Proposals

Below are some proposals for talks from the past (and current). By clicking on the ID number, more details are shown. By default, these are sorted chronologically (recent first) and by then by last name. The data can be sorted by alternate means by using the links at the top right, each allowing ascending or descending orders.

Displaying 181-200 of 471 results.
ID: 349
Year: 2012
Name: Irvin Hentzel
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Geometry
Title of Talk: Applications of Projective Tiling

Abstract: We give a low level approach to the theorem that in a photograph, all parallel lines meet at a point. We prove this theorem using analytic geometry. We point out some mathematical properties of projections that are not displayed in photographs. And we show how to estimate areas and distances in photographs without doing numerical calculations. This material would be appropriate for a Math Club presentation or a special topic to show an application of math to forensic investigations.
ID: 357
Year: 2013
Name: Nathan Warnberg
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Combinatorial Matrix Theory
Title of Talk: Graph Forcing Games

Abstract: Let G be a graph with some vertex set initially colored blue and the rest of the vertices colored white. The goal of the game is to color the entire graph blue, based on some a set of rules. Depending on which set of rules are used the minimum number of initial blue vertices needed to force the entire graph blue has implications for the minimum rank of the graph's corresponding matrix family. We will demonstrate some of these games and show the connections with the minimum rank problem.
ID: 104
Year: 2005
Name: Joseph Keller
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): general relativity
Title of Talk: Explanation of Lepton and Meson Masses

Abstract: Let the muon be a gaussian distribution of electric charge, as small as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle allows. Using G.D. Birkhoff's theorem, apply the Schwarzschild metric as if electric force were the same as gravitational force. Hawking's theorem says that the entropy of a black hole is proportional to its area. Choosing the mass to maximize entropy per unit mass, gives the muon mass within about 1%. There will be an inner infinite redshift surface also. This surface encloses a "core". Choosing the mass just large enough to trap the "core", gives the mass of the tauon to better than 1%. Two quarks, one inside the other, give a model of mesons. Similar considerations give the charged pion, K, B and D meson masses to within about 1% or better.
ID: 360
Year: 2013
Name: Irvin R. Hentzel
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Calculus Bloopers I Have Made

Abstract: There are "simplifying assumptions" used in First Year Calculus which have become so ingrained in my teaching that I never give them a second thought. I examine the following statements as they are often presented in Calculus Books and show inconsistencies which are often overlooked. (1) Work = Integral F ds (2) For a force to move an object in a certain direction, there must be a component of the force in that direction. (3) Acceleration normal to the direction of motion changes the direction, but leaves the speed unchanged. (4) The Bernoulli Principle: the greater the velocity, the lower the pressure. (5) Neglecting air resistance in earth's gravity, all things fall at the same rate. (6) The Proof of Rolle's Theorem.
ID: 362
Year: 2013
Name: Craig Erickson
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Combinatorial Matrix Theory
Title of Talk: Matrix sign patterns that require eventual exponential nonnegativity

Abstract: The matrix exponential function can be used to solve systems of linear differential equations. For certain applications, it is of interest whether or not the matrix exponential function of a given matrix becomes and remains entry-wise nonnegative after some time. Such matrices are called eventually exponentially nonnegative. Often the exact numerical entries in the matrix are not known (for example due to uncertainty in experimental measurements), but the qualitative information is usually known. In this talk we discuss what structure on the signs of the entries of a matrix guarantee the matrix is eventually exponentially nonnegative.
ID: 365
Year: 2013
Name: Chris Schultz
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Developmental Math
Title of Talk: Remedial Mathematics at Iowa State University

Abstract: Success in a developmental math course is not truly measured until the student success rate in the downstream class is measured. Iowa State University’s Department of Mathematics has started such a study and would like to share our preliminary data for discussion. Concern is often also expressed that students who start in developmental math classes will never graduate and we have gathered 2 years’ worth of data addressing this concern. The format of our developmental course, Math 10, will be shared as well as the data described above.
ID: 366
Year: 2013
Name: Steve Butler
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Combinatorics
Title of Talk: 291 decillion ways to tile with Tetirs

Abstract: We look at the problem of finding the number of ways to tile a board using tetronimoes (i.e., Tetris pieces). In particular, we show how to transform tiling problems into problems of counting walks. Using this approach we were able to get the exact number of ways to tile the 10x20 board.
ID: 111
Year: 2005
Name: Kristen Meyer
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Cryptography
Title of Talk: Message Authentication Codes and Quasigroups

Abstract: Message Authentication Codes, or MACs, are commonly used cryptographic tools to ensure that a message has not been changed in transit. MACs can be constructed from a variety of mathematical structures and in a variety of ways. In this talk, I will describe a new MAC (called QMAC) which is based on the non-associativity of quasigroups. In order to obtain security against forgeries, quasigroups of large order must be used. I will also discuss how to create and represent such quasigroups.
ID: 368
Year: 2013
Name: Kenneth Driessel
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): mathematical economics
Title of Talk: Declining Marginal Utility Is Not Ordinal - an inconsistency in microeconomics.

Abstract: Economists like to confine their attention to ordinal properties of utility functions. But, the often-quoted principle of declining marginal utility is not ordinal. This situation seems incongruous/inconsistent. I shall carefully define mathematically the following phrases: "utility function", "declining marginal utility" and "ordinal property" in the setting of microeconomics. I shall then show that declining marginal utility is not ordinal.
ID: 372
Year: 2013
Name: Christian Roettger
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Number Theory, Diophantine Geometry, L-functions
Title of Talk: Geometric distribution of primes in Z[sqrt(2)]

Abstract: It all starts with the question: what can we say about integers a, b such that a^2 - 2b^2 is a prime? We will show some ways to make this question more precise - in particular, we study the distribution of the corresponding points (a,b) in the plane. The fundamental tool is the ring Z[sqrt(2)], and from there we make connections to analytic number theory (L-functions, Hecke characters) which arise very naturally - this is the context where Hecke invented 'Hecke characters', and they are much easier to understand here than when you read about them in MathWorld.
ID: 373
Year: 2013
Name: Ryan Johnson
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Group Theory
Title of Talk: Some Gauss Sums found in Category Theory

Abstract: I will present a 21st century problem that requires some 18th century mathematics. Fusion categories lie in the intersection of group theory, knot theory, and quantum physics. If one is given a fusion category, a sequence of complex numbers can be computed which are called the Frobenius-Schur indicator. In this talk I will consider a particular subclass of fusion categories whose data is defined using a finite abelian group and a bilinear form on that group. Computing the indicator of these categories requires the use of quadratic Gauss sums. The aim of my research is to show the uniqueness of the indicator on this particular subclass of fusion categories.
ID: 120
Year: 2005
Name: Jeremy Alm
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Algebra, Logic
Title of Talk: Don't Be So Sensitive! --On the Definition(s) of a Group

Abstract: We have all seen different variations on the definition of a group, and we all know that each one admits "the same structures". There are, however, some subtle but important differences among them. The class of groups and the properties that it has are sensitive to the signature (or similarity type) in which the groups are defined. In particular, in some signatures equational definitions are possible and in others they are not.
ID: 121
Year: 2005
Name: A.M. Fink
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): elementary analysis
Title of Talk: The Strange Case of Shapiro's Inequality

Abstract: An old Monthly problem aroused the interest of 2 people with F.R. S. behind their name, spawned a Princeton thesis, but remains partly unsolved today. It is an interesting story about the culture of the mathematical community.
ID: 137
Year: 2005
Name: Christian Roettger
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Number Theory
Title of Talk: Prime divisors of Mersenne numbers and Dirichlet series

Abstract: Mersenne numbers are the numbers 1, 3, 7, 15, ... 2^n - 1, ... It is a long-standing conjecture that this sequence contains infinitely many primes. We show how to get some asymptotic results on the 'average' prime divisor of Mersenne numbers using Dirichlet series. These series are useful for asymptotic counting, because there is a close link between their domain of convergence and the growth of their coefficients. Do not expect a big breakthrough, but a pretty result, few technicalities, and some exciting open questions.
ID: 393
Year: 2014
Name: Titus Klinge
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): molecular programming, ODEs
Title of Talk: Exact Analytical Solutions of a Chemical Oscillator

Abstract: A chemical reaction network (CRN) is a mathematical model used extensively in chemistry with deep connections to ordinary differential equations (ODEs). CRNs have been used to model naturally occurring reactions that are periodic such as the Brusselator and the Oreganator. However, the nonlinearity of the underlying ODEs is often complex and a large amount of research has been devoted to approximating the solutions to these ODEs. Recently, Luca Cardelli defined a CRN that has similar desirable periodic behavior. In this talk we present a general analysis of this CRN including exact analytical solutions to the underlying ODEs. This is joint work with James I. Lathrop. This talk will be accessible to both undergraduate and graduate students.
ID: 395
Year: 2014
Name: Adam Case
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Algorithmic Information Theory
Title of Talk: Mutual Dimension

Abstract: The mutual (shared) information between two random variables is a well-understood concept in Shannon information theory, but how do we think about mutual information between other kinds of objects such as strings or real numbers? In this talk, we discuss various notions of mutual information from the perspective of algorithmic information theory. First we explore the algorithmic information content of a binary string. We then discuss the notion of the dimension (density of algorithmic information) of a real number. Finally, we explain our recent solution to an open problem: the correct formulation of the mutual information between two real numbers. This is joint work with Jack Lutz. The talk will be accessible to math undergraduates.
ID: 400
Year: 2014
Name: Debasis Mandal
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Complexity Theory
Title of Talk: Separation of NP-Completeness Notions

Abstract: Informally speaking, reductions translate instances of one problem to instances of another problem; a problem A is polynomial-time reducible to a problem B if A can be solved in polynomial-time by making queries to problem B. By varying the manner in which the queries are allowed to make, we obtain a wide spectrum of reductions. At one end of the spectrum is Cook/Turing reduction where multiple queries are allowed and the i-th query made depends on answers to previous queries. On the other end is the most restrictive reduction, Karp-Levin/many-one reduction, where each positive instance of problem A is mapped to a positive instance of problem B, and so are the negative instances. This raises the following question: For complexity class NP, is there a Turing complete language that is not many-one complete? The first result that achieves such separation, under a reasonable hypothesis, is due to Lutz and Mayordomo. We show this separation for NP, under a believable worst-case hardness hypothesis. This is a joint work with A. Pavan and Rajeswari Venugopalan.
ID: 145
Year: 2006
Name: Michael Larsen
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Statistics, Teaching Statistics
Title of Talk: Teaching Mathematical Probability and Statistics with Internet Applications and R

Abstract: Courses in mathematical statistics can use Internet applications and simulation using the R statistical package to enhance the learning experience. Internet material has been developed for introductory probability and statistics courses and for teaching mathematics at the level of calculus. In order to adapt this material to an intermediate undergraduate probability course, it is necessary to select material to use and incorporate it into lecture, homework assignments, and study problems. The R statistical package is a free software package that can be used for simulation, includes functions related to many probability distributions, and can be used to produce nice graphical displays. Using R in a calculus-based probability course requires writing problems for homework assignments, in-class use, and review that make substantial use of simulation and R
ID: 401
Year: 2014
Name: Christian Roettger
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): Probability
Title of Talk: Visual hypothesis testing - lineups and probability

Abstract: Police use lineups involving one suspect and several 'dummies' to get evidence that a witness can identify the suspect. In an abstract sense, we can form a hypothesis about 'suspect' data and test it in this way: literally have people looking at a lineup of plots with the task of identifying the data plot among the dummies. Repetition with several observers makes this approach surprisingly powerful. It also has potential when comparing the efficiency of different visual representations of the same data. Disclaimer: do not expect analysis of actual police lineups. But we will try out the method on the audience! This is joint work with Heike Hofmann, Di Cook, Phil Dixon, and Andreas Buja. I have investigated the underlying probability distributions. This meant evaluating some multiple integrals, and revising all the tricks from Calculus II.
ID: 146
Year: 2006
Name: Jeremy Alm
Institution: Iowa State University
Subject area(s): mathematical logic, pedagogy
Title of Talk: Godel Disrobes: a naked approach to incompleteness

Abstract: I propose an alternate approach to the incompleteness theorems via the conceptually simpler \emph{abstract provability systems}, due to Raymond Smullyan. These systems have incompleteness theorems that are easy to prove, and whose hypotheses point to the important features of formal arithmetic.