Faculty Panel Discussion with Questions

A faculty panel--Drs. Cohen, Dasbach, Sengupta and Shipman will join the Chair and the Graduate Director in providing career guidance for students. This meeting is required of all graduate students who have passed the General Exam. Others are very warmly encouraged to attend as well--it being never too early to plan ones career. Refreshments will be served first at 3:30 in the Lounge.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Posted October 22, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Charles Frohman, University of Iowa
On Bar-Natan's skein module

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa (talk this week is from Iowa)

Posted October 17, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Jens Christensen, Mathematics Department, LSU
Bergman spaces and representations of SL_2 III

Graduate Students are encouraged to attend. Abstract: I will start by presenting a general framework for describing Banach spaces by use of representations. Next I will take a closer look at a specific representation leading to a characterization of Bergman spaces on the unit disc. The talk will most likely be split on two days.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Posted September 14, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Originally scheduled for 3:30 pm, Thursday, October 11, 2007

Alex Iosevich , University of Missouri-Columbia
Some examples of interaction between harmonic analysis, geometric measure theory, combinatorics and number theory

Abstract: Many problems stated in analytic terms often turn out to be, in
essence, problem in combinatorics or number theory. The opposite phenomenon,
where number theoretic or combinatorical problems are fundamentally analytic in
nature is equally ubiquitous. We shall discuss this phenomonon from a
systematic point of view and will outline mechanisms that allow one to transfer
techniques and ideas from area to another.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Posted October 22, 2007

5:00 pm 232 Lockett

Alex Iosevich , University of Missouri-Columbia
Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality or... If the Elephant if Fat, then There Must Be a Way to Place a Mirror to Make This Obvious...

See https://www.math.lsu.edu/dept/ugrad/mathclub for a list of upcoming math club activities and an abstract and poster for this talk.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Posted September 19, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Friday, October 12, 2007

Alex Iosevich , University of Missouri-Columbia
Bounds for discrete Radon transforms and application to problems in geometric combinatorics and additve number theory

Monday, October 29, 2007

Posted September 5, 2007

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 301D Lockett

Non-Thesis MS Final Exam, concluding event.

The Committee will be Profs. Richardson (chair), Adkins, and Dasbach. This is the concluding event of the Comprehensive Final Exam for the non-thesis MS.

Posted October 4, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 233

Thirupathi Gudi, CCT, LSU
Local Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Elliptic Problems

Posted October 24, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Ambar Sengupta, Mathematics Department, LSU
Gaussian Matrix Integrals

Abstract: The talk of the same title given in the probability seminar concluded with a definition of a who a topologist is. In this talk we will strive to define a probabilist. Along the way we shall examine the representation of Gaussian integrals of matrix-trace functions in terms of sums over surfaces of varying genus. This is an illustration of a broader phenomenon of integrals arising from physical theories having topological interpretations.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Seminar on K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted October 29, 2007

1:40 pm Lockett 381

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Algebraic cycles II

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Posted October 25, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Jeff Boerner (U Iowa): On the Asaeda-Przytycki-Sikora homology

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa (talk this week is from Iowa)

Posted October 5, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381

Complex Structures on Principal Bundles

Holomorphic principal G-bundles over a complex manifold M can be studied using non-abelian cohomology groups H1(M,G). On the other hand, if M=\Sigma is a closed Riemann surface, there is a correspondence between holomorphic principal G-bundles over \Sigma and coadjoint orbits in the dual of a central extension of the Lie algebra C^\infty(\Sigma, \g). We review some of these results and use a Theorem of A. Borel to give more detail in the case of \Sigma having genus one. The talk is based on my diplom thesis, a short version of which is available on the ArXiv: arXiv:0708.3261v1

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Posted October 25, 2007

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm tba

Junior Topology Seminar

This is a reading seminar. See this announcement

Posted November 1, 2007

4:30 pm 232 Lockett

An Overview of Spring 2008 Math Course Offerings Followed by Elections

Friday, November 2, 2007

Posted October 26, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm 113 Lockett Hall

Deletion-contraction to form a polymatroid

All welcome

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted October 30, 2007

2:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Valerie Taylor, Department of Computer Science, Texas A&M University Department Head and Royce E. Weisenbaker Professorship II
"Performance Analysis and Optimization of Large-scale Scientific Applications

Abstract: The current trend in high performance computing systems is shifting towards cluster systems with CMPs (chip multiprocessors).

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Posted September 19, 2007

9:00 am - 2:00 pm Burden Conference Center

Burak Aksoylu, Department of Mathematics and CCT
Jimmie Lawson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Richard A. Litherland, Mathematics Department, LSU
Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Graduate Student Picnic/Orientation Conference - Program

Monday, November 5, 2007

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted October 10, 2007

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm 338, Johnston Hall

Qiang Du, Department of Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University
Phase Field Models and Simulations of Some Interface Problems

Part of the Frontiers of Scientific Computing Lecture Series

Abstract: In this talk, Dr. Du will report some recent works on the phase field modeling and simulation of interface problems in materials science and biology.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Seminar on K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted November 4, 2007

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Mumford's counter-example

Posted November 2, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Perverse coherent sheaves and special pieces in the unipotent variety

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Posted November 4, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Heather Russell (U Iowa): Embedded Khovanov homology of S^1\times D^2 and the homology of the (n,n)-Springer Fiber

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa (talk this week is from Iowa)

Posted November 5, 2007

3:40 pm Lockett 9

The meeting to discuss the VIGRE grant proposal and the upcoming site visit, which is scheduled for December 6th.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Posted November 6, 2007

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 119

Junior Topology Seminar

Posted September 14, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Clint Dawson, University of Texas at Austin
Simulation of Coupled Ground Water/Surface Water Flow

Abstract: There is strong evidence that the supply and quality of water are influenced by interactions between water stored at the surface and water stored in the subsurface. There have been a few efforts at modeling this interaction, but a number of outstanding questions still remain. In this talk we will address the mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of coupled ground water/surface water flow. Mathematical modeling issues include determining the appropriate models of flow within each subdomain, and determining the interface or boundary conditions to couple the models. Given a model, the next question is how to solve it. Here we will discuss an approach based on the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method. A priori error analysis for a DG formulation for a shallow water model coupled with saturated ground water flow will be presented. Numerical results will also be discussed for several practical scenarios. We will also discuss recent analysis and results for a simplified surface water flow model, the diffusive wave approximation.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Posted November 5, 2007

5:00 pm 232 Lockett

Conservation of Momentum: Euclid, Newton and Noether

Check https://www.math.lsu.edu/dept/ugrad/mathclub for a schedule of math club events and abstracts of the talks. All undergrads are invited.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Posted November 7, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm 113 Lockett Hall

Moshe Cohen, Department of Mathematics, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Ribbon Graphs and Quasi-trees

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted October 30, 2007

2:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

"Quantum Technologies --- The Second Quantum Revolution!"

Abstract: We are currently in the midst of a second quantum revolution. The first quantum revolution gave us new rules that govern physical reality. The second quantum revolution will take these rules and use them to develop new technologies.

Posted November 7, 2007

3:40 pm Lockett 9

Meeting of the Tenured and Tenure-track Faculty

Hiring discussion.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Posted November 6, 2007

4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 276

Patrick Gilmer, Mathematics Department, LSU
Congruence and quantum invariants

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Seminar on K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted November 9, 2007

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Bott periodicity via Gamma spaces

for further information, see the seminar webpage

Posted September 12, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 240

Zhaohu Nie, Texas A&M Department of Mathematics

Abstract:
The first proof of the Lefschetz (1,1) theorem was given by
Poincare and Lefschetz using normal functions for a Lefschetz pencil.
The hope to generalize this method to higher codimensional Hodge
conjecture was blocked by the failure of Jacobian inversion. In another
direction, one can hope for an inductive proof of the Hodge conjecture
if for any primitive Hodge class one can find a, necessarily singular,
hypersurface to "capture part of it". Recently Green and Griffiths
introduced the notion of extended normal functions over higher
dimensional bases such that their singular loci corresponds to such
hypersurfaces. In this talk, we will present how to understand
singularities using the viewpoint of admissible normal functions, and
how the Hodge conjecture is then equivalent to the existence of
singularities. This is joint work with P. Brosnan, H. Fang and G.
Pearlstein.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Student Seminar

Posted November 7, 2007

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Prescott 203

Jasson Vindas, LSU Department of Mathematics, LSU
Student Seminar on Control Theory and Optimization

Some asymptotic notions for Schwartz distributions

Posted November 6, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Steve Wallace, LSU
Surgery equivalence invariants of colored knots

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Posted November 6, 2007

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 119

Junior Topology Seminar

Posted November 12, 2007

3:30 pm Lockett 381

P. Sundar, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Fractional Gaussian integrals

Posted November 11, 2007

3:40 pm 285 Lockett

Bin Li, LSU Department of Experimental Statistics
Introduction to Data Mining

Check https://www.math.lsu.edu/dept/ugrad/mathclub for a schedule of math club events and abstracts of the talks. All undergrads are invited.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Posted November 12, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm 113 Lockett Hall

Stan Dziobiak, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student
Coloring Graphs within a Constant Error in Polynomial Time

Monday, November 19, 2007

Posted November 14, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm Lockett 241

Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU
Perverse coherent sheaves and special pieces in the unipotent variety, part 2

Posted November 8, 2007

3:40 pm Lockett 9

Meeting of the Tenured and Tenure-track Faculty

We will discuss hiring plan for math/cct and mhi hiring. There may have been a change in the department's original agreement and understanding.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Posted November 12, 2007

3:00 pm - 4:00 am Lockett B9

Site Visit Information for Graduate Students

This is an important meeting for all math graduate students to find out from Profs. Olafsson and Smolinsky about the National Science Foundation site visit to our department on December 6.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Posted November 6, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm

NO VIRTUAL SEMINAR (THANKSGIVING)

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Seminar on K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted November 19, 2007

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Gersten's conjecture and Bloch's formula

Posted September 14, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 239

Pramod Achar, Mathematics Department, LSU
Staggered t-structures and equivariant coherent sheaves

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Student Seminar on Control Theory and Optimization

Posted November 26, 2007

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Prescott 203

Patricio Jara, LSU Math Department
Rational approximation of Semigroups

Posted November 6, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Biological Sciences Annex Building - A663

Adam Lowrance, Department of Mathematics, Vassar College
On a paper by Ozsvath, Rasmussen and Szabo on the odd Khovanov homology

Virtual Seminar together with U Iowa

Posted November 12, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University
Spherical Means in Odd Dimensions and EPD equations.

I am planning to present a simple proof of the
Finch-Patch-Rakesh inversion formula for the spherical mean Radon
transform in odd dimensions. This transform arises in thermoacoustic
tomography. Applications will be given to the Cauchy problem for the
Euler-Poisson-Darboux equation with initial data on the cylindrical surface.
The argument relies on the idea of analytic continuation and properties of
the Erdelyi-Kober fractional integrals. Some open problem will be discussed.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Posted November 28, 2007

12:40 pm - 1:30 pm 143 Lockett Hall

Framed knot contact homology

Posted November 12, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Michael Lacey, Georgia Institute of Technology
Pointwise convergence of Fourier series

Abstract: Lennart Carleson's celebrated theorem on the pointwise convergence of Fourier series was one of three results cited by the Abel Prize committee, in making their award to him. This result states that any square integrable function on the unit circle is the limit, almost everywhere, of the Fourier partial sums. We will recall the theorem, explain why it is worthy of an Abel prize, and give a brief description of a proof. The theorem is related, even required, for a range of related questions, a much more recent development investigated by the speaker and Christoph Thiele, among many others. We close with a very recent new result of Victor Lie on the Quadratic Carleson Theorem.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Posted November 13, 2007

5:00 pm 232 Lockett

How to Apply for REUs

Professor Robert Perlis and others will discuss a program called Research Experience for Undergraduates (REUs) which are paid summer jobs for undergrads in the mathematical sciences. Check https://www.math.lsu.edu/dept/ugrad/mathclub for a schedule of math club events. All undergrads are invited.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Posted November 28, 2007

11:40 am - 12:30 pm 113 Lockett Hall

Evan Morgan, LSU Mathematics Department Graduate student
Tree-width and contraction

All welcome.

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted November 26, 2007

2:00 pm Life Sciences Building Annex Room A101 Auditorium

Daniel Huttenlocher, Cornell University Neafsey Professor of Computing, Information Science and Business
"Computational Soc. Sci.: Large-Scale Studies of Wikis, Blogs, Soc. Networking Sites"

Abstract: Many social interactions that are ephemeral in the physical workld are recorded and assessible in the online world.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Posted October 17, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 233 Lockett

Itai Shafrir, Department of Mathematics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
Global minimizers for a p-Ginzburg-Landau energy.

We study the problem of existence of global minimizers for a p-Ginzburg-Landau type energy on the plane and on the half-plane, for p>2, under a degree condition at infinity. We prove existence of a minimizer when the degree equals 1. This is joint work with Yaniv Almog, Leonid Berlyand and Dmitry Golovaty.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Posted December 3, 2007

12:40 pm Lockett 119

Seminar on K-theory and Grothendieck-Witt groups

Posted November 30, 2007

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

The proof of Gersten's conjecture in the geometric case

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Student Seminar

Posted November 7, 2007

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Prescott 203

Bacim Alali, Department of Mathematics
Student Seminar on Control Theory and Optimization

Optimal Lower Bounds on the Stress and Strain Fields Concentrations in Random Media

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Holiday Party

Posted December 10, 2007

12:00 pm Keisler Lounge

Holiday Party

Everyone is invited to share in the Season's Spirit. Please bring a dish to share.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Posted December 17, 2007

3:30 pm Howe/Russell room 130

Paul Rabinowitz, University of Wisconsin E.B. Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics National Academy Member 1998 George David Birkhoff Prize in Applied Mathematics
Towards an Aubry - Mather type theory for PDE's

An abstract is available here.

Posted January 29, 2008

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Meeting of the Tenured Faculty

Third year review cases. A vote will follow.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Posted December 18, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Johnston 338

Hongchao Zhang, University of Minnesota Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
TBA

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/307

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Posted December 17, 2007

3:30 pm Howe/Russell room 130

Paul Rabinowitz, University of Wisconsin E.B. Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics National Academy Member 1998 George David Birkhoff Prize in Applied Mathematics
Towards an Aubry - Mather type theory for PDE's

An abstract is available here.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Posted December 18, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Johnston 338

Johnny Guzman, University of Minnesota Candidate for Assistant Professor Postion
TBA

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/308

Friday, January 18, 2008

Posted December 17, 2007

3:30 pm Howe/Russell room 130

Paul Rabinowitz, University of Wisconsin E.B. Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics National Academy Member 1998 George David Birkhoff Prize in Applied Mathematics
Towards an Aubry - Mather type theory for PDE's

An abstract is available here.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted January 17, 2008

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Seva Joukhovitski, Mathematics Department, LSU
Sums of squares formulas via motivic cohomology

Posted December 18, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Johnston 338

Clayton Webster, Sandia National Laboratories Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
A Dimension-Adpative Sparse Grid Stochastic Collocation Technique for Partial Differential Equations with High-Dimensional Random Input Data

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/313

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Posted January 21, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bio. Sciences Annex, A663

Charles Frohman, University of Iowa
An introduction to Frobenius extensions and TQFT over rings

Virtual Seminar together with UIowa

Posted January 15, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Prescott 205

Laurentiu Marinovici, Louisiana State University
Survey on Estimation Algorithms for Networked Control Systems using UDP-like Communication

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Control Research Seminar

Posted January 24, 2008

10:00 am EE117, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Robert Bitmead, University of California at San Diego Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Experimental Certification of Jet Engine Controllers

Posted December 18, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Johnston 338

Jianlin Xia, University of CA at Los Angeles Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
Superfast Solvers For Some Large Structured Matrix Problems

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/311

Friday, January 25, 2008

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted January 7, 2008

11:30 am

Sangtae "Sang" Kim, Purdue University Donald W. Feddersen Distingusihed Professor Of Mechanical Engineering And Distinguished Professor Of Chemical Engineering
"Fluidic Self Assembly And The Network Of Things."

Fluidic Self Assembly (FSA) is now a microhydrodynamic, particulate process for the integration of Electrical, optical and mechanical devices.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted January 22, 2008

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Seva Joukhovitski, Mathematics Department, LSU
Sums of squares formulas via motivic cohomology (cont.)

Posted December 18, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Johnston 338

Wei Zhu, New York University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
Modeling And Simulation Of Liquid Crystal Elastomers

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/315

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted January 24, 2008

4:40 pm - 6:00 pm Lockett 284

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
A Survey of Operator Algebras I

A survey of the theory of Operator
Algebras - an approach to the spectral theory of bounded and
unbounded operators on Hilbert space. I'll head for the
basic density theorems of the subject (the von Neumann
density, the Kaplansky density, and the transitivity
theorems), and explain the approximation-theory aspects of
the theory of operator algebras.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Posted January 22, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bio. Sciences Annex, A663

Charles Frohman, University of Iowa
sl_3 Topological Quantum Field Theory after Khovanov

Virtual Seminar together with UIowa

Posted January 16, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Prescott 203

Santiago Fortes, Department of Mathematics, LSU
A Proof of the Uniform Boundedness Principle using Continuous Functions

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Posted December 18, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Johnston 338

Xiaoliang Wan Candidate for Assistant Professor Position
Polynomial Chaos And Uncertainty Quantification

http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/312

Friday, February 1, 2008

Posted January 23, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 277

Jan Dijkstra, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Homeomorphism groups of manifolds and Erdös space

There is an abstract available.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Posted December 28, 2007

3:40 pm - 4:40 pm 233 Lockett Hall

Peter Sternberg, Indiana University
Bifurcating solutions in a model for a superconducting wire subjected to an applied current

Abstract: We study formally and rigorously the bifurcation to steady and time-periodic states in a model for a thin superconducting wire in the presence of an imposed current. Exploiting the PT-symmetry of the equations at both the linearized and nonlinear levels, and taking advantage of the collision of real eigenvalues leading to complex spectrum, we obtain explicit asymptotic formulas for the stationary solutions, for the amplitude and period of the bifurcating periodic solutions and for the location of their zeros or phase slip centers" as they are known in the physics literature. In so doing, we construct a center manifold for the flow and give a complete description of the associated finite-dimensional dynamics. This is joint work with Jacob Rubinstein and Kevin Zumbrun.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Posted January 30, 2008

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 16

Pallavi Dani, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Filling invariants for groups

Abstract: For any loop in a simply-connected Riemannian manifold, one can look for a disk of minimal area whose boundary is that loop. More generally, one can consider fillings of $n$-spheres by $(n+1)$-balls. These notions have natural analogues in the realm of finitely presented groups, where one models the group using suitably defined geometric spaces. I will discuss Dehn functions of groups, which capture the difficulty of filling spheres with balls. A fundamental question in the area is that of determining which functions arise as Dehn functions of groups. I will give an overview of known results and describe recent progress in the $2$-dimensional case. This is joint work with Josh Barnard and Noel Brady.

Posted December 25, 2007

3:10 pm Lockett 6

https://www.math.lsu.edu/dept/node/649

For a proposal and response. We will discuss the matter and formulate a proposal for a vote.

Posted February 5, 2008

4:30 pm 232 Lockett

Pallavi Dani, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Wallpaper Groups

Friday, February 8, 2008

Posted February 7, 2008

3:40 pm

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Analysis on Symmetric Spaces

This is a seminar class on homogeneous symmetric spaces G/K, where G is a linear Lie group. We study the basic structure theory for G non-compact. We will then discuss the representation theory related to G/K and harmonic analysis on G/K. In particular we hope to be able to introduce the Fourier transform and, in case G is non-compact, the Radon transform on G/K related to the principal series representations. There is a link to the lecture notes on our webpage http://www.math.lsu,edu/~olafsson/teaching.html

Posted February 7, 2008

3:40 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Analysis on Symmetric Spaces

This is a seminar class on homogeneous symmetric spaces G/K, where G is a linear Lie group. We study the basic structure theory for G non-compact. We will then discuss the representation theory related to G/K and harmonic analysis on G/K. In particular we hope to be able to introduce the Fourier transform and, in case G is non-compact, the Radon transform on G/K related to the principal series representations. There is a link to the lecture notes on our webpage http://www.math.lsu,edu/~olafsson/teaching.html

Monday, February 11, 2008

Posted February 8, 2008

3:40 pm Lockett 9

Meeting of the Tenured and Tenure-track Faculty

Hiring and the hiring plan.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted January 29, 2008

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Sums-of-Squares formulas via K-theory

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted January 24, 2008

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 284 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
A Survey of Operator Algebras II

A survey of the theory of Operator

Algebras - an approach to the spectral theory of bounded and

unbounded operators on Hilbert space. I'll head for the

basic density theorems of the subject (the von Neumann

density, the Kaplansky density, and the transitivity

theorems), and explain the approximation-theory aspects of

the theory of operator algebras.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Posted January 24, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bio. Sciences Annex, A663

Adam McDougall (Virtual Seminar together with UIowa)

Posted February 12, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Prescott 205

Lingyan Huang, LSU Math Dept
Introduction to Nonsmooth Analysis and Control Theory I

Posted February 12, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Prescott 205

Jacob Blanton, Mathematics Department, LSU
Introduction to Nonsmooth Analysis and Control Theory II

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Posted January 29, 2008

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Meeting of the Tenured Faculty

Third year review cases. A vote will follow.

Posted February 12, 2008

4:30 pm 232 Lockett

Peggy Wang, Baton Rouge Transition To Teaching Program Project Director
Alternative Paths to Teacher Certification in Secondary Math and Science

Friday, February 15, 2008

Posted February 15, 2008

3:40 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Seminar on Symmetric Sapces

Monday, February 18, 2008

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted February 6, 2008

10:40 am - 11:30 am Johnston Hall 338

David E. Keyes, Columbia University And Lawrence Livermore National Lab
A Nonlinearly Implicit Manifesto

SIAM Student Chapter Talk

Posted February 6, 2008

1:40 pm 338 Johnston Hall

David E. Keyes, Columbia University And Lawrence Livermore National Lab
Scalable Solver Infrastructure for Multirate, Multiscale PDE Applications

Followed by refreshments and a short discussion of careers and a Q&A session.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted February 17, 2008

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 381

Daniel Isaksen, Wayne State University
Motivic homological algebra

I will describe some preliminary explicit computations in motivic homotopy theory. Over arbitrary ground fields, we just don't know enough to compute much. But over the complex numbers, we have explicit descriptions (due to Voevodsky) of the cohomology of a point and of the Steenrod algebra of all cohomology operations. I will describe some computations of Ext groups over the motivic Steenrod algebra (over the complex numbers). Via the motivic Adams spectral sequence, these computations say something about motivic stable homotopy groups. Over the real numbers, the cohomology of a point and the Steenrod algebra are also explicitly known (again due to Voevodsky). Similar Ext computations are possible over the real numbers, but the homological algebra is trickier. I believe that these calculations will be an important guide for further research in motivic homotopy theory.

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted February 13, 2008

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 284

Frank Hansen, Department of Economics, University of Copenhage
Quantum information inequalities.

Abstract: The Wigner-Yanase-Dyson informations are examples of measures of (pure) quantum information. They satisfy all but one of the desired properties, proposed by Wigner and Yanase, to a good measure of quantum information. We introduced a much wider class of information measures, the so called metric adjusted skew informations. They are constructed from monotone metrics on the state space of a quantum system and labeled by a special class of operator monotone functions. We develop inequalities for measures of quantum information and derive the so called dynamical uncertainty principle.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Posted February 17, 2008

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Prescott 203

Jacob Blanton, Mathematics Department, LSU
Introduction to Nonsmooth Analysis and Control Theory II

Posted January 24, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bio. Sciences Annex, A663

Hee Jung Kim, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Embeddings of Surfaces in 4-manifolds

(Virtual Seminar together with UIowa)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Posted February 18, 2008

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 381

Hongyu He, Mathematics Department, LSU
Associated Varieties of Irreducible Unitary Representation

Abstract: I will discuss algebraic invariants associated with Irreducible
unitary representations. These invariants will then be used to study the
restrictions of a unitary representation to its subgroups.

Posted February 12, 2008

4:30 pm 232 Lockett

Peter Wolenski, LSU Department of Mathematics Russell B. Long Professor
Nonsmooth Analysis: The Mathematics of Optimization

Friday, February 22, 2008

Posted February 11, 2008

11:30 am - 12:30 pm Johnston 338

William Gropp, Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argone National Laboratory
Challenges For The Message-Passing Interface In The PetaFLOPS Era

Posted February 22, 2008

3:40 pm Lockett 381

Gestur Olafsson, Mathematics Department, LSU
Analysis on Symmetric Spaces

This is the third lecture in the series. We will discuss the Iwasawa decomposition of the Lie algebra and the group.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Posted January 30, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 276

Gregor Masbaum, University Paris 7
TQFT and the Nielsen-Thurston classification of surface homeomorphisms

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted February 22, 2008

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Motives and Algebraic Cycles

Posted January 31, 2008

3:40 pm HOWE/RUSSELL E130

Richard A. Askey, University of Wisconsin Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Binomial theorem, gamma and beta functions and extensions

The binomial theorem goes back centuries, yet there are
still interesting things one can do with it and extensions which
were found not that long ago which are very important. The gamma
and beta functions are not as old, a bit under 300 years.
There are important extension of them which have been found
much more recently, both in one and in several variables. Some of
these results will be described, proven, and/or used.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Posted January 31, 2008

3:40 pm HOWE/RUSSELL 130

Richard A. Askey, University of Wisconsin Member of the National Academy of Sciences
What is Ptolemy's theorem and why is it useful to know a few different ways to prove it?

This talk will be accessible to all undergraduate math majors and any students who had a good high school geometry course.

Ptolemy was best known for his astronomy work, but his book on this contains an important theorem in geometry which is still of interest. The theorem deals with quadrilaterals inscribed in a circle, and was important to Ptolemy as a tool to construct what we would call tables of values of trigonometric functions. We know better ways to do that now, but Ptolemy's theorem is still important, both as a way of learning important ways of attacking some geometry problems, and because of other uses of it. A number of proofs will be given, including Ptolemy's geometric proof, Euler's proof using the law of cosines, a combination of these two proofs to extend Ptolemy's theorem to general quadrilaterals, and ways to reduce this problem to a simple problem on a line.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Posted February 25, 2008

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 381

Dan Barbasch, Cornell University
Spherical unitary spectrum for split real and p-adic groups.

Abstract: I will give a description of the parametrization of the spherical unitary dual for split groups, and discuss the techniques used to obtain it. The spherical unitary dual is important for problems in harmonic analysis on symmetric spaces and automorphic forms.

Posted January 22, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Dan Barbasch, Cornell University
Unipotent representations and unitarity

An abstract is available.
There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Posted January 31, 2008

3:40 pm HOWE/RUSSELL 130

Richard A. Askey, University of Wisconsin Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Orthogonal polynomials &mdash what are they and some of the things one can do with them

Most of you know the names of some of the important classical orthogonal polynomials, Hermite polynomials, Legendre polynomials, and Chebyshev polynomials, and may even know some places where these polynomials arise. There are a number of other classical type orthogonal polynomials which will be discussed. The problems they arise in range from stable distribution of charges on an interval, which is connected eventually with Selberg's multidimensional beta integral, to the Rogers-Ramanujan identities, which themselves show up in statistical mechanics and other unlikely places in addition to their interpretation as partition identities for special classes of integers.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted February 29, 2008

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Motives and Algebraic Cycles II

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted February 21, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
A Survey of Operator Algebras III

A survey of the theory of Operator Algebras - an approach to the spectral theory of bounded and unbounded operators on Hilbert space. I'll head for the basic density theorems of the subject (the von Neumann density, the Kaplansky density, and the transitivity theorems), and explain the approximation-theory aspects of the theory of operator algebras. Some more specifics: Factors, comparison theory of projections, and thence, the dimension function and "factor type," the trace, and examples (von Neumann group algebras) of finite factors.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Posted February 20, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bio. Sciences Annex, A663

Alissa Crans, University of Chicago/Loyola Marymount University
2-groups: Categorified groups

(Virtual Seminar together with UIowa; the talk is broadcasted from Iowa)

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Posted March 5, 2008

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 381

Joseph Wolf, University of California, Berkeley
Plancherel Formula for Commutative Spaces

Let $(G,K)$ be a Gelfand pair, in other words $G$ is a separable locally compact group, $K$ is a compact subgroup, and the convolution algebra $L^1(K\backslash G/K)$ is commutative. Examples include Riemannian symmetric spaces, locally compact abelian groups and homogeneous graphs. Then the natural representation of $G$ on $L^2(G/K)$ is multiplicity--free and there is a very simple analog of the Euclidean space Fourier transform. I'll describe that transform and the corresponding analog of the Fourier inversion formula.

Posted January 29, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Joseph Wolf, University of California, Berkeley
Limits of nilpotent commutative spaces

An abstract is available.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Monday, March 10, 2008

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted February 25, 2008

2:30 pm 155 Coates Hall

Randal E. Bryant, Carnegie Mellon University Dean, School of Computer Science
"Data-Intensive Super Comp.: Taking Google-Style Comp. Beyond Web Search."

Abstract: Web Search engines have become fixtures in our society, but few people realize that they are actually publicly accessible supercomputing systems, where a single query can unleach the power of several hundred processors operating on a date set of over 200 terabytes.

Posted February 26, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett Hall 233

Razvan Teodorescu, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Harmonic Growth in 2D via Biorthogonal Polynomials

Evolution of planar domains (representing physical clusters) under harmonic forces is representative for many problems in mathematical physics. In certain situations, the evolution leads to finite-time singularities. I will discuss a regularization of this evolution inspired by the equilibrium distribution of eigenvalues of large random normal matrices. Connections to operator theory will also be discussed.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted March 10, 2008

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU
Motives and Algebraic Cycles III

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted February 25, 2008

3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Roman Beck, Institute of Information, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany E-Finance and Services Science Chair
"A Cost-based Multi-Unit Resource Auction for Service-oriented Grid Computing."

The Application of Grid technology is finally spreading from engineering and natural science related industrial sectors to other industries with a high demand for computing applications. However, the diffusion of Grid technology within these sectors is often hindered by a lack of the incentive to share the computational reserches across departments or branches even within the same enterprise.

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted March 10, 2008

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
A Survey of Operator Algebras IV

A survey of the theory of Operator Algebras - an approach to the spectral theory of bounded and unbounded operators on Hilbert space. I'll head for the basic density theorems of the subject (the von Neumann density, the Kaplansky density, and the transitivity theorems), and explain the approximation-theory aspects of the theory of operator algebras. Some more specifics: Factors, comparison theory of projections, and thence, the dimension function and "factor type," the trace, and examples (von Neumann group algebras) of finite factors.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Posted March 6, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Prescott 205

Jasson Vindas, LSU Department of Mathematics, LSU
Local boundary behavior of harmonic and analytic functions: Abelian theorems for quasiasymptotics of distributions

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Posted March 10, 2008

4:30 pm 232 Lockett

Guoli Ding, Mathematics Department, LSU
Solving Linear Inequalities, with Applications to Geometry, Optimization, and Combinatorics

Monday, March 24, 2008

Posted January 22, 2008

1:45 pm - 3:00 pm 301D Lockett Hall

Non-Thesis MS Final Exam, concluding event.

The Committee will be Profs. Richardson (chair), Adkins, and Dasbach. This is the concluding event of the Comprehensive Final Exam for the non-thesis MS.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted March 23, 2008

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Semi-simplicity of the category of numerical motives

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted March 25, 2008

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
A Survey of Operator Algebras V

A survey of the theory of Operator Algebras - an approach to the spectral theory of bounded and unbounded operators on Hilbert space. I'll head for the basic density theorems of the subject (the von Neumann density, the Kaplansky density, and the transitivity theorems), and explain the approximation-theory aspects of the theory of operator algebras. Some more specifics: Factors, comparison theory of projections, and thence, the dimension function and "factor type," the trace, and examples (von Neumann group algebras) of finite factors.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Posted February 20, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bio. Sciences Annex, A663

Hee Jung Kim, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Knotting Surfaces in 4-manifolds, Part II

(Virtual Seminar together with UIowa)

Posted March 25, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Prescott 205

Cristina Tugurlan, LSU Math Dept
Distributed Fast Marching Methods                      Seminar Website

Fast Marching Methods are efficient algorithms for solving problems of front evolution where the front speed is monotonic. They are theoretically optimal in terms of operation count. They are also highly sequential and hence not straightforward to parallelize. I will present several parallel implementations of the Fast Marching Method. In these implementations one combines fast sweeping with fast marching, in such a way that allows fast convergence. I will illustrate the power of these approaches on some numerical examples, show the monotonicity and stability properties of the algorithms, and study the convergence and the error estimates.

Posted March 25, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Prescott 205

Cristina Tugurlan, LSU Math Dept
Distributed Fast Marching Methods

math.lsu.edu/dept/student_app_analysis

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Posted March 17, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Toshiyuki Kobayashi, Harvard and University of Tokyo
Existence Problem of Compact Locally Symmetric Spaces.

Abstract: The local to global study of geometries was a major trend of 20th
century geometry, with remarkable developments achieved particularly in
Riemannian geometry. In contrast, in areas such as Lorentz geometry,
familiar to us as the space-time of relativity theory, and more generally
in pseudo-Riemannian geometry, as well as in various other kinds of
geometry (symplectic, complex geometry, ...), surprising little is known
about global properties of the geometry even if we impose a locally
homogeneous structure.

I will give a survey on the recent developments regarding the question
about how the local geometric structure affects the global nature of
non-Riemannian manifolds, with emphasis on the existence problem of compact
forms, rigidity and deformation.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Posted January 22, 2008

until Sunday, March 30, 2008

2008 Spring Southeastern AMS Meeting

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted February 25, 2008

11:30 am 338 Johnston Hall

Rudolf Eigenmann, Purdue University professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
"High Performance Computing Going Mainstream."

Abstract: HPC (High Performance Computing) has progressed far beyond the nich technology it was in the 1980's and 1990's.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Posted January 24, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 276

Charles Livingston, Indiana University
Twisted Alexander polynomials, metabelian representations, and the knot slicing problem

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Posted February 14, 2008

1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 111

David Treumann, Northwestern University
Staggered t-structures on toric varieties

Achar has introduced a family of t-structures, called staggered t-structures, on the derived category of equivariant coherent sheaves on a G-scheme. These generalize the perverse coherent t-structures of Bezrukavnikov and Deligne, their main point of interest being that they are more often self-dual. We will discuss the example of torus-equivariant sheaves on a toric variety. We will also indicate a similarity between the main new ingredient of Achar’s t-structures – what are called s-structures – and the weight-truncation formalism of Morel.

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted April 1, 2008

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
A Survey of Operator Algebras VI

A survey of the theory of Operator Algebras - an approach to the spectral theory of bounded and unbounded operators on Hilbert space. I'll head for the basic density theorems of the subject (the von Neumann density, the Kaplansky density, and the transitivity theorems), and explain the approximation-theory aspects of the theory of operator algebras. Some more specifics: Factors, comparison theory of projections, and thence, the dimension function and "factor type," the trace, and examples (von Neumann group algebras) of finite factors

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Posted March 25, 2008

1:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Alex Pothen, Old Dominion University Professor, Computer Science Department and Center for Computational Science
"Combinatorial Algorithms Enabling Computational Science and Engineering"

Combinatorial problems arise as critical subproblems in many computational simulations in science and engineering. Combinatorial scientific computing (CSC) is a multi-disciplinary area in which such problems are formulated and solved. The CSCAPES Institute has been established with funding from the problems and thereby enable high performance computing for breakthrough science.

Posted February 20, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bio. Sciences Annex, A663

Models for evaluating the Homfly polynomial

Anna Meyers (UIowa) (Virtual Seminar together with UIowa)

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Posted April 1, 2008

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 381

Hongyu He, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Associated Varieties of Irreducible Unitary Representation II

Abstract: I will discuss algebraic invariants associated with Irreducible unitary representations. These invariants will then be used to study the restrictions of a unitary representation to its subgroups.

Posted March 25, 2008

3:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall

Claes Eskilsson, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Visiting Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
"Modeling of Shallow Water Flows: Applications of DG Methods"

Abstract: There are many examples of water flows where the characteristic length scale is large compared to the vertical scale. The resulting depth-integrated shallow water equations (SWE) is a model equation of great importance since it is used in hydraulic and coastal engineering to model river flooding as well as storm surges and tsunamis.

Posted February 17, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Ron Goldman, Department of Computer Science, Rice University
Three Problems in Search of a Graduate Student

Abstract: Three unsolved problems that originated from research in
Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling will be presented. The first
problem involves understanding the notion oscillation for Bezier
surfaces, the freeform surfaces most common in Computer Graphics and
Geometric Modeling. The second problem is related to Bezier curves and
univariate Bernstein polynomials, and concerns the combinatorics of
symmetrizing multiaffine functions. The third problem pertains to
fractals and asks if there is an algorithm to determine whether two
arbitrary sets of contractive affine transformations generate the same
fractal.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Posted April 7, 2008

3:40 pm Lockett 381

P. Sundar, Department of Mathematics, LSU
On the Martingale Problem

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted March 27, 2008

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University
Chow motives and the triangulated category of mixed motives

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted April 4, 2008

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
A Survey of Operator Algebras VII

A survey of the theory of Operator Algebras - an approach to the spectral theory of bounded and unbounded operators on Hilbert space. I'll head for the basic density theorems of the subject (the von Neumann density, the Kaplansky density, and the transitivity theorems), and explain the approximation-theory aspects of the theory of operator algebras. Some more specifics: Factors, comparison theory of projections, and thence, the dimension function and "factor type," the trace, and examples (von Neumann group algebras) of finite factors.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Posted April 7, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bio. Sciences Annex, A663

Cody Armond, Department of Mathematics, LSU
On the Huynh-Le Quantum Determinant for the Colored Jones Polynomial

(Virtual Seminar together with UIowa)

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Posted April 4, 2008

10:40 am - 11:30 am Lockett 381

Hongyu He, Mathematics Department, LSU
Associated Varieties of Irreducible Unitary Representation III

Abstract: I will discuss algebraic invariants associated with Irreducible unitary representations. These invariants will then be used to study the restrictions of a unitary representation to its subgroups.

Posted January 22, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Oleg Viro, SUNY Stony Brook

Abstract: Could Mathematics be made any better by a different choice of basic definitions? Definitions in some mathematical theories exclude any mentioning of objects, which are believed to be nasty. We will consider few examples of such "political correctness". Speaking on differential manifolds, we usually pretend that they have no singular siblings. This causes lots of inconveniences. Another example is finite topological spaces. Most of mathematicians believe that all finite topological spaces are either trivial or nasty. Topology appears to be the only mathematical field that feels ashamed of its finite objects.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Friday, April 11, 2008

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 3, 2008

11:30 am 338 Johnston Hall

Wolfgang Gentzsch, Duke University RENCI Renaissance Computing Institute at UNC Chapel Hill and D-Grid Initiative
"Building and Operating Grid Infrastructures for e-Science"

Lessons Learned and Recommendations Abstract: After almost a decade of research and development in the field of grid technology, it is still challenging to design, build, and operate large-scale grid infrastructures for science and industry.

Posted February 18, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 276

Oleg Viro, SUNY Stony Brook
Twisted acyclicity of circle and link signatures

Monday, April 14, 2008

Posted March 1, 2008

2:00 pm HOWE/RUSSELL E137

Hyman Bass, University of Michigan National Medal of Science Laureate (2006)
Improving U.S. Mathematics Education: Myths and Realities

Professor Bass has chaired the Mathematical Sciences Education Board at the National Academy of Sciences and the Committee on Education of the American Mathematical Society. Abstract of the talk: Although there is widespread dissatisfaction with U.S. students' mathematical performance, there is little agreement on the roots of the problem or its solutions. This presentation will argue that teacher capacity and teaching quality are key to the improvement of mathematics education, and will analyze the levers that could make a difference for their effectiveness.

Posted February 29, 2008

3:30 pm HOWE/RUSSELL E130

Hyman Bass, University of Michigan National Medal of Science Laureate (2006)
Revisiting an approach to the two-dimensional Jacobian Conjecture

This is about an approach I tried many years ago using the Weyl Algebra. While I wasn't able to push it all the way through, it did make some interesting contact with diophantine geometry and classical function theory. Since no significant recent progress has been made on the Jacobian Conjecture, I thought that I might try to revive awareness of this approach. The Jacobian Conjecture is of broad mathematical interest.

Posted March 24, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 233 Lockett Hall

Yuliya Gorb, Department of Mathematics Texas A&M University
Fictitious Fluid Approach for Justification of Asymptotics of Effective Properties of Highly Concentrated Suspensions

Abstract: The method of the discrete network approximation has been used for determining effective properties of high contrast disordered composites with particles close to touching. It is illustrated by considering a highly packed suspension of rigid particles in a Newtonian fluid. The effective viscous dissipation rate of such a suspension exhibits a singular behavior, and the goal is to derive and justify its asymptotic formula as a characteristic interparticle distance tends to zero. The main idea of the presented approach is a reduction of the original continuum problem described by partial differential equations with rough coefficients to a discrete network. This reduction is done in two steps which constitute the "fictitious fluid" approach. While previously developed techniques based on a direct discretization allowed to obtain only the leading singular term of asymptotics for special symmetric boundary conditions, we are able to capture all singular terms in the asymptotic formula of the dissipation rate for generic boundary conditions. The fictitious fluid approach also allows for a complete qualitative description of microflow in a thin gap between neighboring particles in the suspension.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Seminar on Algebraic Cycles

Posted April 11, 2008

1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 381

Ben Dribus, LSU
Griffiths' Famous Example: Homological and Algebraic Equivalence are Different.

Posted February 29, 2008

3:40 pm HOWE/RUSSELL E130

Hyman Bass, University of Michigan National Medal of Science Laureate (2006)
Cake sharing, Euclidean algorithm, and square tiling of rectangles"

This talk will be accessible to all undergraduate math majors.
This talk answers the question: If you want to equally share c cakes among s students, what is the smallest number of cake pieces required? It makes interesting connections with all the topics in the title.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Posted April 7, 2008

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Tim Warburton, Rice University Assistant Professor, Department of Computational and Applied Math
Advances In Wave Propagation With The Discontinuous Galerkin Method

CCT Lecture  Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology

Posted April 3, 2008

1:00 pm 143 Coates Hall

Anita K. Jones, University of Virginia University Professor and Professor of Computer Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science

Abstract: During the latter half of the 20th century the world created a new infrastructure, the cyber, or information, infrastructure. It underpins many of the processes and activities of society. Usefulness of the cyber infrastructure depends on many aspects, and notable among them is security. Fundementally, today's perimeter defense model on which most cyber security relies does not work.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Posted February 25, 2008

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 237 Lockett Hall

Mikhail Stepanov, Department of Mathematics, The University of Arizona
Instantons in hydrodynamics

We consider the hydrodynamic type system (Navier-Stokes or Burgers

equation) with random forcing. The untypical events of high vorticity or

large velocity gradients are due to extreme realizations of the forcing.

To generate such an event one can increase the forcing amplitude or to

optimize its shape (without sacrificing the probability of such forcing to

happen). The tails of the velocity field probability distribution function

can be obtained by finding an optimal shape of forcing, which corresponds

to saddle point (instanton) approximation in the path integral describing

the velocity statistics. It will be shown how to find the instantons in

hydrodynamic systems numerically.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Posted April 8, 2008

3:40 pm 239 Lockett

Tara Brendle, Department of Mathematics, LSU
Braids and Cryptography

Posted March 31, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 240 Lockett Hall

John W. Cain, Virginia Commonwealth University
A Kinematic Model for Propagation of Cardiac Action Potentials

Propagation of cardiac action potentials is usually modeled
with a reaction-diffusion equation known as the cable equation. However,
when studying the initiation of arrhythmias, one is primarily interested
in the progress of action potential wavefronts without regard to the
complete wave profile. In this talk, I will explain how to derive a
purely kinematic model of action potential propagation in cardiac tissue.
I will reduce a standard PDE model (the cable equation) to an infinite
sequence of ODEs which govern the progress of wave fronts in a repeatedly
stimulated fiber of cardiac tissue. The linearization of the sequence of
ODEs admits an exact solution, expressible in terms of generalized
Laguerre polynomials. Analyzing the solutions yields valuable insight
regarding nonlinear wave propagation in an excitable medium, providing
interesting physiological implications.

Topics in Functional Analysis

Posted April 21, 2008

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 285

Richard Kadison, University of Pennsylvania Member of the National Academy of Sciences
A Survey of Operator Algebras VIII

A survey of the theory of Operator Algebras - an approach to the spectral theory of bounded and unbounded operators on Hilbert space. I'll head for the basic density theorems of the subject (the von Neumann density, the Kaplansky density, and the transitivity theorems), and explain the approximation-theory aspects of the theory of operator algebras. Some more specifics: Factors, comparison theory of projections, and thence, the dimension function and "factor type," the trace, and examples (von Neumann group algebras) of finite factors.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Posted April 18, 2008

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Room 134, Prescott Hall

Student Career Talk by Dr. John Aiken (LSU Math PhD 1972) of the MITRE Corp.

Dr. John Aiken earned his PhD in Math at LSU in 1972. He was a student of Profs. Ernest Griffin and Prof. Pasquale Porcelli. Dr. Aiken is a member of the technical staff at MITRE (MIT Research Engineering) in Fairfax, VA. He is visiting to attend the Porcelli Talks this week, and he has accepted our invitation to give a talk for Graduate Students in Mathematics about non-academic careers in Mathematics.

Posted January 25, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Howe-Russell E 130

Don Zagier, Max Planck Institut, Bonn and College de France Recipient of the Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Number theory, the Prix Elie Cartan of the Académie des Sciences and the Chauvenet Prize of the Mathematical Association of America
The "q" in "q-series"

There will be refreshments before the lecture at 3pm in the Howe-Russell Atrium.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

SIAM Student Chapter Talk

Posted April 23, 2008

12:30 pm Prescott 205

Boris Baeumer, University of Otago, New Zealand
A Random Walk to Fractal Calculus

We use a basic random walk model to derive fractional PDE's as governing equations to parsimoniously model dispersion. Dispersion of course happens all over science and thus we derive a set of governing equations that made impacts in Physics, Hydrology, Finance, Chemistry, and Ecology. We then use a fractional reaction-dispersion equation to model the spread of Hawthorn at Porters Pass in New Zealand.

Posted January 25, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Howe-Russell E 130

Don Zagier, Max Planck Institut, Bonn and College de France Recipient of the Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Number theory, the Prix Elie Cartan of the Académie des Sciences and the Chauvenet Prize of the Mathematical Association of America

There will be refreshments before the lecture at 3pm in the Howe-Russell Atrium.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Posted January 25, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Howe-Russell E 134 (note the room change)

Don Zagier, Max Planck Institut, Bonn and College de France Recipient of the Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Number theory, the Prix Elie Cartan of the Académie des Sciences and the Chauvenet Prize of the Mathematical Association of America
The "q" in "quantum"

There will be refreshments before the lecture at 3pm in the Howe-Russell Atrium.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Posted March 26, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 233 Lockett Hall

Bogdan Vernescu, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
TBA

Posted February 27, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 276

Joan Birman, Columbia University/Barnard College Receipient of the Chauvenet Prize
Twisted torus knots and Lorenz knots

Posted April 11, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Milen Yakimov, University of California, Santa Barbara
Reality of representations of rational Cherednik algebras

The Calogero-Moser spaces are the phase spaces of the complexified CM
hamiltonian systems. Recently they also appeared in several different
contexts in representation theory. We will describe a
criterion for reality of representations of rational Cherednik algebras
of type A, which is a class of related algebras. We will then
apply it to study the real locus of a Calogero-Moser space and its
relation to the symplectic geometry of the space. We will finish with
applications to Schubert calculus. (Joint work with Iain Gordon
and Emil Horozov).

Posted April 25, 2008

3:40 pm Lockett 381

Julius Esunge, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student
Anticipating Linear SDEs

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

SIAM Student Chapter Talk

Posted April 7, 2008

3:30 pm Johnston Hall 338

Mihaly Kovacs , Chalmers University
TBA

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Posted March 11, 2008

3:30 pm Old President’s House (across Highland Rd from the Union)

Spring Math Awards Ceremony

The Porcelli Academic Excellence Award, The Porcelli Scholarships, The Betti and Robert Giles Senior Mathematics Award, The David Oxley Memorial Graduate Student Teaching Award, and Certificates of Teaching Excellence (for graduate assistants) will be awarded. Refreshments will be provided.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Posted April 15, 2008

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 284

Phuc Nguyen, Purdue University
Singular quasilinear and Hessian equations and inequalities

We give complete characterizations for the solvability of the following quasilinear and Hessian equations: $$-\Delta_p u = \sigma u^q + \omega, \qquad F_k[-u] = \sigma u^q + \omega, \qquad u \ge 0$$ on a domain Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n$. Here$\Delta_p$is the$p$-Laplacian,$F_k[u]$is the$k$-Hessian, and$\sigma$,$\omega$are given nonnegative measurable functions (or measures) on$\Omega$. Our results give a complete answer to a problem posed by Bidaut-V\'eron in the case$\sigma\equiv 1$, and extend earlier results due to Kalton and Verbitsky, Brezis and Cabr\'e for general$\sigma$to nonlinear operators. This talk is based on joint work with Igor E. Verbitsky. Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Seminar on Algebraic cycles (and derived categories) Posted May 5, 2008 1:40 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 113 Pramod Achar, Mathematics Department, LSU Equivariant derived categories d'apres Bernstein-Lunts Abstract: Following Verdier and Grothendieck, we know that the derived category of sheaves on a space is the correct setting in which to talk about various operations on sheaves, adjointness theorems, and duality. But if the space is equipped with a group action, and we want to work with equivariant sheaves, it turns out that the derived category of the category of equivariant sheaves often does not behave the way we want it to. Bernstein and Lunts have shown how to construct another triangulated category, the "equivariant derived category," in which all the usual theorems about sheaves hold. I will discuss the problems with the "naive" derived category and explain the Bernstein-Lunts construction. Thursday, May 8, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Last modified July 25, 2018 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 112 Reading Seminar Friday, May 9, 2008 Student Seminar on Algebraic Geometry and Representation Theory Posted May 8, 2008 10:00 am Lockett 112 Jared Culbertson, Mathematics Department, LSU Introduction to triangulated categories and derived categories Friday, June 6, 2008 Joint ECE-Math-ME Control Systems Seminar Posted June 5, 2008 11:30 am 112 Lockett Guoxiang Gu, LSU Department of ECE F. Hugh Coughlin/CLECO Professor Michael Malisoff, LSU Three ACC08 Talks The speakers will present their 2008 American Control Conference papers. Here are the titles and abstracts. Monday, August 11, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 9:30 am - 9:21 am Friday, August 22, 2008 See Daily GEAUX Calendar www.math.lsu.edu/dept/geaux/calendar G.E.A.U.X.---Math Graduate Orientation Program for Incoming Students The GEAUX team, comprised of current graduate students, will conduct orientation for two weeks for all the incoming graduate students in mathematics. See the link www.math.lsu.edu/dept/geaux/calendar for daily information about the program activities. This is required for all incoming graduate students in Mathematics. Monday, August 18, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Locket PhD Qualifying/Comprehensive Exam for Topology This is one part of the 3-part PhD Qualifying Exam/Comprehensive Exam in Mathematics. Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 Last modified August 12, 2008 11:00 am - 12:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Jennifer Ryan, Delft University Of Technology Local Smoothness-Increasing Accuracy-Conserving (SIAC) Filtering For Discontinuous Galerkin Methods A detailed abstract can be found at www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/418 Refreshments will be served at 10:30. Posted August 8, 2008 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett PhD Qualifying/Comprehensive Exam in Analysis This is part of the PhD Qualifying/Comprehensive Exam in Mathematics. Friday, August 22, 2008 Posted August 8, 2008 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett PhD Qualifying/Comprehensive Exam in Algebra This is part of the 3-part PhD Qualifying/Comprehensive Exam in Mathematics. Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Posted August 22, 2008 3:40 pm X-lab Test run for Virtual Seminar Participating Universities: LSU, U Iowa, GWU, U Miami Thursday, August 28, 2008 Posted August 11, 2008 Last modified August 20, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 15 Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track faculty Possible impact hire. Friday, August 29, 2008 Posted August 27, 2008 5:10 pm - 6:00 pm 381 Lockett Hall James Shook, University of Mississippi Graduate Student Some properties of k-trees James will introduce a new parameter, branch number, that is useful for studying Hamiltonian properties of k-trees. The main result in his talk generalizes a recent result of Broersma et al. Thursday, September 4, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 12:12 pm - 12:12 pm Graduate School, David Boyd Hall Originally scheduled for 12:12 pm MS Degrees to be Awarded at December Commencement Fully signed, printed Applications for the MS Degree for December, 2008, are due tomorrow, Sept. 5, at the Graduate Records Office in David Boyd Hall. Friday, September 5, 2008 Posted August 29, 2008 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm 145 Coates Hall Linda Petzold, UC Santa Barbara Member, National Academy of Engineering Multiscale Simulation Of Biochemical Systems Linda Petzold (UC Santa Barbara) will visit LSU the end of next week. She will present an ITELS lecture on Multiscale Simulation Of Biochemical Systems on Friday, September 5 at 2:30 pm in Coates 145. Further information can be found at http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/420. Among her many honors, let me mention that she is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the ASME and of the AAAS. I am a co-host for her visit. Please contact me if you would like to meet with her. Sue Brenner Posted September 5, 2008 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall Mareike Massow, Technische Universitat Berlin Diametral Pairs of Linear Extensions Abstract: Let a finite partially ordered set (or poset) P be given. We are interested in the family of its linear extensions (LEs). The distance between two LEs L_1 and L_2 of P is the number of incomparable pairs appearing in different orders in L_1 and L_2. A pair of LEs maximizing this distance among all pairs of LEs of P is called a diametral pair. This talk will be about properties of diametral pairs. It is based on joint work with Graham Brightwell. Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Monday, October 27, 2008 TBA Dmitry Golovaty, University of Akron TBA Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Posted September 10, 2008 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm X-lab: Lockett 233 Heather Russell, USC Virtual Seminar Live from Iowa City Thursday, September 11, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 12:00 pm - 12:00 pm Graduate Records Office, David Boyd Hall Application for MS Final Exam for December Degree Be sure to file Application for the MS Final Exam by Sept. 12, tomorrow. Print forms from Graduate School website and get signatures in time to deliver to Graduate Records, David Boyd Hall. Friday, September 12, 2008 Posted September 12, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Graduate Student Seminar in Harmonic Analysis We will meet to discuss the subjects for the semester. Please bring articles to go with your suggestion. Friday, September 19, 2008 Joint Harmonic Analysis and Probability Seminar Posted September 11, 2008 2:40 pm Lockett 285 Maria Gordina, University of Connecticut Gaussian type measures and Riemannian geometry in infinite dimensions Abstract: we will talk about how curvature of an infinite-dimensional curved space effects the behaviour of Gaussian type measures. In particular, several settings for infinite-dimensional manifolds will be considered: Hilbert-Schmidt groups which are natural infinite-dimensional analogues of matrix groups, Heisenberg infinite-dimensional groups modelled over an abstract Wiener space, and the homogeneous space Diff(S1)/S1 associated with the Virasoro algebra. We will describe what is known about the Ricci curvature in each of the case, and how its boundness (or unboundness) is reflected in the heat kernel (Gaussian) measure behaviour. The work on the Heisenberg group is joint with Bruce Driver. Posted September 15, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Service-Learning: What it is and why we do it This is a talk/discussion about service-learning around the world, across campus, and in the department. Led by D. Kopcso, S. Kurtz and R. Perlis. Posted September 16, 2008 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Johnston 338 Panel Discussion on Students' Past Summer Activites Pizza will be provided Posted September 19, 2008 5:10 pm - 6:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall Evan Morgan, LSU Mathematics Department Graduate student 1-switching in cubic graphs Abstract: Most of the time we want what we don't have. Fortunately in the case of cubic graphs our desire need not go unrequited. I will present a small local operation we can perform repeatedly on a connected cubic graph with n vertices which will transform it into any other connected cubic graph on$n$vertices. And if we want to start 3-connected and end 3-connected, we can even keep it 3-connected the whole way through. Some extensions to embedded graphs may be discussed. Monday, September 22, 2008 Posted August 19, 2008 Last modified September 10, 2008 3:40 pm 285 Lockett Meeting of the Tenured Faculty Discussion of promotion/tenure case. Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Posted September 15, 2008 Last modified September 19, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 235 Christopher Bremer, Mathematics Department, LSU Periods of Irregular Singular Connections Let X be a nonsingular complex projective algebraic curve. Suppose that E is a vector bundle over X with meromorphic connection nabla, where nabla has poles along a divisor D. If nabla has regular singularities along D, (E, nabla) is uniquely determined by its sheaf of horizontal sections scr(E) on the analytic points of XD. The classification of irregular singular connections requires an additional piece of data: a Stokes filtration on scr(E) defined on sectors around the singular points of nabla. A theorem of Malgrange (1991) states that there is a quasi-isomorphism between the algebraic de Rham complex associated to (E, nabla), and the moderate growth' cohomology of scr(E) + Stokes. In this talk, I will describe a method for computing the matrix coefficients, or periods', of this map. In a later talk, I will discuss the epsilon factorization for the determinant of the period map. Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Posted September 23, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm X-lab: Lockett 233 Hee Jung Kim, Department of Mathematics, LSU tba Virtual Seminar together with UIowa and the University of Miami Thursday, September 25, 2008 Posted September 16, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235 Ravi Rau, Department of Physics and Astronomy, LSU Possible links between physics problems in quantum computing and fibre bundles, projective geometry and coding/design theory Abstract: Quantum Information, the field that embraces quantum computing, cryptography and teleportation, involves as a central object an entangled pair of spin-1/2 (or two-level) systems. I have been interested in developing geometrical pictures for manipulating the fifteen-operator su(4) algebra that describes such systems. For a single spin, its su(2) algebra's fibre bundle of a two-sphere (called Bloch sphere by physicists) and a u(1) phase plays a major role throughout the field of magnetic resonance. I will present analogous geometrical descriptions of fibre bundles for su(4) and its sub-algebras (and also higher su(N)). One of these sub-algebras, su(2) X su(2) X u(1), also "maps" onto octonions and the Fano Plane. Other sub-algebras and the full su(4) can be similarly related to Desargues's and other diagrams of projective geometry. These relate to the subjects of coding and design theory, and Hadamard matrices. I am looking for help from mathematical experts in each of these areas to see how these connections may be exploited for application in quantum information. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, September 26, 2008 Posted September 23, 2008 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Johnston 338 Hongchao Zhang, Louisiana State University Introduction to Some Problems in Nonlinear Optimization Professor Zhang will talk about his PostDoc experiences at the Institute for Mathematics and Optimization (IMA). Afterwards, he will also describe briefly his research interests in optimization. Posted September 23, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Characters and Representations of U(N): An Introduction Prof. Sengupta will start a series of talks in the Graduate Student Harmonic Analysis Seminar on "Characters and Representations of U(N)". Abstract: The unitary group U(N) is the basic symmetry group arising in quantum theory. In these talks, we will follow Hermann Weyl's approach to determining the representations of U(N). A few basic facts about U(N) will be stated, and the theory will be developed from these in a self-contained way. Key (buzz) words include Schur's Orthogonality Relations and Vandermonde determinants. Posted November 25, 2008 5:10 pm - 6:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall Mark Bilinski, LSU, Mathematics Bounding the circumference of 3-connected claw-free graphs Abstract: The circumference of a graph is the length of its longest cycle. A result of Jackson and Wormald implies that the circumference of a 3-connected claw-free graph is at least$\frac 12 n^{\log_{150}2}$. In this paper we improve this lower bound to$\Omega(n^{\log_3 2})$, and our proof implies a polynomial time algorithm for finding a cycle of such length. Bondy and Simonovits showed that the best lower bound one can hope for is$\Omega(n^{\log_98})$. Monday, September 29, 2008 Posted September 18, 2008 Last modified September 19, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Hui-Hsiung Kuo, Mathematics Department, LSU The MRM for Orthogonal Polynomials Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm X-lab: Lockett 233 Virtual Seminar with UIowa/UMiami Adam McDougall (U Iowa): On the diagramless link homology Talk is broadcasted from Iowa Thursday, October 2, 2008 Posted August 4, 2008 Last modified September 11, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 15 Dean's meeting with math faculty Discussion of the chair's evaluation from last year. Friday, October 3, 2008 Posted September 25, 2008 11:30 am - 12:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall George Karniadakis, Brown University Multiscale Modeling of the Human Arterial Tree on the Teragrid http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/423 Posted September 29, 2008 2:40 pm Locket 285 Discussion of Dual Enrollment Dual Enrollment programs are programs where high school teachers teach a class for college credit. The meeting is to discuss the possibility of this program being offered through the state's EarlyStart initiative. The provost is asking for our views and I will send her a short report. Monday, October 6, 2008 Posted September 18, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Rahul Roy, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi Coverage of space by random sets Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Posted September 24, 2008 Last modified October 3, 2008 2:40 pm Lockett 235 Originally scheduled for 12:12 pmMonday, September 29, 2008 Christopher Bremer, Mathematics Department, LSU Periods of Irregular Singular Connections, Part II Continuation of the September 23 seminar. Posted September 17, 2008 Last modified September 19, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 5 Meeting of the faculty Discussion about membership in the College of A&S / College of Basic Sciences. Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm X-lab: Lockett 233 Virtual Seminar with UIowa/UMiami Ken Baker (University of Miami) (talk is broadcasted from Miami) Monday, October 13, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 5:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (room 321 Lockett) Actuarial Student Association Meeting 1. A visitor from Career Services will give a presentation and answer questions on internships and jobs. 2. Discussion of study groups for upcoming exams Tuesday, October 14, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 235 Charles Neal Delzell, Mathematics Department, LSU A new, simpler, finitary construction of the real closure of a discrete ordered field Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Posted October 8, 2008 Last modified October 13, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 15 Meeting with the deans Dean Guillermo Ferreyra from A&S and Dean Kevin Carman from Basic Sciences will meet with the faculty to answer questions and discuss the possibility of moving the department. Monday, October 20, 2008 Posted August 1, 2008 Last modified September 17, 2008 2:30 pm The Old President's House Meeting with and Presentation to the Provost The provost has and is conducting meetings with each foundation of excellence department. My instructions were "Purpose: This is an opportunity for you to showcase scholars in teaching, research and creative activity. * This is an opportunity for all to share what is distinctive about the department and its intellectual assets. Ground rules: * No discussion of administrators or the budget." Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Posted September 24, 2008 Last modified September 25, 2008 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 5 Career Guidance for Graduate Students---a Faculty Panel Discussion with Questions A faculty panel---Drs. Lipton, Litherland, Sage, and Sundar---will join the Chair and the Graduate Director in providing career guidance for doctoral students. This meeting is required of all doctoral students who have passed the General Exam. Others are very warmly encouraged to attend as well---it being never too early to plan ones career. Refreshments will be served first at 3:00 in the Lounge. Thursday, October 23, 2008 Posted September 19, 2008 Last modified October 17, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235 Ricardo Cortez, Tulane University Regularized Stokeslets and other elements with applications to biological flows Biological flows, such as those surrounding swimming microorganisms or beating cilia, are often modeled using the Stokes equations due to the small length scales. The organism surfaces can be viewed as flexible interfaces imparting force on the fluid. I will present the Method of Regularized Stokeslets and other elements that are used to compute Stokes flows interacting with immersed flexible bodies or moving through obstacles. The method treats the flexible bodies as sources of force or torque in the equations and the resulting velocity is the superposition of flows due to all the elements. Exact flows are derived for forces that are smooth but supported in small spheres, rather than point forces. I will present the idea of the method, some of the known results and several examples from biological applications. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Monday, October 27, 2008 Posted September 13, 2008 Last modified October 15, 2008 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Dmitry Golovaty, University of Akron An effective model for ferronematic liquid crystals I will discuss a nonlinear homogenization problem for ferronematics---colloidal suspensions of small ferromagnetic particles in a nematic liquid crystalline medium---in a regime when the volume fraction of weakly interacting particles is small. The energy of the suspension is given by a Ginzburg-Landau term supplemented by a Rapini-Papoular surface anchoring energy term and terms describing interaction between the suspension and the magnetic field. For a pure nematic, the energy density of interaction between the magnetic field and the nematic director is given by a quadratic term that is minimized when the director is parallel to the field. For a ferronematic, the additional, indirect coupling between the nematic and the field is introduced into the energy via anchoring of nematic molecules on the surfaces of the particles. Assuming that the particles are identical prolate spheroids with fixed positions but variable orientations, we use the method of quasisolutions to show that the influence of particles on the suspension can be accounted for by an effective nonlinear potential. For needle-like particles of large eccentricity, the model reduces to a known expression of Brochard and de Gennes. This is a joint work with C. Calderer, A. Desimone, and A. Panchenko. Tuesday, October 28, 2008 Posted October 14, 2008 Last modified October 24, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 235 Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU Motives, algebraic cycles, and Hodge theory Wednesday, October 29, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm 301D Lockett Hall MS Final Exam, final event Exam Committee: Profs. Richardson (chair), Adkins, and Dasbach. Be sure to file Application for the MS degree by Sept. 5 and Application for the MS Final Exam by Sept. 12. Print both forms from the Graduate School website, and get signatures in time to deliver to Graduate Records, David Boyd Hall. Posted October 12, 2008 Last modified October 27, 2008 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Itai Shafrir, Department of Mathematics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology On a minimization problem involving a potential vanishing on two curves This talk is concerned with a vector-valued singular perturbation problem involving a potential vanishing on two curves. We study the limiting behaviour of the minimizers, and demonstrate how it depends on the geometry of the domain. This is a joint work with Nelly Andre (University of Tours). Thursday, October 30, 2008 Posted October 21, 2008 1:40 pm 129 Allen Mihai Putinar, University of California at Santa Barbara Polynomial Approximation Click here for information about all of the LSU Math Club's exciting activities. Posted August 28, 2008 Last modified September 19, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235 Mihai Putinar, University of California at Santa Barbara Poincare's variational problem in potential theory Abstract: The simultaneous diagonalization of two quadratic forms naturally attached to a domain in the Euclidean space has guided Poincare in his sudy of the Dirichlet problem. Put in modern setting, due to a pioneering work of Mark G. Krein, Poiancare's variational principle offers a deep understanding of modern aspects of function theory (quasiconformal mappings, Beurling-Schiffer transform) and provides the theoretical background of some recent studies of an inverse problem in electrostatics. Based on joint work with D. Khavinson and Harold S. Shapiro. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Monday, November 3, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 Last modified October 21, 2008 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Johnston 338 Zhijun Wu, Iowa State University Bioinformatics and Biocomputing http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/430 Tuesday, November 4, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 Last modified November 3, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 276 Alexander Prestel, Universitaet Konstanz Representing polynomials positive on a semialgebraic set Wednesday, November 5, 2008 Posted October 17, 2008 3:40 pm 232 Lockett George Cochran, Mathematics Department, LSU Mathematics and Gambling Click here for details about all of the LSU Math Club's exciting activities. Tuesday, November 11, 2008 Posted October 14, 2008 Last modified November 10, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 235 Piotr Maciak, Mathematics Department, LSU Graduate Student A short journey from Gaussian integers to Drinfeld modules Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Posted November 7, 2008 3:40 pm 285 Lcokett Intersession Courses A meeting of instructors discussing the future of intersession courses in the department. Thursday, November 13, 2008 Posted October 27, 2008 Last modified November 3, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235 Jinhyun Park, Purdue University What can an algebraist do for Euclidean geometry? Abstract: The 3rd problem of Hilbert, one of the firstly solved Hilbert problems, studied the scissors congruence for the 3-dimensional Euclidean space: two polyhedra are said to be in scissors congruence if one can cut the first along straight lines and reassemble the components to get the second. Are all polyhedra of a fixed volume then scissors congruent? The answer was negatively given by Max Dehn, a student of Hilbert in around 1900. Though the problem was solved, it opened many new doors during the next 100 years. We will describe this problem from scratch, and mention how it is related to some number theoretic questions and how it mysteriously gives new problems in algebraic geometry. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, November 14, 2008 Posted November 25, 2008 5:10 pm - 6:00 pm Wednesday, November 12, 2008 285 Lockett Hall Mark Bilinski, LSU, Mathematics On the Reconstruction of Planar Graphs Monday, November 17, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Kalyan B. Sinha, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore Unitary Independent Increment Processes and Representations of Hilbert Tensor Algebras Posted November 3, 2008 Last modified November 7, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 235 Lockett Hall Phuc Nguyen, Department of Mathematics, Louisiana State University Quasilinear and Hessian equations with super-critical exponents and singular data Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Posted November 11, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235 Ivo Babuska, Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, University of Texas, Austin Computational Science, Mathematics and Where Are We Going Abstract: A major goal of Computational Science is to predict physical and other phenomena. The problem is how confident can we be that the computed results describe reality well enough so that they can be the basis for crucial decisions. ( Do we have enough courage to sign the blueprints based on the computation?) The notions of Verification and Validation and their mathematical contains will be explained. These notions are the basis for the confidence that the computed results could be used for the decisions. A few examples of engineering accidents and their reasons will be presented. Brief comments of the repercussions for the educations at the universities will be made. References to the basic literature will be given. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm X-lab: Lockett 233 Lawrence Roberts, Michigan State University Knot Floer homology for some fibered knots Abstract: I will talk about a computing the knot Floer homology of a class of fibered knots in rational homology spheres, for which the computation is particularly simple. Joint virtual seminar with UIowa, Rice, UMiami, Boise State, GWU Posted October 20, 2008 Last modified November 13, 2008 3:40 pm 232 Lockett Brian Marx, LSU Department of Experimental Statistics Leonard F. Richardson, Mathematics Department, LSU Applying to Graduate School Click here for information about all of the LSU Math Club's exciting activities. Friday, November 21, 2008 SIAM Student Chapter Event Posted November 14, 2008 1:00 pm Johnston 338 Robert Lipton, Mathematics Department, LSU Shapes with extremal properties Abstract: Starting with Dido's problem the mathematical investigation of extremal shapes has enjoyed a rich history. Here we report on recent work that identifies configurations of materials inside a body which minimize the internal stress when the body is subjected to a simple shear or uniform pressure. Posted November 25, 2008 5:10 pm - 6:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall Carolyn Chun, Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand Former LSU graduate student A chain theorem for internally 4-connected binary matroids Monday, November 24, 2008 Posted November 10, 2008 Last modified November 23, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 9 Meeting of the faculty Dean Guillermo Ferreyra will meet with the faculty to answer questions and discuss the department's upcoming decision of whether to locate the department in A&S or BASC. Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Meeting of the Algebra Faculty Posted November 20, 2008 3:40 pm Lockett 276 Planning of graduate courses in algebra for 2009-2010 Monday, December 1, 2008 Posted November 11, 2008 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 Robert M. Kirby, University of Utah Visualization of High Order Finite Element Methods http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/436 Refreshments at 10:30am Tuesday, December 2, 2008 CCT Lecture Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology Posted November 24, 2008 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Robert M. Kirby, University of Utah Building Symbiotic Relationships Between Formal Verification And High Performance Computing http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/437 Posted November 21, 2008 3:10 pm Lockett 5 Meeting of the faculty Discussion of the department\'s upcoming decision of whether to locate the department in A&S or BASC. Wednesday, December 3, 2008 Posted November 24, 2008 3:40 am - 4:30 am Lockett 381 Jens Christensen, Mathematics Department, LSU A Wavelet Decomposition of Besov Spaces on the Forward Light Cone Abstract: We will show how the Besov spaces on the Forward Light Cone (defined for general symmetric cones by Bekolle, Bonami, Garrigos and Ricci) can be described using wavelet theory. As part of this description we will discuss work carried out by the presenter and Gestur Olafsson for constructing Banach spaces using representation theory. Posted December 2, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm X-lab: Lockett 233 Leah Childers, LSU Birman-Craggs-Johnson Homomorphism of the Torelli Group Virtual Seminar together with UIowa, Rice University, UMiami, Boise State University, George Washington University Posted November 18, 2008 3:40 pm 232 Lockett Research Experience for Undergraduates: A Panel Presentation by Faculty and Students Click here for information about all of the LSU Math Club's exciting activities. Friday, December 5, 2008 Posted December 4, 2008 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 233 Alvaro Guevara, Dept of Mathematics, LSU Mathematical methods in kinesiology and voice analysis: two case studies. A growing number of research projects have used mathematics as a tool to integrate approaches from many disciplines. Two case studies of this type will be discussed, namely, (1) local stability properties of human gait, and (2) voice data analysis of populations at risk for developing schizophrenia-related disorders. In these projects, mathematical ideas from nonlinear dynamical systems were used in (1), and Shannon entropy and information theory in (2). We will describe our contributions that implemented the theory, and generated effective quantitative tools that provided fresh insights to the researchers of these studies. This research was conducted in the context of the Mathematical Consultation Clinic at LSU. Finally, I will briefly address my dissertation work, involving impulsive solutions to optimal control problems. Posted December 2, 2008 Last modified December 4, 2008 5:10 pm - 6:00 pm Lockett 285 Xingxing Yu, Georgia Institute of Technology Judicious partitions of hypergraphs Abstract: Judicious partition problems on graphs and hyper graphs ask for partitions that optimize several quantities simultaneously. In this talk Professor Yu will discuss several judicious partition problems for hyper graphs, and present several results on hyper graphs whose edges have size at most 3. He will also outline the martingale approach for proving these results. Monday, December 8, 2008 Posted November 19, 2008 Last modified December 5, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Stephen Shipman, Mathematics Department, LSU Field sensitivity to L^p perturbations of a scatterer This will be an informal presentation as part of the weekly material science discussion group. I will discuss the title problem and some related problems I would like to solve. Wednesday, December 10, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 Last modified December 9, 2008 12:00 pm James Keisler Lounge Holiday Party Everyone is invited to share in the Season's Spirit. Please bring a dish to share. Tuesday, January 6, 2009 Posted October 27, 2008 Last modified December 12, 2008 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam in Algebra This test is part of the PhD Qualifying Examination in Mathematics, and it can serve also as part of the written test for the non-thesis MS degree. Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Posted October 27, 2008 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam in Analysis This test is part of the PhD Qualifying Exam in Mathematics, and it can serve also as part of the written exam for the non-thesis MS degree. Friday, January 9, 2009 Posted October 27, 2008 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Comprehensive/PhD Qualifying Exam in Topology This test is part of the PhD Qualifying Exam in Mathematics. It can serve also as part of the Final Exam for the non-thesis MS degree. Thursday, January 15, 2009 Posted December 8, 2008 Last modified December 12, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 (provisionally) Burak Aksoylu, Department of Mathematics and CCT Rigorously Justified Solvers for Rough Coefficients Abstract: Roughness of PDE coefficients causes loss of robustness of preconditioners. The main goal is to recover robustness and obtain rigorous structural understanding of the involved process. A qualitative understanding of the PDE operators and their dependence on the coefficients is essential for designing preconditioners. This process draws heavily upon effective utilization of theoretical tools. According to experience, the performance of a preconditioner depends essentially on the degree to which the preconditioned operator approximates the properties of the underlying infinite dimensional operator. For this reason, controlling the infinite dimensional problem provides a basis for the construction of preconditioners. We use tools from operator theory for this. On the other hand, another basis is the control of the finite dimensional discretized problem. For that, we use singular perturbation analysis (SPA). After obtaining a preconditioner through SPA, a fundamental need is to explain the effectiveness of the preconditioner and to justify that rigorously. With the insights provided by operator theory and SPA, we are in control of the effectiveness and computational feasibility simultaneously. Based on ideas developed for porous media flow, we present a new preconditioning strategy which is computationally comparable to algebraic multigrid, but with rigorous justification. We will also demonstrate how SPA gives valuable insight to the asymptotic behavior of the solution of the underlying PDE, hence, provides feedback for preconditioner construction. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, January 16, 2009 Posted January 12, 2009 3:40 pm Stephen Shipman, Mathematics Department, LSU Discrete Dynamics, Chaos, and a Connection to Number Theory The connection is the Möbius transform. We begin with the sequence 1, 2, 6, 12, 30, 54, 126, 240, 504, 990, ... and find out how it is generated and what it means in terms of a simple discrete dynamical system on the unit circle. Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Student Colloquium Speaker Posted December 4, 2008 Last modified January 21, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 9 Thomas Struppeck, Casualty Actuarial Society Career Opportunities for Mathematicians in Insurance and Finance What opportunities in the finance arena are there today for mathematics majors? Hs the collapse of the mortgage market (and several large hedge funds) reduce the demand for 'quants'? Where could graduating undergraduate mathematics majors look for jobs? How about graduate students? This talk will try and shed some light on these and related questions. A good way to break into these fields is through the actuarial exams. Of course, the actuarial exams can also lead to a career as a traditional actuary in addition to opening doors into related fields. There will be time for questions at the end of the talk. Thursday, January 22, 2009 Student Colloquium Speaker Posted December 4, 2008 Last modified January 21, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 2 Thomas Struppeck, Casualty Actuarial Society The Mathematics of the Sub-Prime Meltdown Asset backed securities: Collateralized Debt Obligations Or How to take some bad loans, assemble them into a pile, and almost bring down the world's financial system. Years ago banks sought out deposits and then lent the money out to homebuyers. More recently, banks found that they made most of their money at the time that the loan was made, so they changed how they did business. They started selling their loans to investors shortly after making them. This gave the banks their money back immediately so they could quickly lend money to another homebuyer. This was a good thing, because it increased the number of loans being made to homebuyers. It also greatly increased the supply of loans for investors. Wall Street bankers found ways to package these loans so that they could be sold to investors. In this talk we will look at some of the mathematics behind how these packages work (and how they didn't work). Now knowledge of financial mathematics will be assumed. Friday, January 23, 2009 CCT Lecture Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology Posted October 19, 2008 Last modified January 13, 2009 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Coates Hall 145 Linda Petzold, UC Santa Barbara Member, National Academy of Engineering Multiscale Simulation Of Biochemical Systems rescheduled from September 5, 2008 In microscopic systems formed by living cells, the small numbers of some reactant molecules can result in dynamical behavior that is discrete and stochastic rather than continuous and deterministic. An analysis tool that respects these dynamical characteristics is the stochastic simulation algorithm (SSA). Despite recent improvements, as a procedure that simulates every reaction event, the SSA is necessarily inefficient for most realistic problems. There are two main reasons for this, both arising from the multiscale nature of the underlying problem: (1) the presence of multiple timescales (both fast and slow reactions); and (2) the need to include in the simulation both chemical species that are present in relatively small quantities and should be modeled by a discrete stochastic process, and species that are present in larger quantities and are more efficiently modeled by a deterministic differential equation. We will describe several recently developed techniques for multiscale simulation of biochemical systems, and outline some of the future challenges. Complete details can be found at http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/448 Monday, January 26, 2009 CCT Lecture Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology Posted January 13, 2009 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Coates Hall 145 Margaret Wright, New York University Member, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering What Can Be More Important Than "Faster" And "Bigger"? For decades, the high-end computing community has come to expect continuing gains in the speed of computation and the size of data storage, and these expectations have consistently been fulfilled in remarkable ways. But "faster" and "bigger" are not the only things that count. We'll show how other factors, such as advances in mathematics and theoretical computer science, are just as important, leading to the obvious conclusion that an optimal strategy needs to be "faster, bigger, and smarter." Complete details can be found at http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/450 Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Posted December 8, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 (provisionally) Michael Shapiro, Escuela Superior de Fisica y Matematicas del Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico On some basic ideas of hypercomplex analysis Abstract: "Hypercomplex analysis" is a generic name for those generalizations of one-dimensional complex analysis which involve hypercomplex numbers. Quaternionic analysis is the oldest and the most known version of it. In the talk, it will be discussed, first of all, in which sense quaternionic analysis is a "proper" or a "closest" version in low dimensions which includes as particular cases, or sub-theories, such classic theories as vector analysis and holomorphic mappings in two complex variables, as well as some systems of partial differential equations. This allows one, by developing quaternionic analysis, to obtain new results for the above classic theories and to refine known ones; some applications of this approach to harmonic analysis, operator theory, mathematical physics, will be mentioned. Some comments on Clifford analysis and its applications will be also made. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Thursday, January 29, 2009 Posted December 8, 2008 Last modified December 9, 2008 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 (provisionally) Maria Elena Luna-Elizarraras, Escuela Superior de Fisica y Matematicas del Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico On functional analysis with quaternionic scalars Here is an abstract. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, January 30, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Last modified January 30, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett 321 Movie:: Music of the Primes: From Riemann to Ramanujan "With the advent of Bernhard Riemann's zeta-hypothesis, the study of prime numbers took on astonishing new dimensions--including a way to predict the appearance of primes. ... Using state-of-the-art 3-D animation, the film guides viewers through the zero-punctuated pattern [of the zeta-function] that Riemann unveiled. It also describes the friendship between G. H. Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan and the difficulties both men experienced as they confronted problems in number theory." (from the DVD jacket) There will be food. Math Club webpage Monday, February 2, 2009 Posted January 13, 2009 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 Jack Dongarra, University Of Tennessee And Oak Ridge National Laboratory Member, National Academy of Engineering An Overview Of High Performance Computing And Challenges For The Future In this talk we examine how high performance computing has changed over the last 10-year and look toward the future in terms of trends. These changes have had and will continue to have a major impact on our software. A new generation of software libraries and algorithms are needed for the effective and reliable use of (wide area) dynamic, distributed and parallel environments. Some of the software and algorithm challenges have already been encountered, such as management of communication and memory hierarchies through a combination of compile--time and run--time techniques, but the increased scale of computation, depth of memory hierarchies, range of latencies, and increased run--time environment variability will make these problems much harder. We will focus on the redesign of software to fit multicore architectures. Additional details can be found at http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/449 Friday, February 6, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381 Dimitar Grantcharov, University of Texas, Arlington Weight Modules of Affine Lie Algebras > Abstract: The problem of classifying irreducible weight modules with finite dimensional weight spaces over affine Lie algebras has been studied actively or the last 20 years. Remarkable results include the classification of integrable modules by V. Chari, the study of parabolically induced modules by V. Futorny, and the study of weight modules with bounded weight multiplicities by D. Britten and F. Lemire. There are two important classes of irreducible weight modules with finite dimensional weight spaces: the parabolically induced modules and the loop modules. Several authors made conjectures that would imply that these exhaust all irreducible weight modules with finite dimensional weight spaces. In a joint work with I. Dimitrov we confirm that these conjectures are correct and as a result obtain the classification. In this talk we will present the main ideas and results from our joint work. Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Posted January 13, 2009 Last modified February 9, 2009 3:10 pm LOCKETT 232 Meeting of the Tenured Faculty Consideration of a contract renewal to tenure. Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:40 pm Lockett 233 Chad Giusti, University of Oregon Virtual Seminar: Unstable Vassiliev Theory This week's AccessGrid virtual seminar will be presented locally by Chad Giusti. For more information and for future event listings, please visit the Topology Seminar events page. Monday, February 16, 2009 Posted November 24, 2008 Last modified January 13, 2009 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 Marsha Berger, Courant Institute Member, National Academy of Science and National Academy of Engineering Computing Fluid Flows In Complex Geometry We give an overview of the difficulties in simulating fluid flow in complex geometry. The principal approaches use either overlapping or patched body-fitted grdis, unstructured grids, or Cartesian (non-body-fitted) grids, with our work focusing on the latter. Cartesian methods have the advantage that no explicit mesh generation is needed, greatly reducing the human effort involved in complex flow computations. However it is a challenge to find stable and accurate difference formulas for the irregular Cartesian cells cut by the boundary. We discuss some of the steps involved in preparing for and carrying out a fluid flow simulation in complicated geometry. We present some of the technical issues involved in this approach, including the special discretizations needed to avoid loss of accuracy and stability at the irregular cells, as well as how we obtain highly scalable parallel performance. This method is in routine use for aerodynamic calculations in several organizations, including NASA Ames Research Center. Many open problems are discussed. Additional details can be found at http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/443 Refreshments will be served at 10:30. Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 233 Lockett Scott Baldridge, Louisiana State University Virtual Seminar: Cube knots and knot Floer homology from cube diagrams This week's AccessGrid virtual seminar will be presented locally by Scott Baldridge. For more information and for future event listings, please visit the Topology Seminar events page. SIAM Student Chapter Event Posted February 10, 2009 Last modified February 12, 2009 4:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 Stephen Shipman, Mathematics Department, LSU Radiation conditions in wave scattering Abstract: Correct physical and mathematical formulation of problems of scattering of waves by an obstacle requires a precise condition characterizing the scattered, or diffracted wave. For bounded obstacles, this condition is the Sommerfeld radiation condition (Helmholtz equation) or the Silver-Muller condition (Maxwell system). For unbounded obstacles, the condition is not always so obvious. A radiation condition takes on various forms, such as (1) an asymptotic outgoing condition for the far field, (2) a nullspace condition involving the Calderon boundary-integral projectors, and (3) a Dirchlet-to-Neumann map, appropriate for variational formulations of the PDE. Thursday, February 26, 2009 Student Seminar/SIAM Student Chapter Posted February 17, 2009 Last modified February 18, 2009 4:00 pm Lockett Hall 233 Yue Chen, Mathematics Department, LSU Optimal lower bounds on the strain and stress inside prestressed, random two-phase elastic composites I will present the optimal lower bounds for the L^p norm of pre-stress inside random media, and also give the microstructure which attains some optimal lower bounds. This is the research work under the direction of Prof. Lipton. Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Posted February 27, 2009 3:40 am - 4:30 am Lockett 285 Robert Perlis, Mathematics Department, LSU The 1-2-3's of Zeta functions of Graphs Abstract: In 1968, Ihara introduced the zeta function of a finite graph, with important contributions coming later in papers of Hashimoto, Bass, and Stark and Terras. More recently Mizuno and Sato considered the zeta function of a fully directed graph. (Zeta functions are proliferating like kudzu! Somebody, please make them stop!) In 2003, Sato found a rational expression for the zeta function of a connected, simple, partially directed graph. This talk will be an elementary introduction to the subject of zeta functions of graphs (undirected, fully directed, partially directed) and end with a new theorem giving an Ihara-type formula for the zeta function of any partially directed graph without Sato's assumptions of connected and simple. Thursday, March 5, 2009 Posted February 26, 2009 12:30 pm - 2:00 am Keisler Lounge Room 321 Welcome Event For more info: http://www.math.lsu.edu/awm/images/AWM.pdf Posted February 2, 2009 Last modified February 27, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Stephen Sawin, Fairfield University Supersymmetry, Quantum Mechanics and the Gauss-Bonnet-Chern Theorem Abstract: In joint work with Dana Fine at UMass Dartmouth, we will give a rigorous construction of the path integral describing the time- evolution operator for imaginary time quantum mechanics, with and without$N=1$supersymmetry. The path integral is constructed as a limit of finite-dimensional approximating integrals, with concrete uniform estimates on the convergence. Consequences of this include an alternative construction of the Laplace and Laplace-Beltrami heat kernels. We will use this construction to give a rigorous version of Witten/Alvarez-Gaumé/Friedan and Windey's path integral "proof" of the Gauss-Bonnet-Chern Theorem, and explain how we expect a minor variation to make rigorous their proof of the general Index Theorem. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Monday, March 9, 2009 SIAM Student Chapter Event Posted February 26, 2009 11:00 am Johnston Hall 338 Blaise Bourdin, Department of Mathematics and Center for Computation & Technology, LSU A Panorama of the Variational Approach to Fracture Fracture Mechanics may be viewed as a grand success of the last century: planes do not fall out of the sky, ships do not split in two, and buildings don't collapse. Yet, unexpected dramatic failures remind us that all is not fully understood. In this talk, I will briefly describe the achievements and open issues of the classical methods for Fracture Mechanics. Then, I will present a variational approach originally devised by G.A. Francfort and J.-J. Marigo, and based on the concept of competition between bulk and surface energy. I will illustrate the numerical implementation of the model by numerical experiments in 2 and 3 dimensions. In the last part of my talk, I will describe open research opportunities in the form of several possible extensions and applications of the model. Thursday, March 12, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Last modified March 3, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Charles Livingston, Indiana University Four-dimensional aspects of classical knot theory Abstract: Classical knot theory studies knots in 3-space; that is, embeddings of the unit circle, S^1, into R^3. Higher dimensional knot theory generalizes this, for instance by considering embeddings of the 2-sphere, S^2, into R^4. In this talk I will discuss an aspect of knot theory between the low and high-dimensional realms: the study of knots in 3-space in terms of the surfaces they bound in upper 4-space, H^4, the set of points (x,y,z,w) in R^4 with w > 0. Three of the goals of the presentation will be to: (1) give some intuitive insight into how knots can bound such surfaces; (2) describe a few of the central topics in geometric topology that motivate looking at knots in this way; and (3) summarize some recent advances in the area. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, March 13, 2009 Posted February 11, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Monica Torres, Department of Mathematics, Purdue University The structure of solutions of systems of hyperbolic conservation laws Hyperbolic systems of conservations laws model many areas of physics, including fluid mechanics, acoustics, etc. One of the main challenges in the analysis of these equations is that solutions develop singularities even if the initial data is smooth. These singularities are known as shock waves. Existence theorems only show that entropy solutions belong to some$L^p$space and satisfy an entropy inequality in the distributional sense. Therefore, an open problem is to study the structure of solutions and regularity of the shock waves. In this talk we present results in this direction, which include some Liouville-type results for systems of conservation laws. Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 Last modified February 19, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Stratos Prassidis, Canisius College Detecting Linear Groups Abstract: Linear groups are subgroups of general linear groups. Deciding if a group is linear or not is an old problem in group theory. Linear groups became important in topology after the Isomorphism Conjecture was proved for discrete linear groups. We present criteria that guarantee that a group is linear and some applications. At the end, we will show a hands-on proof that the holomorph of the free group on two generators is linear. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Student Colloquium Speaker Posted February 7, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Mark Sepanski, Mathematics Department, Baylor University Just Can't Stop Counting We all begin our mathematical life by studying the integers. And while the integers are pretty cool, you can only multiply so many seven digit numbers before you call it quits and move on to the rational numbers. After that, you hit the real numbers and eventually move on to the complex numbers. But what comes next--if anything? In this talk we'll give one version of the answer to this question. Thursday, March 19, 2009 Student Colloquium Speaker Posted February 7, 2009 Last modified March 13, 2009 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Keisler Lounge Mark Sepanski, Mathematics Department, Baylor University Why Torture Us With Proofs? In this discussion, we'll look at a number of obviously true patterns and theorems. Unfortunately, some of these obvious results turn out to be quite false! As a result, we'll see why mathematicians blab so incessantly about proofs. Posted February 2, 2009 Last modified February 15, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Jiazu Zhou, Southwest University, China Geometric measures and geometric inequalities An abstract is available. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, March 20, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381 Martin Laubinger, University of Muenster Groups acting on Trees The action of$SL(2,\R)$on the upper half plane is an important tool in the representation theory of$SL(2,\R)$. We explain the$p$-adic analogue, which is an action of$SL(2,Q_p)$on a tree. This tree is one of the simplest examples of a Bruhat-Tits building. We mention some applications of this action, as well as a generalization: if$K$is a field with valuation taking values in any ordered abelian group, one can still define a 'tree' associated with$SL(2,K).$Tuesday, March 24, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lockett 301D---Conference Room Final Event of Final Exam for Non-Thesis MS Each student applying to receive an MS in May 2009 must sign up also with the Graduate School for the final exam final event as listed here. The Committee will be Profs. Richardson (Chair), Dasbach, and He. Posted March 12, 2009 Last modified March 14, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 235 Robert Peck, Department of Music, Louisiana State University Applications of Wreath Products to Music Theory Wreath products are familiar structures in mathematics, but they are relatively new to music theory. This study proposes an investigation into the musical relevance of wreath products, drawing on examples from selected musical literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We begin by examining a few commonly used groups in music theory, and observe how we may use permutation isomorphism to relate certain orbit restrictions of these groups. Next, we define a direct product of such orbit restrictions. Finally, we allow a permutation of the orbit restrictions themselves, which yields a wreath product. We include examples from Robert Schumann's "Im wunderschoenen Monat Mai," from Dichterliebe, op. 48; Richard Wagner's Siegfried; and Anton Webern's Cantata, op. 29. Friday, March 27, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Last modified March 23, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pm, Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Daniel Sage, Mathematics Department, LSU An explicit basis of lowering operators for irreducible representations of unitary groups > Abstract: It is well-known that the dimensions of irreducible > representations of unitary groups can be computed in terms of Young > tableaux. More specifically, each irreducible representation contains > a unique highest weight which may be interpreted as a Young diagram, > and the dimension of any weight space of this representation is given > by the number of semistandard Young tableaux with content determined > by the weight. In the usual Lie-theoretic construction of these > representations as highest-weight modules, it is easy to see that a > spanning set for each representation is obtained by applying lowering > operators to the highest weight vector; however, extracting a basis > from this spanning set is less straightforward. In this talk, I > describe a general method for finding such bases. In particular, I > show how to associate a monomial lowering operator to any semistandard > tableau in such a way that the lowering operators corresponding to the > semistandard tableaux of shape l and content m give rise to a basis > for the m-weight space of the irreducible representation with highest > weight l. This work is joint with Larry Smolinsky. Tuesday, March 31, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 9:30 am - 10:30 am Room 331 Johnston Hall Conversation with Prof. Lisa Fauci Prof. Lisa Fauci from Tulane University is visiting LSU on March 31st. The Chapter members are invited to meet with her from 9:30-10:30a.m in Johnston Hall Room 331. Refreshments will be served. Posted March 13, 2009 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 Lisa Fauci, Tulane University Interaction of Elastic Biological Structures with Complex Fluids Posted March 5, 2009 Last modified March 13, 2009 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321 Victor Moll, Department of Mathematics, Tulane University What do I learn if I decide to compute integrals? Abstract here in pdf form. Posted March 25, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Augusto Nobile, Mathematics Department, LSU Algorithmic resolution and equiresolution of singularities We'll review the theory of algorithmic (or constructive) resolution of singularities of algebraic varieties (and some related objects) in characteristic zero and discuss the problem of simultaneous resolution when we have a family, in a way compatible with a chosen resolution algorithm (even in the case when the parameter space is not reduced, e.g. the spectrum of an Artinian ring). Thursday, April 2, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Gregor Masbaum, University Paris 7 Trees , Pfaffians and Complexity (or How not to win a million dollars) There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Monday, April 13, 2009 Posted March 30, 2009 Last modified April 13, 2009 3:10 pm - 4:00 pm Lockett 301D (Conference Room) Jeremy Becnel, Stephen F. Austin State University Forming the Radon Transform and Support Theorem in Infinite Dimensions Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Posted April 13, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Augusto Nobile, Mathematics Department, LSU Algorithmic resolution and equiresolution of singularities II Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 Claude Le Bris, ENPC and INRIA, France Computational Multiscale Mechanics: A Mathematical Perspective The talk will overview recent progress in the mathematical understanding of numerical approaches coupling an atomistic and a continuum description of matter. The talk is based upon a series of works in collaboration with X. Blanc (Univ Paris 6), F. Legoll (ENPC), P.-L. Lions (College de France). The perspective is mathematical. The purpose is to describe the theoretical tools and concepts that allow for a better foundation of the numerical approaches. It is also to point out some important unsolved mathematical issues. Thursday, April 16, 2009 Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 14, 2009 3:15 pm - 3:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Irina Craciun, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student The Wirtinger Presentation of Knot Groups Abstract Posted March 30, 2009 Last modified March 31, 2009 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett Hall, Room 2 (Basement) Career Day Event The LSU Student Chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics, the LSU Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Mathematics Department are cosponsoring a Career Day for the Mathematics Graduate Students. The goal is to give advice to students about the job application process and career options. Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 14, 2009 3:35 pm - 3:55 pm 235 Lockett Hall Matthew Dawson, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Cluster Sets: How Bad Can the Discontinuities Be? Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 14, 2009 3:55 pm - 4:15 pm 235 Lockett Hall Ying Hu, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student The Classification of G-Coverings Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 14, 2009 4:15 pm - 4:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Dennis Hall, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Introduction to Knot Theory and the Jones Polynomial Abstract Monday, April 20, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Last modified April 13, 2009 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Luke Owens, Texas A&M University Solving the Eikonal equation on adaptive triangular and tetrahedral meshes http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/472 Student Colloquium Posted March 6, 2009 Last modified March 31, 2009 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Keisler Lounge Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Arizona State University Regents and Juaquin Bustov Jr. Professor Opportunities in the Mathematical Sciences: What should I study if I am interested in interdisciplinary research? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that the best career is that of a mathematician. Why is this so? Why is the training in mathematics so critical? And what do we mean by mathematical training? In this lecture, I will provide some personal responses to the above questions and show the advantages of redirecting mathematics training from what I have learned in the context of undergraduate and graduatte research. Student Colloquium Posted March 6, 2009 Last modified March 31, 2009 2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 5 Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Arizona State University Regents and Juaquin Bustov Jr. Professor Mathematical Epidemiology: Challenges and Opportunities We hear almost daily about the dangers of potential bird "flu" epidemics, the risk of catching deadly diseases in hospitals, or the level of preparedness that our country has as it plans its responses to the dangers posed by the deliberate releases of biological agents. We also hear about new medical advances that include the development of new vaccine including the rotavirus vaccine as well as the continuous search for ways of fighting HIV. In this lecture, I will discuss the role that modeling and the mathematical sciences have played in the study of the dynamics and control of infectious diseases. I will briefly review the history of mathematical and theoretical epidemiology which goes back to the times of the Bernoulli family and highlight some current application in the context of specific diseases. This lecture should be of interest to mathematicians interested in applications as well as to biologists and social scientists interested in the development and testing of intervention strategies Posted January 20, 2009 Last modified April 17, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett Hall 285 David Dobson, Department of Mathematics, University of Utah Electromagnetic transmission resonances in periodic hole arrays Recently there has been increasing interest in terahertz-frequency electromagnetic radiation in the engineering community. Improved methods of generating such radiation has led to hopes of applications in communications, imaging, and spectroscopy. Unfortunately almost all materials are highly absorptive in the terahertz range, making device design difficult. One method of manipulating terahertz radiation is by filtering through thin, perforated metal plates. Such plates exhibit interesting, and sometimes unexpected transmission properties. The transmission spectrum depends strongly on both the hole pattern and the aperture shape. This talk will describe some work on developing a model for transmission through periodic hole arrays, including analysis and numerical methods. We conclude with some preliminary work on the problem of optimal design of aperture shape to produce a desired transmission spectrum. Host: Stephen Shipman Tuesday, April 21, 2009 SIAM Student Chapter Event Posted March 30, 2009 8:30 am - 10:00 am Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321 Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Arizona State University Regents and Juaquin Bustov Jr. Professor Conversation with Prof. Carlos Castillo-Chavez Prof. Carlos Castillo-Chavez from Arizona State University is visiting LSU on April 20th-21st. The SIAM Chapter members and all graduate students in math department are invited to meet with him from 8:30-10:00a.m in Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321. Refreshments will be served. Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 21, 2009 3:15 pm - 3:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Jacob Aguilar, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student The Sensitivity of Linear Systems Abstract Posted April 16, 2009 3:30 pm Lockett 284 Meeting of the full professors Promotion case. Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 21, 2009 3:35 pm - 3:55 pm 235 Lockett Hall Sen Yang, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Bezout Theorem Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 21, 2009 3:55 pm - 4:15 pm 235 Lockett Hall Adam Cross, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Non-Associative Addition and Non-Euclidean Geometry Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 21, 2009 4:15 pm - 4:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Yunyun Yang, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Introduction to Cli fford Algebra Abstract Thursday, April 23, 2009 Posted April 12, 2009 Last modified April 20, 2009 2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 285 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pmMonday, April 20, 2009 Ivan Dimitrov, Queen's University (Canada) A geometric realization of extreme components of the tensor product of modules over algebraic groups Abstract: In this talk I will explain how the celebrated theorem of Borel-Weil-Bott provides a natural realization of some extreme components of the tensor product of two irreducible modules of simple algebraic groups. I will also discuss a number of connections of our construction with problems coming from Representation Theory, Combinatorics, and Geometry, including questions about the Littlewood--Richardson cone related to Horn's conjecture, settled by Knutson and Tao in the late 1990's. The talk is based on a joint work with Mike Roth. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 2:00. Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 23, 2009 3:15 pm - 3:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Joel Geiger, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Introduction to Knot Theory: Knot Invariants Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 23, 2009 3:35 pm - 3:55 pm 235 Lockett Hall Xinyao Yang, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Introduction to Free Probability Theory Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 23, 2009 3:55 pm - 4:15 pm 235 Lockett Hall Daniel Guillot, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Coloring Graphs of Thickness t Abstract Friday, April 24, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 3:30 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321 Math Movie We will vote for either "Fermat's Room" or a BBC documentary. Pizza and popcorn will be served. Monday, April 27, 2009 Posted March 13, 2009 Last modified March 15, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Tadele Mengesha, Louisiana State University TBA Posted April 13, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Tadele Mengesha, Louisiana State University Sufficient conditions for smooth strong local minima The talk addresses the conjecture that uniform quasiconvexity and uniform positivity of the second variation are sufficient for a smooth extremal to be a strong local minimizer. Our result holds for a class of variational integrals with integrands of polynomial growth at infinity. The proof is based on the decomposition of an arbitrary variation into its purely strong and weak parts. We show that these two parts act independently on the functional. The action of the weak part can be described in terms of the second variation. While the uniform positivity of the second variation prevents the weak part from decreasing the functional, the uniform quasiconvexity conditions prevent the strong part from doing the same. This is a joint work with Yury Grabovsky. Tuesday, April 28, 2009 IGERT Seminar Series Posted April 23, 2009 3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Miroslav Krstic, University of California, San Diego IEEE Fellow Compensation of Long Input Delays for Unstable Nonlinear and PDE Systems Here is an abstract. Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 30, 2009 3:15 pm - 3:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Laura Rider, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Introduction to Varieties Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 30, 2009 3:35 pm - 3:55 pm 235 Lockett Hall Dongxiang Yan, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student An Introduction to Black-Scholes Option-Pricing Model Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 30, 2009 3:55 pm - 4:15 pm 235 Lockett Hall B. Nicholas Wahle, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student When is K_{1,n} not a Minor? Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 30, 2009 4:15 pm - 4:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Yi Zhang, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student The Cauchy Functional Equation Abstract Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Posted April 20, 2009 2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett 381 Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University Comparison of volumes of convex bodies in real, complex, and quaternionic spaces The classical Busemann-Petty problem (1956) asks, whether origin-symmetric convex bodies in$R^n$with smaller hyperplane central sections necessarily have smaller volumes. The answer is known to be affirmative if$n\le 4$and negative if$n>4$. The same question for equilibrated convex bodies in the$n$-dimensional complex space$C^n$has an affirmative answer if and only if$n\le 3$. We show that the similar problem in the$n$-dimensional quaternionic space$H^n$has an affirmative answer if and only if$n=2$. Our method relies on the properties of Radon and cosine transforms on the unit sphere. Posted March 24, 2009 3:30 pm The James Kiesler Lounge 319 Lockett Hall Spring Math Awards Ceremony The Porcelli Award for Academic Excellence, the Porcelli Scholarships, the Betti and Robert Giles Senior Mathematics Award, the David Oxley Memorial Graduate Student Teaching Award, and Certificates of Teaching Excellence (for graduate assistants) will be awarded. Refreshments will be provided. Thursday, April 30, 2009 Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 30, 2009 3:15 pm - 3:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Jesse Taylor, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Nowhere-Zero Flows in Graphs Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 30, 2009 3:35 pm - 3:55 pm 235 Lockett Hall Mustafa Hajij, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Asymptotic Power Series in a Complex Variable Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 30, 2009 3:55 pm - 4:15 pm 235 Lockett Hall Derek Van Farowe, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student Simplicial Homology and the Euler Characteristic Abstract Communicating Mathematics Talk First-year graduate student presentation Posted April 30, 2009 4:15 pm - 4:35 pm 235 Lockett Hall Tyler Moss, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student List-Coloring Graphs Abstract Friday, May 1, 2009 Posted April 30, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall Ken Shoda, George Washington University Semi-Magic Square Matroids: A Super-exponential family of nonisomorphic matroids having the same Tutte polynomial Monday, May 4, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Lockett 381 Huajun Huang, Auburn University On Simultaneous Isometry of Subspaces Let$(V,b)$be a metric space with a nonsingular symmetric, skew-symmetric, Hermitian, or skew-Hermitian form$b$. Witt's theorem states that an isometry between two subspaces of$V$can be extended to an isometry of the whole space$V$. In this talk, I will present several results that extend Witt's theorem to simultaneous isometries of subspaces by using matrix analysis techniques. As applications, I will illustrate some examples in isometry groups orbits and invariants. The results could be applied to isometry problems in Hilbert spaces. Award Ceremony Posted April 22, 2009 5:00 pm Pleasant Hall Math Lab Award Ceremony Our LSU Math Lab in Pleasant Hall has been selected to receive the Pearson Education Teaching and Technology Leadership Award. Monday, June 15, 2009 Posted May 7, 2009 11:00 am - 12:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Jiangguo Liu, Colorado State University The Enriched Galerkin (EG) Method For Local Conservation Abstract: In this talk, we present a locally mass-conservative finite element method based on enriching the approximation space of the continuous Galerkin (CG) method with elementwise constant functions. The proposed method has a smaller number of degrees of freedom than the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method. Numerical results on coupled flow and transport problems in porous media are provided to illustrate the advantages of this method. Optimal error estimates of the EG method and comparison with related post-processing methods will be discussed also. This is a joint work with Shuyu Sun at Clemson University. Refreshments will be served at 10:30. Monday, June 29, 2009 Posted June 28, 2009 10:00 am Lockett 301D (Conference Room) Michael Malisoff, LSU Strict Lyapunov Function Constructions under LaSalle Conditions with an Application to Lotka-Volterra Systems This informal seminar is by special request of Guillermo Ferreyra and is open to all faculty and graduate students. Here is its abstract, and here are the related papers and slides. Wednesday, July 15, 2009 SIAM Student Chapter Event Posted July 7, 2009 10:00 am Johnston Hall 338 Personal Webpage Construction and Design Seminar The speakers are Jeffrey Sheldon, Nikkos Svoboda, Silvia Jimenez and Jens Christensen. They will present on setting up departmental based website, basic commands and webpage design, and webpage for job applications. Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Posted August 7, 2009 12:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 Jintao Cui, Mathematics Department, LSU Introduction to LSU SIAM Student Chapter The LSU SIAM Student Chapter is inviting all the students who are participating in the GEAUX program and Math Tune-up program to a pizza lunch and we would like to give a general introduction to the Chapter and our activities. You are all welcome to attend this event. Monday, August 17, 2009 Posted August 11, 2009 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam: ALGEBRA Wednesday, August 19, 2009 Posted August 11, 2009 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam: ANALYSIS Friday, August 21, 2009 Posted August 11, 2009 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam: TOPOLOGY Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Posted August 20, 2009 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm 338 Johnston Hall Michael Neilan, Louisiana State University Numerical Methods for Fully Nonlinear Second Order PDEs and Applications Fully nonlinear second order PDEs arise in many areas of science including optimal transport, meteorology, differential geometry, and optimal design. However, numerical methods for general fully nonlinear second order PDEs still remains a relatively untouched area. In this talk, I will introduce a new notion of solutions for these equations called moment solutions which are based on a constructive limiting process called the vanishing moment method. I will then present three finite element methods based on the vanishing moment method. Finally, I will demonstrate the effectiveness of the method with numerical examples. Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Posted August 17, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 15 Facutly meeting Thursday, August 27, 2009 Posted August 11, 2009 Last modified August 16, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Pramod Achar, Mathematics Department, LSU Positivity, sheaves, and representation theory Abstract: The celebrated "Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials" of an algebraic group have an elementary combinatorial definition, but the proof that all their coefficients are nonnegative requires very deep results from algebraic geometry--the Weil conjectures, proved by Deligne in the 1970's. The link between combinatorics and algebraic geometry is furnished by sheaf theory, especially the so-called "perverse sheaves." I will explain how "positivity" results come out of the interaction of these topics, and I will also discuss more recent developments in which perverse sheaves are replaced by vector bundles and coherent sheaves. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, August 28, 2009 Posted July 27, 2009 Last modified July 28, 2009 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 Michele Benzi, Emory University Key Moments In The History Of Numerical Analysis The talk will highlight some of the key moments in the evolution of numerical analysis into an independent mathematical discipline. The necessary context and background behind technical developments will be carefully exposed, as well as biographical information about the major figures in the field. The main focus of the talk will be on the early history of matrix iterations. Additional details can be found at http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/489 Monday, August 31, 2009 Posted August 24, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Robert Lipton, Mathematics Department, LSU Strength of Elastic - Plastic Composites Made From Random Configurations of Two Materials Posted August 28, 2009 3:40 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321 Susan Abernathy, Louisiana State University Knot theory Abstract. Knot theory connects to a wide varity of areas in mathematics. In this talk, we will review some basics of knots and introduce some of the diverse techniques used to differentiate knots, including certain knot invariants and Morse theory. Tuesday, September 1, 2009 Posted August 24, 2009 Last modified August 25, 2009 3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Andrew Barker, Louisiana State University Monolithically Coupled Scalable Parallel Algorithms For Simulation Of Fluid-structure Interaction Simulation of fluid-structure interaction is a computationally difficult problem that is important in a variety of applications. Doing it well requires not only accurately modeling physics for the fluid and the structure, but also coupling them together in a stable and efficient manner, and developing scalable numerical methods for this highly nonlinear problem is a challenge. In this talk we describe and examine parallel, scalable techniques in the multilevel Newton-Krylov-Schwarz family for solving the fully implicit fluid-structure interaction system on dynamic unstructured moving finite element meshes in the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian framework. Our emphasis is on tight monolithic coupling of the physical systems and the computational mesh, and on the parallel scalability of the method. We present applications of the method to the simulation of blood flow on vessel geometries derived from patient-specific clinical data. Friday, September 4, 2009 Posted August 11, 2009 Last modified August 14, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Habib Ouerdiane, University of Tunis El Manar Generalized fractional evolution equations Abstract: In this talk we study the generalized Riemann-Liouville (resp. Caputo) time fractional evolution equation in infinite dimensions. We show that the explicit solution is given as the convolution between the initial condition and a generalized function related to the Mittag-Leffler function. The fundamental solution corresponding to the Riemann-Liouville time fractional evolution equation does not admit a probabilistic representation while for the Caputo time fractional evolution equation it is related to the inverse stable subordinators. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Xiaoliang Wan, Louisiana State University Noise-induced Transition for the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky Equation Noise-induced transition in the solutions of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation is investigated using the minimum action method derived from the large deviation theory. This is then used as a starting point for exploring the configuration space of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation. The particular example considered here is the transition between a stable fixed point and a stable traveling wave. Five saddle points, up to constants due to translational invariance, are identified based on the information given by the minimum action path (MAP). Heteroclinic orbits between the saddle points are identified. Relations between noise-induced transitions and the saddle points are examined. Posted September 2, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 285 Marco Schlichting, Louisiana State University Grothendieck-Witt groups and a counterexample to invariance under derived equivalences Posted September 3, 2009 4:30 pm Keisler Hall: Lockett 321 Movie Night! NOVA: Fractals Hunting the Hidden Dimension. Come eat free pizza and enjoy a movie about mysteriously beautiful fractals that are shaking and deepening our understanding of nature. Posted August 28, 2009 5:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (room 321 Lockett) Actuarial Student Association Meeting Electing our officers for the upcoming year. As always, we welcome new members who wish to learn about the actuarial program at LSU and/or the profession in general. We will also be organizing study groups for the actuarial exams. Thursday, September 10, 2009 Posted August 11, 2009 Last modified August 14, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Fernanda Cipriano, University of Lisbon Statistical solutions for the 2D Euler equation Abstract: In the study of Euler and Navier-Stokes equations we can consider two different approaches. The most classical one consist in the study of the equations with specifique initial and boundary conditions. Another approach, the so-called stochastic approach, consist in the construction of suitable probability measures and study its evolution in time according to the corresponding dynamic. The framework of stochastic analysis can be used to construct solutions. In our presentation, we follow the second point of view to present some results on the 2D Euler equation with periodic boundary conditions. We construct surface type measures on the level sets of the renormalized energy and establish the existence of weak solutions living on such level sets. We also prove the existence of weak solutions for the forward and backward transport equations associated with the 2D Euler equation. Such solutions can be interpreted, respectively, as a statistical Lagrangean and statistical Eulerian description of the motion of the fluid. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, September 11, 2009 Posted September 14, 2009 3:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett 285 Fernanda Cipriano, University of Lisbon Habib Ouerdiane, Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, Tunis Presentations on the Bargmann-Segal Transform and the Navier-Stokes Equation Monday, September 14, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Yaniv Almog, Department of Mathematics, LSU Superconductivity Near the Normal State in the presence of electric current. We consider the linearization of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau near the normal state. We assume that an electric current is applied through the sample, which captures the whole plane, inducing thereby, a magnetic field. We show that independently of the current, the normal state is always stable. Using Fourier analysis the detailed behaviour of solutions is obtained as well. Relying on semi-group theory we then obtain the spectral properties of the steady-state elliptic operator. We shall also consider the spectral properties of the same elliptic operator near a flat wall, and obtain the critical current in the limit of small and large normal conductivity Posted September 10, 2009 4:30 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321 Election of officers Come eat free pizza, vote for your new officers, and play some fun math games. If you are interested in running for office, contact Josh Moulton. Thursday, September 17, 2009 Posted August 11, 2009 Last modified September 11, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Milen Yakimov, LSU Poisson geometry of flag varieties, ring theory and combinatorics Abstract: The geometry of Poisson Lie groups and Poisson homogeneous spaces was actively studied after Drinfeld's celebrated 1986 ICM talk in which he describe its importance for the representation theory of quantum groups. In this talk we will go over various aspects of the geometry of Poisson structures on flag varieties for complex simple Lie groups (results with K. Brown and K. Goodearl). We will apply them to ring theory to resolve several problems for the De Concini-Kac-Procesi algebras from about 10-15 years ago: determining the torus invariant prime ideals of those algebras, their inclusions, finding effective generating sets for the ideals. We will also describe applications to combinatorics: 1. obtaining a simple proof of the recent result of Knutson, Lam and Speyer for cyclicity of the Lusztig stratification of Grassmannians, 2. combinatorial formulas for Hecke algebras (with F. Brenti), 3. Deodhar's stratification of open Richardson varieties (with B. Webster). There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, September 18, 2009 Posted September 9, 2009 3:30 pm Lockett Hall 233 Anna Zemlyanova, Department of Mathematics, LSU Single- and double-spiral-vortex models for a supercavitating wedge in a jet In this talk we study the effect which a cavity closure condition has on the flow of liquid around a supercavitating wedge in a jet. The comparison is made for the single- and double-spiral-vortex models proposed by Tulin. Both models are solved in closed form by the method of conformal mappings. Monday, September 21, 2009 Posted July 27, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Stephen Smith, University of Illinois Chicago Circle Revisiting the classification of the finite simple groups (an outline) Abstract: Most mathematicians are aware that the classification of the finite simple groups involved hundreds of researchers and thousands of journal pages. In 1983, Daniel Gorenstein published the first volume of a general outline of this massive work---covering the non-characteristic 2 type'' case (correspondingly roughly to simple matrix groups over fields of odd order). But he could not publish the projected second and final volume, on the characteristic 2 type case---due to the non-publication of Mason's expected work on "quasithin groups". That gap was not filled until the 2004 publication by Aschbacher and Smith of a more general quasithin treatment. This finally left the way open for the second volume of the overall outline of the CFSG---a first draft of this outline has now been completed by Aschbacher, Lyons, Solomon, and Smith. The talk will be an elementary exposition of some of the ideas in this overall outline; including mention of certain of the new ideas and approaches which have arisen since the 1980s. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Posted September 14, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Scott Armstrong, Department of Mathematics, Louisiana State University Self-similar solution and long-time asymptotics for fully nonlinear parabolic equations I will present results on the existence and uniqueness of a self-similar solution of a fully nonlinear, parabolic equation (an example of which include the Bellman-Isaacs equation arising in the theory of stochastic optimal control and stochastic differential game theory). As an application, we are able to describe the long-time behavior of solutions to the Cauchy problem, and derive a conservation law which generalizes the conservation of mass in the case of the heat equation. The scaling invariance property of the self-similar solution depends on the nonlinear operator, and is in general different from that of the heat kernel. We will see that this difference has an interesting interpretation in terms of controlled diffusion processes. This work is joint with M. Trokhimtchouk. Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Posted September 14, 2009 Last modified September 23, 2009 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Ambar Sengupta, Mathematics Department, LSU Noise: from White to Free Abstract: We will discuss results of Wigner and Voiculescu connecting classical probability theory with the algebraic theory of free probability. Applying these ideas to a classical matrix white noise process produces a free analog. Friday, September 25, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Last modified September 23, 2009 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm Lockett Hall 233 Jacob Blanton, Mathematics Department, LSU Max-Plus Algebra and Optimal Control Theory A common approach to controlling nonlinear systems involves utilizing the dynamic programming principle (DPP). This approach leads to a control solution via the solution of a corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) PDE. It has the advantage of yielding an optimal control solution as the value function of the control problem is interpreted as the viscosity solution of the associated HJ PDE. The semigroup that propagates the solutions of these PDE's is identical to the dynamic programming principle. The above will be surveyed along with an introduction to max-plus algebra in order to highlight the result that the semigroup associated with the HJ PDE's above is a max-plus linear operator. Posted August 27, 2009 Last modified September 23, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 233, Lockett Hall Matthew Knepley, Computation Institute, University of Chicago Tree-based methods on GPUs Abstract: We examine the performance of the Fast Multipole Method on heterogeneous computing devices, such as a CPU attached to an Nvidia Tesla 1060C card. The inherent bottleneck imposed by the tree structure is ameliorated by a refactoring of the algorithm which exposes the fine-grained dependency structure. Also, common reduction operations are refactored in order to maximize throughput. These optimizations are enabled by our concise yet powerful interface for tree-structured algorithms. Examples of performance are shown for problems arising from vortex methods for fluids Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Posted August 28, 2009 Last modified September 1, 2009 3:10 pm Lockett 235 Meeting of the tenured and tenure-track Faculty Promotion cases. Posted September 8, 2009 5:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (room 321 Lockett) Actuarial Student Association Meeting Electing our officers for the upcoming year. As always, we welcome new members who wish to learn about the actuarial program at LSU and/or the profession in general. We will also be organizing study groups for the actuarial exams. Monday, October 5, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Padmanabhan Sundar, Mathematics Department, LSU On a class of stochastic partial differential equations Posted October 2, 2009 4:30 pm Keisler Lounge, room 321, Lockett Hall Weekly meeting Math activities, discussion of upcoming movie, and pizza. Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 285 Helena Verrill, Mathematics Department, LSU Noncongruence lifts of projective congruence subgroups Wednesday, October 7, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 3:40 pm 285 Lockett Basic Sciences undergraduate breadth requirements Posted September 30, 2009 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm Johnston Hall 338 I still don't know what you did last summer! There will be a panel with students who participated in math related activities during the Summer 2009 sharing their experiences and explain how to apply for these programs. We hope that all Chapter members and graduate students would be benefitted from their experience. There will be a pizza dinner after. Thursday, October 8, 2009 Posted August 11, 2009 Last modified August 12, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Dmitry Ryabogin, Kent State University On the local version of Mahler Conjecture An abstract is available. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Monday, October 12, 2009 Posted September 14, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Christo Christov, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Stochastic Functional Expansions for Heterogeneous Continuous Media and Chaotic Regimes of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 Last modified October 13, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 285 Heather Russell, Mathematics Department, LSU A combinatorial construction of the Springer representation Springer varieties are studied because their cohomology carries a natural action of the symmetric group and their top-dimensional cohomology is irreducible. In his work on tangle invariants, Khovanov constructed a family of Springer varieties as subvarieties of a product of spheres. We show that these varieties can be embedded antipodally in the product of spheres and that the natural symmetric group action on the product induces the Springer representation. Our construction admits an elementary (and geometrically natural) combinatorial description, which we use to prove that the Springer representation is irreducible in each degree. This work is joint with Julianna S. Tymoczko at The University of Iowa. Friday, October 16, 2009 Posted October 12, 2009 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett Hall 233 Rick Barnard, LSU Department of Mathematics Advanced graduate student. The Minimal Time Function and Stratified Domains In this talk, we introduce the minimal time problem over a stratified domain. In such a problem, dynamical systems are regular only when restricted to a prescribed set of submanifolds. We show that the minimal time function satisfies an appropriate Hamilton-Jacobi equation. Posted October 13, 2009 4:40 pm - 5:30 pm Lockett Hall 285 Xiangqian Zhou On minimally k-connected matroids Monday, October 19, 2009 Posted September 20, 2009 Last modified September 22, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Truyen Nguyen, University of Akron Hamilton--Jacobi equation in the space of measures associated with a system of conservation laws Abstract. We introduce a class of action functional defined over the set of continuous paths in the Wasserstein space of probability measures on$R^d$. We show that minimizing path for such action exists and satisfies compressible Euler equation in a weak sense. Moreover, we prove that both Cauchy and resolvent formulations of the associated Hamilton-Jacobi equations are well--posed and their unique viscositysolutions are given by the dynamic programming principle. The characteristics of these Hamilton--Jacobi equations in the space of probability measures are solutions of the compressible Euler equation in$R^d$. This is joint work with Jin Feng of the University of Kansas. Posted October 19, 2009 4:30 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321 Introduction to Number Theory Clueless about what number theory is and how it relates to your everyday life? Come and find out! Tuesday, October 20, 2009 Posted September 8, 2009 Last modified October 15, 2009 3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Eun-Hee Park, Louisiana State University A Domain Decomposition Method Based On Augmented Lagrangian With A Penalty Term Posted October 7, 2009 Last modified October 20, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 285 Christopher Bremer, Mathematics Department, LSU Moduli for connections of cuspidal type In my last talk, I described the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence for irregular singular point connections. Although this theory dates back to the work of Malgrange and Sibuya in the 70s, the Riemann-Hilbert map itself was not well understood until recently. In the past decade, Boalch has shown that the Riemann-Hilbert map gives a symplectic isomorphism between a coarse moduli space of connections, and a Poisson Lie group of Stokes multipliers.' The theory of fundamental strata is a combinatorial tool for describing connections of cuspidal type. Recent work (joint with D S Sage) has shown that the fundamental stratum of a connection can be used to generalize Boalch's work. I will describe our preliminary results, and give some indication of how strata characterize the irregular Riemann-Hilbert map in the cuspidal case. Wednesday, October 21, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 Last modified October 20, 2009 3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett B5 Faculty meeting with Dean Kevin Carman This meeting is arranged by the IRC Student Colloquium Posted September 17, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Virginia Naibo, Department of Mathematics, Kansas State University Decay properties of wave functions associated to atomic particles. There will be refreshments in the Keisler Lounge from 3:00pm - 3:30pm. Abstract: This talk is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Mathematical models describing the motion of an object falling in the atmosphere or the vibration of an elastic string can be obtained using Newton's second law of motion. This law fails at the level of atoms and their constituents and it is quantum mechanics that provides a new set of laws and a mode of description for microscopic systems. The counterpart of Newton's second law in the microscopic world is the Schrodinger equation. We will go over simple models of this equation and discuss the idea of dispersive estimates for their solutions. Thursday, October 22, 2009 Student Colloquium Posted September 17, 2009 Last modified October 19, 2009 12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Locket B6 Virginia Naibo, Department of Mathematics, Kansas State University Cool applications of matrix theory There will be a light lunch offered from 12:00 to 12:30 pm in the Keisler Lounge preceding the talk. Abstract: We will discuss the mathematics behind digital image compression models such as JPEG and website ranking algorithms such as Google's PageRank. This talk will be accessible to students who have taken a course on linear algebra. Monday, October 26, 2009 Posted September 8, 2009 Last modified October 23, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Rachael Neilan, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, LSU Optimal control in disease modeling Optimal control theory in disease models is used to determine cost- effective disease prevention and treatment strategies. When disease dynamics are governed by ordinary differential equations, Pontryagin's Maximum Principle is used to characterize an optimal control (i.e. optimal treatment strategy). However, many disease models use partial differential equations to describe the spread of infection in space and time. No extension of Pontryagin's Maximum Principle exists for systems of PDEs, but similar techniques are employed to derive optimal spatio-temporal control characterizations. In this talk, we will provide theoretical optimal control results for a system of advection- diffusion equations describing the spread of rabies through a raccoon population. Numerical solutions will illustrate the optimal vaccine distribution on homogeneous and heterogeneous spatial domains. Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 10:00 am 117 Electrical Engineering Building Michael Malisoff, LSU Constructions of Strict Lyapunov Functions: An Overview Click here for more information. Posted September 8, 2009 Last modified October 15, 2009 3:10 pm - 4:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Hongchao Zhang, Louisiana State University An Affine-scaling Method For Nonlinear Optimization With Continuous Knapsack Constraints Posted October 5, 2009 Last modified October 26, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 285 Anthony Henderson, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney Enhancing the nilpotent cone Many features of an algebraic group are controlled by the geometry of its nilpotent cone, which in the case of GL_n(C) is merely the variety N of n x n nilpotent matrices. The study of the orbits of the group in its nilpotent cone leads to combinatorial data relating to the representations of the Weyl group, via the famous Springer correspondence. In the case of GL_n(C), the basic manifestation of this correspondence is the fact that conjugacy classes of nilpotent matrices and irreducible representations of the symmetric group are both parametrized by partitions of n. Pramod Achar and I have shown that studying the orbits of GL_n(C) in the enhanced nilpotent cone C^n x N leads to exotic combinatorial data of type B/C (previously studied by Spaltenstein and Shoji). As I will explain, this is closely related to Syu Kato's exotic Springer correspondence for the symplectic group, and also to nilpotent orbits in characteristic 2. Posted October 9, 2009 5:00 pm James E. Keisler Lounge (room 321 Lockett) Actuarial Student Association Meeting We will have 1. A visitor from Career Services will give a presentation and answer questions on internships and jobs. 2. A discussion of exams and study groups 3. the selection of officers Friday, October 30, 2009 CCT Lecture Events organized by the LSU Center for Computation and Technology Posted October 22, 2009 1:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall CCT Colloquim Series Presented by: Arun Bansil, Northeastern University "Modeling Highly Resolved Spectroscopies of Complex Materials: from Qualitative to Quantitative" For more information please see cct events. http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/events.php Posted October 27, 2009 1:00 pm 301D Lockett Final Event of the Nonthesis MS Comprehensive Examination Graduate students who have signed up earlier this semester for the final event of MS Comprehensive Exam to qualify for an MS degree this May will meet with Profs. Perlis, Cohen, and Richardson at 1 PM. Posted October 21, 2009 Last modified October 22, 2009 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett Hall 233 Sean Farley, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student An Introduction to TikZ: Integrating Graphics within LaTeX While LaTeX is quite useful for typesetting math, it can be quite the pain for incorporating graphics. Which format do you save your image as? PDF? EPS? JPG? I will introduce a powerful package called TikZ that will enable you to seamlessly integrate graphics into your document. I will present examples in finite elements, beamer, and gnuplot. Monday, November 2, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 Last modified October 23, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Scott McKinley, Department of Mathematics, Duke University Anomalous Diffusion of Distinguished Particles in Bead-Spring Networks. (This is a joint Applied Analyisis & Probability Seminar) Abstract: Due to recent and compelling experimental observations using passive microrheology there is theoretical interest in anomalous sub-diffusion -- stochastic processes whose long-term mean-squared displacement satisfies$E{x2(t)} sim t^nu$where$nu leq 1$. The canonical example of a sub-diffusive process is fractional Brownian motion, but for reasons we will discuss, this project focuses on a touchstone model from polymer kinetic theory -- the Rouse chain -- and its natural generalizations. Our interest is in studying the dynamics of a distinguished particle in a network of thermally fluctuating beads that interact with each other through linear springs. Such processes can be expressed as the sum of a Brownian motion with a large number of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes. We introduce a single parameter which can be tuned to produce any sub-diffusive exponent$nu in (0,1)$for the generic sum-of-OU structure and demonstrate the relationship between this parameter and the geometric structure of the bead-spring connection network in which the distinguished particle resides. This development provides a basis to prove a conjecture from the physics community that the Rouse exponent$nu = 1/2$is universal among a wide class of models. Tuesday, November 3, 2009 Posted October 25, 2009 9:30 am - 10:30 am Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall A conversation with Prof. Irina Mitrea Prof. Irina Mitrea, from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, will be visiting LSU to give a Colloquium talk. The LSU Student Chapter of the AWM will host a meeting with her to talk about her career experience. For more information visit http://www.math.lsu.edu/awm/ Student Colloquium Posted October 20, 2009 Last modified October 27, 2009 12:40 pm - 1:30 am 313 Design Building Charles Conley, University of North Texas f(x)=x^{x^{x^{cdot^{cdot^{cdot}}}}} Please note the unusual location for the talk. Abstract: For what real number x does this function make sense? This question was first answered by Euler. Clearly f(2) is infinite, and one might guess that f(x) is infinite for all x greater than 1. In fact this is not true: both the upper and lower bound of f's domain of definition are interesting. In this talk we will deduce these bounds using nothing more advance than the chain rule. En route we will examine some well-known graph a^x and some not-so-well-known graphs a^{a^x}} closely, discovering some enjoyable surprises. There will be a light lunch served in the Keisler Lounge from 12:00-12:30 Posted August 11, 2009 Last modified October 22, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Irina Mitrea, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Boundary Value Problems for Higher Order Elliptic Operators An abstract is available. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Student Colloquium Posted October 20, 2009 Last modified October 27, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Charles Conley, University of North Texas Vector Fields on the Line Abstract: This talk will be a gentle introduction to some aspects of the theory of representations of Lie algebras by means of an example: the Lie algebra Vec(R) of vector field on the line. Since the objects involved are quite concrete, no prior knowledge of Lie algebras will be assumed: only basic calculus and linear algebra. There will be refreshments served in the Keisler Lounge from 3:00 -3:30. Thursday, November 5, 2009 Posted October 29, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Charles Conley, University of North Texas Extremal Projectors. Let g be a complex finite dimensional reductive Lie algebra. The extremal projector P(g) is an element of a certain formal extension of the enveloping algebra U(g) which projects representations in Category O to their highest weight vectors along their lower weight vectors, provided that the denominator of P(g) does not act by zero. (This denominator is a formal product in U(h), h being the chosen Cartan subalgebra.) In 1971 Asherova-Smirnov-Tolstoi discovered a noncommutative finite factorization of P(g), and in 1993 Zhelobenko discovered a commutative infinite product formula. We will discuss these results and some more recent formulas for the relative projector P(g,l), the projection to the highest l-subrepresentations, l being a Levi subalgebra. Friday, November 6, 2009 Posted October 24, 2009 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett Hall 233 Santiago Fortes, Department of Mathematics, LSU Subwavelength Plasmonic Crystals: Dispersion Relations and Effective Properties : The possibility of engineering composite materials with unusual electromagnetic properties (a.k.a. metamaterials) has generated much interest lately. Devices such as invisibility cloaks and superlenses could, in principle, be constructed using such materials. One of the central ideas in the study of metamaterials is that radiation with wavelengths much larger than the inhomogeneities of the material cannot detect internal structure, so that the concepts of effective dielectric permittivity and effective magnetic permeability are valid. I will present a method for obtaining convergent power series representations for the fields and associated dispersion relations of electromagnetic waves propagating in a species of metamaterial known as plasmonic crystal. Monday, November 9, 2009 Posted November 3, 2009 9:15 am - 10:15 am Johnston Hall 331 Fadil Santosa, Director, Institute for Mathematics and its Applications and School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota Breakfast and Discussion LSU SIAM Student Chapter presents a conversation with Prof. Fadil Santosa, the director of IMA (Institute for Mathematics and Applications). Breakfast will be served. It will be an informal meeting with him to talk about his career experience. This meeting is open to everyone. Posted September 14, 2009 Last modified October 21, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Fadil Santosa, Director, Institute for Mathematics and its Applications and School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota The mathematics of progressive lens design Abstract: Progressive addition lenses are prescribed to patients who need correction for both far and near visions. A progressive lens needs to have power that gradually changes from the far vision zone, used for example in driving, and the near vision zone, used for example in reading a map. The basics of optics and lens design will be described. In particular, it will be shown that the problem can be reduced to one of surface design. The surface design problem itself is solved by a variational approach, which can be further simplified by linearization, leading to a fourth order elliptic partial differential equations. Analysis of the resulting equations and development of a computational method are described. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the process of lens design. Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Posted October 7, 2009 Last modified November 4, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 285 Jerome W. Hoffman, Mathematics Department, LSU L-functions and l-adic representations for modular forms Friday, November 13, 2009 Posted November 4, 2009 Last modified November 11, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 285 Moon Duchin, University of Michigan Limit shapes in groups Consider larger and larger metric spheres in a group. Under nice circumstances, these converge to a definite "limit shape" as the radius goes to infinity. For instance in finitely generated nilpotent groups one may use a rescaling dilation in the ambient Lie group to shrink down large spheres, and by work of Pansu (extended by Breuillard) this gives a well-defined limit. For a simple example, in the free abelian group Z^2, if we take the standard generating set, the limit shape is a diamond (and the limiting metric, for which this is the unit sphere, is the L^1 metric on the plane). It is natural to ask whether the counting measure on the discrete spheres converges to a measure on the limit shape. I'll discuss our work on this question, and give some ergodic applications and some averaging applications for limit shapes. Parts of this project are joint work with Samuel Lelièvre, Christopher Mooney, and Ralf Spatzier. Posted November 13, 2009 4:40 pm - 5:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall Natalie Hine, LSU Mathematics Graduate Student Infinite Antichains of Matroids Abstract: In this talk, I will assume no prior knowledge of matroid theory, so I will begin by defining a matroid and giving some basic examples. Then, I will explain the differences between graphs and matroids with respect to infinite antichains under the minor ordering. Lastly, I will discuss when a minor-closed class of matroids with a single excluded minor does not contain an infinite antichain. Monday, November 16, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 Last modified November 10, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Xiaoliang Wan, Louisiana State University A note on stochastic elliptic models In this talk we will look at two strategies that introduce randomness into elliptic models. One is to treat the coefficient as an spatial random process, which results in an stochastic elliptic model widely used in engineering applications; the other one is to define the stochastic integral using Wick product, which can be regarded as a generalization of Ito integral. The statistics given by these two strategies can be dramatically different. I will compare these two strategies using a one-dimensional problem and present a new stochastic elliptic model to makes them more comparable. Numerical methods will also be discussed. Posted November 11, 2009 4:40 pm Groups and Graph Theory Jesse Taylor will discuss Group Theory. He'll be giving a few basic definitions and defining a few key concepts related to Group and Graph Theory. Tuesday, November 17, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 Last modified November 12, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 285 Jorge Morales, Mathematics Department, LSU Siegel's mass formula and averages of L-functions over function fields Wednesday, November 18, 2009 Posted October 20, 2009 Last modified November 9, 2009 3:40 pm Lockett 5 Departmental Priorities, Teaching and the Budget Thursday, November 19, 2009 Posted November 13, 2009 6:00 pm Design Building 103 MOVIE: Fermat's Room Showing of the movie "Fermat's Room", in collaboration with the LSU Spanish Club. From the President: "We will watch the movie Fermat's Room at 103 Design Bldg at 6:01pm on 11/19/2009. Entertainment will happen. Approximately 90 minutes later, the movie will end and we will all return to our normal lives as though nothing had happened, yet forever remembering the magic that happened on that fateful November night.." Friday, November 20, 2009 Posted November 13, 2009 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett Hall 233 Lee Windsperger, Department of Mathematics, LSU The Asymptotic Laplace Transform The asymptotic Laplace transform is a generalization of the classical Laplace transform. Whereas the classical Laplace transform is an analytic tool to solve well-posed problems, the asymptotic Laplace transform is an analytic tool to solve ill-posed problems. This talk will introduce the definition, properties, and advantages of the asymptotic Laplace transform through two elementary partial differential equations. Posted November 13, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 381 Boris Rubin, Lousiana State University Radon Transforms on the Heisenberg Group and Transversal Radon Transforms. Abstract: The notion of the Radon transform on the Heisenberg group was introduced by R. Strichartz and inspired by D. Geller and E.M. Stein. A more general transversal Radon transform integrates functions on the$m$-dimensional real Euclidean space over hyperplanes meeting the last coordinate axis. We obtain new boundedness results and explicit inversion formulas for both transforms on$L^p$functions in the full range of the parameter$p$. We also show that these transforms are isomorphisms of the corresponding Semyanistyi-Lizorkin spaces of smooth functions. In the framework of these spaces we obtain inversion formulas, which are pointwise analogues of the corresponding formulas by R. Strichartz. Monday, November 23, 2009 Posted November 12, 2009 3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett B 5 Faculty Meeting This meeting is arranged by the IRC Monday, November 30, 2009 Posted November 17, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Santiago Fortes, Department of Mathematics, LSU Electromagnetic wave propagation in Plasmonic Crystals The possibility of engineering composite materials with unusual electromagnetic properties (a.k.a. metamaterials) has generated much interest lately. Devices such as invisibility cloaks and perfect lenses could, in principle, be constructed using such materials. I will present a method for obtaining convergent power series representations for the fields and associated dispersion relations of electromagnetic waves propagating in a species of metamaterial known as plasmonic crystal. The technology provided by these series lead to a rich scenario in which to explore effective properties in a mathematically rigorous setting. This has allowed us give definite answers regarding the negative index behavior of plasmonic crystals. Tuesday, December 1, 2009 Posted November 25, 2009 Last modified November 30, 2009 4:00 pm Lockett 285 Alexander Prestel, Universitaet Konstanz Axiomatizing the complex unit disc The Lefshetz-Principle from algebraic geometry says that every algebraic property over the field of complex numbers involving only polynomials, is also tue over any algebraically closed field in characteristic 0. We present a similar transfer principle involving in addition the absolute value of the complex field. Wednesday, December 9, 2009 Posted November 26, 2009 12:00 pm James Keisler Lounge Holiday Party Everyone is invited to share in the Season's Spirit. Please bring a dish to share. Monday, January 11, 2010 Posted January 2, 2010 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Hall Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam in Algebra This examination is required for doctoral students who have completed Math 7210 but have not yet passed the examination at the PhD level. Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Posted January 2, 2010 Last modified January 11, 2010 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam in Analysis This examination is required for doctoral students who have completed Math 7311 but have not yet passed this test at the PhD Qualifying Level. Friday, January 15, 2010 Posted January 2, 2010 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 285 Lockett Comprehensive / PhD Qualifying Exam in Topology This examination is required for doctoral students who have completed Math 7510 but have not yet passed this test at the PhD Qualifying Level. Tuesday, January 19, 2010 Posted January 12, 2010 Last modified January 14, 2010 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 16 Jiajun Wang, California Institue of Technology Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Topology On combinatorial Floer homology Posted January 7, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall Jason Howell, Carnegie Mellon University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Math and CCT Dual-Mixed Finite Element Methods For Fluids Jason Howell, Carnegie Mellon University Postdoctoral Associate In The Center For Nonlinear Analysis And The Department Of Mathematical Sciences Bio Jason Howell is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Center for Nonlinear Analysis and the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. He earned a PhD in Mathematical Sciences at Clemson University in 2007 with a specialty in numerical analysis and computational mathematics. During 2004-2006, he had three appointments as a summer scholar with the Center for Applied Scientific Computing at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He also holds an MS in Mathematical Sciences from Clemson and a BS in Mathematics from the College of Charleston. His research interests lie at the intersection of analysis, computation, and applications, and he currently works on projects in finite element methods for fluid and solid mechanics, numerical methods for non-Newtonian fluids, and numerical methods for fluid/fluid and fluid/structure interaction problems. Abstract Accurate and efficient numerical methods to approximate fluid flows are important to researchers in many fields, including mechanical, materials, and biomedical engineering. In many applications within these fields, it is of paramount importance to accurately predict fluid stresses. However, in most existing numerical schemes for fluids, the primary unknown of interest is the fluid velocity. This motivates the development of dual-mixed finite element methods for fluids, in which the stress is a primary unknown of interest, and the study of inf-sup conditions for single and twofold saddle point problems is an important component of the construction of these methods. This study has led to results that give equivalent sets of inf-sup conditions for twofold saddle point problems, yielding new tools for proofs of well-posedness and finite element compatibility. These tools, together with a macroelement technique, show compatibility of a new dual-mixed method for fluids employing Arnold-Winther symmetric tensor finite elements for stress. Thursday, January 21, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Last modified January 12, 2010 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm 338 Johnston Hall Shawn Walker, New York University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Math and CCT Shape Optimization Of Peristaltic Pumping Shawn W. Walker, New York University Research Scientist, Courant Institute Of Mathematical Sciences Bio Shawn W. Walker is a postdoctoral researcher and instructor at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He earned his PhD in aerospace engineering and an MSc in applied mathematics and scientific computing from the University of Maryland in 2007 and also holds an MSc in engineering and applied science from Yale University and a BSc in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. His research interests include finite element methods and PDEs, free boundary problems, shape optimization, and fluid-structure interaction and control. http://www.cims.nyu.edu/~walker/ Abstract Transport is a fundamental aspect of biology and peristaltic pumping is a fundamental mechanism to accomplish this; it is also important in many industrial processes. We present a variational method for optimizing peristaltic pumping in a two dimensional periodic channel with moving walls to pump fluid. No a priori assumption is made on the wall motion, except that the shape is static in a moving wave frame. Thus, we pose an infinite dimensional optimization problem and solve it with finite elements. Sensitivities of the cost and constraints are computed variationally via shape differential calculus and$L^2$-type projections are used to compute quantities such as curvature and boundary stresses. Our Optimization method falls under the category of sequential quadratic programming (SQP) methods. As a result, we find optimized shapes that are not obvious and have not been previously reported in the peristaltic pumping literature. Specifically, we see highly asymmetric wave shapes that are far from being sine waves. Many examples are shown for a range of fluxes and Reynolds numbers up to Re=500 which illustrate the capabilities of our method. Posted December 24, 2009 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Jan Dijkstra, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Topological Kadec norms with applications An abstract is available. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, January 22, 2010 Posted January 12, 2010 Last modified January 15, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Andrew Putman, MIT Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Topology The Picard Group of the Moduli Space of Curves with Level Structures Monday, January 25, 2010 Posted January 19, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Anna Zemlyanova, Department of Mathematics, LSU Method of Riemann surfaces in modelling of cavitating flow Cavitation is the formation of a vapor filled area in the liquid which usually appears due to low pressures and high velocities. Riemann surfaces are used in fluid mechanics both for mathematical modeling of the cavity closure and for solution of the resulting mathematical problems. In this talk I will discuss most commonly used cavity closure models and present a detailed solution to the problem of a supercavitating wedge in a jet or under a free surface using Tulin's single- or double-spiral-vortex cavity closure model. The solution involves the application of Riemann-Hilbert problems on the elliptic Riemann surface. The numerical results will be presented. Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Posted January 14, 2010 Last modified January 26, 2010 2:10 pm Lockett 10 Richard Kent, Brown University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Topology Analytic functions from hyperbolic manifolds There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Posted January 7, 2010 Last modified January 17, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Michael Farber, University of Durham Stochastic algebraic topology and robotics Abstract: I will describe solutions to several problems of mixed probabilistic-topological nature which are inspired by applications in topological robotics. These problems deal with systems depending on a large number of random parameters, nto infty. Our results predict the values of various topological characteristics of configuration spaces of such systems. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Posted January 21, 2010 Last modified January 24, 2010 4:30 pm Lockett 5 Meeting of the faculty Department priorities/budget scenarios. Wednesday, January 27, 2010 Posted January 12, 2010 Last modified January 14, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Mark Colarusso, University of Notre Dame Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Lie Theory THE GELFAND-ZEITLIN INTEGRABLE SYSTEM ON g[(n, C) Thursday, January 28, 2010 Posted August 11, 2009 Last modified January 25, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Originally scheduled for 3:40 pmTuesday, September 15, 2009 Frank Sottile, Texas A&M Orbitopes Abstract: An orbitope is the convex hull of an orbit of a compact group acting linearly on a vector space. Instances of these highly symmetric convex bodies have appeared in many areas of mathematics and its applications, including protein reconstruction, symplectic geometry, and calibrations in differential geometry. In this talk, I will discuss Orbitopes from the perspectives of classical convexity, algebraic geometry, and optimization with an emphasis on ten motivating problems and concrete examples. This is joint work with Raman Sanyal and Bernd Sturmfels. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, January 29, 2010 Posted January 14, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Richard Oberlin, UCLA Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Analysis A variation-norm Carleson Theorem Posted January 28, 2010 4:40 pm - 5:30 pm 235 Lockett Hall Carolyn Chun, Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand Former LSU graduate student Matroid Fragility Dinner will follow the talk, and will be held at Rama's Restaurant, commencing at 6pm. Monday, February 1, 2010 Posted January 21, 2010 Last modified January 29, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Phuc Nguyen, Department of Mathematics, Louisiana State University Capacitary inequalities and quasilinear Riccati type equations with critical or super-critical growth An abstract is available. Posted January 13, 2010 Last modified January 25, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Karl Schwede, University of Michigan Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in algebraic geometry Singularities of polynomials in characteristic 0 and characteristic p Tuesday, February 2, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Last modified January 28, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall Xuemin Tu Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Math and CCT Inexact Balancing Domain Decomposition By Constraints Algorithms Abstract and Bio available at www.cct.lsu.edu Thursday, February 4, 2010 Posted January 28, 2010 8:30 am Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321. Max Gunzburger, Florida State University Conversation and Breakfast Prof. Max Gunzburger from Florida State University is visiting LSU. The SIAM Student Chapter presents an informal conversation with him to talk about his career experiences. Breakfast will be served. This meeting is open to everyone. Posted November 7, 2009 Last modified January 31, 2010 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall Max Gunzburger, Florida State University Color Printers, Mailboxes, Fish, And Homer Simpson Or Centroidal Voronoi Tesselations: Algorithms And Applications Refreshments at 3pm. Additional details at: http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/503 Posted February 2, 2010 5:00 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321 Leah Childers, LSU Introduction to the mapping class group We will look at an interesting group associated to surfaces called the mapping class group. Mapping class groups arise in the study of many areas of mathematics including: geometric group theory, low dimensional topology and algebraic geometry. We will explore basic elements of this group as well as some of the relations. No background in topology will be assumed. Friday, February 5, 2010 Posted November 9, 2009 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm Saturday, February 6, 2010 Louisiana State University Max Gunzburger, Florida State University Mac Hyman, Tulane University Robert Krasny, University of Michigan SCALA 2010 - Scientific Computing Around Louisiana The LSU Center for Computation and Technology (CCT) and Tulane University's Center for Computational Science will co-sponsor an inaugural meeting to: (1) highlight cutting-edge topics in scientific computing, (2) showcase the research at Louisiana institutions and, (3) promote collaborations across the state of Louisiana. This meeting is open to any faculty, post-doctoral researchers or students from any college in and around Louisiana. Fore more details, please view the official announcement: www.cct.lsu.edu/scala2010 Monday, February 8, 2010 Posted January 15, 2010 Last modified January 28, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Juhi Jang, New York University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in PDEs/applied math Vacuum in Gas and Fluid dynamics Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Last modified January 28, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall Yingda Cheng Candidate for Assistant Professor Position with Math and CCT Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Methods And Applications To Boltzmann-Poisson Models In Semiconductor Device Simulation Abstract and Bio at www.cct.lsu.edu Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Student Colloquium Posted December 15, 2009 Last modified January 29, 2010 12:40 pm - 1:30 pm Lockett 2 John Oprea, Cleveland State University Mathematics and Soap Films Why do one-celled creatures take the shapes they do? Why do red-blood cells have their characteristic shape? More and more, in biology as well as other sciences, the notion of "shape" is becoming important. Mathematicians have ways of measuring shape and of determining shape through optimization. This fits well with Nature's penchant for economy, so it isn't surprising (in retrospect) that soap films, which arise from surface tension's ability to shrink surface area, are a kind of analog computer for the mathematics of minimizing surface area. This talk will consist of three parts: soap film demonstrations (which will set the stage for); a bit of mathematics and; computer experimentation and illustration. Since audience participation is required for soap film experiments, attendees are encouraged not to wear their best attire! Thursday, February 11, 2010 Posted January 15, 2010 Last modified February 4, 2010 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 112 Leonardo Mihalcea, Baylor University Candidate for Assistant Professor Position in Algebraic Geometry Quantum K-Theory of Grassmannians and the Geometry of Spaces of Curves Student Colloquium Posted December 15, 2009 Last modified January 29, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 15 John Oprea, Cleveland State University Variational Principles and Real-World Shapes: Balloons and Droplets in Space When we look at Nature, we see shapes everywhere. In this talk, we will describe the shape of a Mylar balloon in terms of a variational principle and see how this can be understood in terms of the physical characteristics of balloons. (A Mylar balloon is often found at kids' birthday parties and is formed by taking two disks of Mylar, sewing them together along their boundaries and inflating.) This topic is a prime example of the interplay among physical principles, geometry, analysis and symbolic computation. We will also discuss the principles determining the shapes arising in water-bubble experiments aboard the International Space Station. Posted February 10, 2010 5:00 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321 Pizza and organization of future meetings ... ... with the new president, Tommy Naugle. Friday, February 12, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 Last modified February 4, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 John Oprea, Cleveland State University Gottlieb Groups, LS Category and Geometry Abstract: Gottlieb groups are special subgroups of the homotopy groups which arise in many homotopical contexts. LS category is a numerical homotopy invariant that was originally invented to give a bound on the number of critical points of smooth functions. Strangely enough, these two things are related, and --- what's more --- they are related via analogues of geometric theorems. This talk will recall basic notions of algebraic topology, introduce Gottlieb groups, LS category and their relationships and see how geometry fits into the mix. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Posted February 10, 2010 Last modified February 17, 2010 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm 338 Johnston Hall Joscha Gedicke, Humboldt University of Berlin Optimal Convergence of the Adaptive Finite Element Method Additional information at http://www.cct.lsu.edu/events/talks/507 Thursday, February 18, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Last modified February 12, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Bojko Bakalov, North Carolina State University Singularities, root systems, and W algebras Abstract: Gromov-Witten invariants are naturally organized in a generating function, which is a formal power series in infinitely many variables. In many cases this function is a highest-weight vector for a certain infinite-dimensional algebra and at the same time is a solution of an integrable hierarchy of partial differential equations. Similar generating functions can be introduced for the Frobenius structures coming from singularities of hypersurfaces. We will start by reviewing the marvelous relations among singularities, root systems and reflection groups. The generating function of a simple singularity was shown recently to be a solution of the Kac-Wakimoto hierarchy. Our main result is that it is also a highest weight vector for the corresponding W algebra. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Friday, February 19, 2010 Posted February 19, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall Stan Dziobiak, Department of Mathematics, LSU Graduate Student An excluded-minor characterization of apex-outerplanar graphs It is well known that the class of outerplanar graphs is minor-closed and can be characterized by two excluded minors: K_4 and K_{2,3}. The class of graphs that contain a vertex whose removal leaves an outerplanar graph is also minor-closed. We will present the complete list of excluded minors for this class and outline the major steps of the proof. Thursday, February 25, 2010 Posted February 9, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 Scott Armstrong, Department of Mathematics, Louisiana State University The infinity Laplace equation, tug-of-war games, and minimizing Lipschitz extensions Abstract: Given a nice bounded domain, and a Lipschitz function defined on its boundary, consider the problem of finding an extension of this function to the closure of the domain which has minimal Lipschitz constant. This is the archetypal problem of the calculus of variations in$L^\infty$. There can be many such minimal Lipschitz extensions, but there is there is a unique minimizer once we properly "localize" this Lipschitz minimizing property. The uniquely specified function is a solution of the infinity Laplace equation: the Euler-Lagrange equation for our optimization problem. This PDE is a highly degenerate nonlinear elliptic equation which does not have smooth solutions. In this talk we will discuss what we know about the infinity Laplace equation, what the important open questions are, and some recent developments. We will even play a two-player random-turn game called "tug-of-war". One advantage of our topic is that it is completely accessible to graduate students and even perhaps some undergraduates. There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00. Monday, March 1, 2010 Posted January 25, 2010 Last modified February 27, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233, Lockett Hall Alexander Barnett, Department of Mathematics, Dartmouth College Robust and accurate computation of photonic crystal band structure using a new integral equation representation of quasi-periodic fields Host: Stephen Shipman Photonic crystals are dielectric structures with periodicity on the scale of the wavelength of light. They have a rapidly growing range of applications to signal processing, sensing, negative-index materials, and the exciting possibility of integrated optical computing. Calculating their `band structure' (propagating Bloch waves) is an elliptic PDE eigenvalue problem with (quasi-)periodic boundary conditions on the unit cell, i.e. eigenmodes on a torus. Since the material is piecewise homogeneous, boundary integral equations (BIE) are natural for high-accuracy solution. In such geometries BIEs are usually periodized by replacement of the free space Greens function kernel by its quasi-periodic cousin. We show why this approach fails near the (spurious) resonances of the empty torus. We introduce a new approach which cures this problem: imposing the boundary conditions on the unit-cell walls using layer potentials, and a finite number of neighboring images, resulting in a second-kind integral equation with smooth data. This couples to existing BIE tools (including high-order quadratures and Fast Multipole acceleration) in a natural way, allowing accuracies near machine precision. We also discuss inclusions which intersect the unit cell walls, and how we use a small number of evaluations to interpolate over the Brillouin zone to spectral accuracy. Joint work with Leslie Greengard (NYU). Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Posted February 26, 2010 Last modified March 1, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 233 Lockett Jean-Marie Mirebeau, Laboratoire Jacques Louis Lions, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie Optimally Adapted Finite Element Meshes Abstract: Given a function f defined on a bounded domain and a number n>0, we study the properties of the triangulation Tn that minimizes the distance between f and its interpolation on the associated finite element space, over all triangulations of at most n elements. The error is studied in the Lp norm or W1p norm and we consider Lagrange finite elements of arbitrary polynomial order. We establish sharp asymptotic error estimates as n tends to infinity when the optimal anisotropic triangulation is used, and we illustrate these results with numerical experiments. Friday, March 5, 2010 Posted March 3, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall Lisa Warshauer, LSU Mathematics Graduate student Graphs that are Almost Series-Parallel Abstract: Consider the class of graphs G with the property that one can add an edge e and contract it out to obtain a series-parallel graph. This class of graphs is closed under taking minors. We give an excluded-minor characterization for the class. Monday, March 8, 2010 Posted January 18, 2010 Last modified February 10, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Room 233 Lockett Hall Diego Maldonado, Kansas State University Bilinear pseudo-differential operators: motivations and recent developments Abstract: During the 70's, driven by some problems posed by A. Calderon, R. Coifman and Y. Meyer pioneered a theory of bilinear pseudo-differential operators. These operators later found further applications in topics of analysis and PDEs such as compensated compactness, regularity of solutions to PDEs, boundedness properties of commutators, bilinear singular integrals, and paraproducts, and pointwise multipliers for functional spaces. Departing from the definition of the Fourier transform, in this talk we will tour the theory of bilinear pseudo-differential operators and some of its applications to finally arrive at the latest results and some open problems. Posted February 25, 2010 3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285 David Gepner, University of Illinois at Chicago K-theory and additive functors Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Posted March 3, 2010 Last modified March 6, 2010 2:00 pm Lockett 233 Santiago Fortes, Department of Mathematics, LSU Power Series Expansions for Waves in High-contrast Plasmonic Crystals (Dissertation Title) ABSTRACT: the possibility of engineering composite materials with localized internal resonances has generated much interest lately. In such materials, an incoming electromagnetic field can become amplified by several orders of magnitude. Numerical simulations indicate that a composite material known as plasmonic crystal exhibits such resonances. I will present a method for obtaining convergent power series representations for the fields and the first branch of the associated dispersion relations of electromagnetic waves in plasmonic crystals. The existence of these convergent series representations precludes the possibility of internal resonances in the first branch of the dispersion relation. Light Refreshments will be served at the Keisler lounge at 1:30pm. Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Posted March 4, 2010 1:40 pm - 2:30 pm Lockett 381 Karl Heinrich Hofmann, Darmstadt University, Germany Professor Emeritus The probability that two elements commute in a compact group The FC-center of a group$G$is the characteristic subgroup$F$of all elements those conjugacy class is finite. If$G=F$, then$G$is called an FC-group. We show that a compact group$G$is an FC-group if and only if its center$Z(G)$is open (that is,$G$is center by finite) if and only if its commutator subgroup is finite (that is,$G$is finite by commutative).Now let$G$be a compact group and let$p$denote the Haar measure of the set of all pairs$(x,y)$in$G\times G$for which$[x,y]=1$; this is the probability that two randomly picked elements commute. We prove that$p>0$if and only if the FC-center$F$of$G$is open and so has finite index. If these conditions aresatisfied, then$Z(F)$is a characteristic normal abelian open subgroup of$G$and$G\$ is abelian by finite.

Posted March 3, 2010

2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Prescott 205

Gisele Goldstein, University of Memphis
Derivation and Interpretation of Dynamic Boundary Conditions for the Heat and Wave Equations

There is an abstract available.

There will be coffee and cookies in Prescott 205 at 2:00.

Posted March 1, 2010

3:40 pm - 5:40 pm Lockett 6

Topics of Discussion
1.) Departmental changes in TA duties.
2.) The different programs and traineeships that are available. We will also have some of our current trainees discuss their experience with the program.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Posted March 3, 2010

2:10 pm - 3:00 pm Lockett 10

Jerome Goldstein, University of Memphis
Instantaneous blowup and related nonexistence issues

An abstract is available.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Posted February 24, 2010

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm Lockett 285

Mark Watkins, University of Sydney
A quick tour of Magma features

Abstract:
We give a quick tour of some features of the Magma computer algebra system.
These will include: modular forms, algebraic geometry (sheaf cohomology and
Groebner bases), computing with L-functions, machinery for function fields,
lattices, and some group/representation theory. No experience with Magma
will be assumed.

There will be coffee and cookies in the lounge at 3:00.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Posted February 25, 2010

3:40 pm Lockett 285

Mark Watkins, University of Sydney
A polynomial version of Hall's conjecture

Hall's conjecture asks for small nonzero values of |x^3-y^2| for integers
x,y. The polynomial analogue is to ask for f(t)^3-g(t)^2 to be of small degree
(compared to that of f,g, which we take to be in \bar Q[t]). The ABC theorem
(of Davenport and Mason) gives an explicit lower bound here. Via the use of
Belyi functions and covers of P^1 (or work of Stothers), we can count the
number of (f,g) that meet this minimal degree, and this turns out to be
related to the Catalan numbers.

This leaves the question of actually exhibiting (f,g) that minimise the
degree. For instance, if there are 14 solutions, we might expect them all
to be Galois conjugate in a number field of degree 14. In joint work with
Noam Elkies, we explicitly construct solutions for many cases, using a
battery of techniques, the most notable of which is multi-dimensional p-adic
Newton iteration to solve polynomial system of equations (or at least find
isolated points on the solution variety). The fields of definition of these
solutions are ramified only at small primes, due to a theorem of Beckmann.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Posted March 14, 2010

1:30 pm Keisler Lounge, Lockett Hall 321

PI DAY

Friday, March 19, 2010

Posted March 15, 2010

3:40 pm - 4:30 pm 285 Lockett Hall

Tanya Lueder, LSU Mathematics Graduate Student
A Characterization of Near Outer-Planar Graphs

A graph containing an edge whose removal results in an outer-planar graph is a near outer-planar graph. We present partial results towards the larger goal of describing the class of all such graphs in terms of a finite list of excluded graphs. Specifically, we give a description of those members of this list that are not 2-connected and do not contain a subdivision of a three-spoke wheel.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Posted March 11, 2010

3:40 pm - 5:00 pm Lockett 276

Gregor Masbaum, University Paris 7
The Arf-invariant formula for graphs on surfaces

Abstract:
Kasteleyn showed how to count dimer coverings (= perfect matchings) on
a planar bipartite graph by evaluating the determinant of a certain
matrix. The method works for non-bipartite graphs as well, upon
replacing the determinant with a Pfaffian. If the graph is not planar,
but embedded in a surface of genus g, Kasteleyn stated and
Gallucio-Loebl proved a formula expressing the number of dimer
coverings as a linear combination of 4^g Pfaffians. The main aim of
the talk is to explain a new proof of this formula based on the theory
of Arf invariants of quadratic forms on the mod 2 homology of the
surface. I will then discuss the question of whether the minimal
number of Pfaffians nedded to count dimer coverings is always a power
of 4. If time remains, I will explain a recent result of Loebl and
myself which