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The AMS Student Chapter Seminar is an informal, graduate student seminar on a wide range of mathematical topics. Pastries (usually donuts) will be provided.
The AMS Student Chapter Seminar (aka Donut Seminar) is an informal, graduate student seminar on a wide range of mathematical topics. The goal of the seminar is to promote community building and give graduate students an opportunity to communicate fun, accessible math to their peers in a stress-free (but not sugar-free) environment. Pastries (usually donuts) will be provided.


* '''When:''' Wednesdays, 3:20 PM – 3:50 PM
* '''When:''' Thursdays 4:00-4:30pm
* '''Where:''' Van Vleck, 9th floor lounge (unless otherwise announced)
* '''Where:''' Van Vleck, 9th floor lounge (unless otherwise announced)
* '''Organizers:''' [https://www.math.wisc.edu/~malexis/ Michel Alexis], [https://www.math.wisc.edu/~drwagner/ David Wagner], [http://www.math.wisc.edu/~nicodemus/ Patrick Nicodemus], [http://www.math.wisc.edu/~thaison/ Son Tu], Carrie Chen
* '''Organizers:''' Ivan Aidun, Kaiyi Huang, Ethan Schondorf


Everyone is welcome to give a talk. To sign up, please contact one of the organizers with a title and abstract. Talks are 30 minutes long and should avoid assuming significant mathematical background beyond first-year graduate courses.
Everyone is welcome to give a talk. To sign up, please contact one of the organizers with a title and abstract. Talks are 25 minutes long and should avoid assuming significant mathematical background beyond first-year graduate courses.


The schedule of talks from past semesters can be found [[AMS Student Chapter Seminar, previous semesters|here]].
The schedule of talks from past semesters can be found [[AMS Student Chapter Seminar, previous semesters|here]].


== Spring 2019 ==
== Fall 2024 ==
<center>
{| cellspacing="5" cellpadding="14" border="0" style="color:black; font-size:120%"
! align="center" width="200" bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |'''Date'''
! align="center" width="200" bgcolor="#A6B658" |'''Speaker'''
! align="center" width="300" bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |'''Title'''
! align="center" width="400" bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |'''Abstract'''
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |September 12
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Ari Davidovsky
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |95% of people can't solve this!
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" | [[File:Image.png|360px]]


=== February 6, Xiao Shen (in VV B139)===
We will attempt to answer this question and along the way explore how algebra and geometry work together to solve problems in number theory.
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |September 19
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |September 26
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Mateo Morales
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Officially petitioning the department to acquire a ping pong table.
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Ever want to prove something is a free group of rank 2? Me too. One way to do this is to use a ping pong argument of how a group generated by two elements acts on a set.
I will illustrate the ping pong argument using an example of matrices, explain how it works, and explain why, kinda.


Title: Limit Shape in last passage percolation
Very approachable if you know what a group is but does require tons of ping pong experience.
 
|-
Abstract: Imagine the following situation, attached to each point on the integer lattice Z^2 there is an arbitrary amount of donuts.  Fix x and y in Z^2, if you get to eat all the donuts along an up-right path between these two points, what would be the maximum amount of donuts you can get? This model is often called last passage percolation, and I will discuss a classical result about its scaling limit: what happens if we zoom out and let the distance between x and y tend to infinity.
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 3
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Karthik Ravishankar
=== February 13, Michel Alexis (in VV B139)===
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Incompleteness for the working mathematician
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |In this talk we'll take a look at Gödels famous incompleteness theorems and look at some of its immediate as well as interesting consequences. No background in logic is necessary!
Title: An instructive yet useless theorem about random Fourier Series
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 10
Abstract: Consider a Fourier series with random, symmetric, independent coefficients. With what probability is this the Fourier series of a continuous function? An <math>L^{p}</math> function? A surprising result is the Billard theorem, which says such a series results almost surely from an <math>L^{\infty}</math> function if and only if it results almost surely from a continuous function. Although the theorem in of itself is kind of useless in of itself, its proof is instructive in that we will see how, via the principle of reduction, one can usually just pretend all symmetric random variables are just coin flips (Bernoulli trials with outcomes <math>\pm 1</math>).
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Elizabeth Hankins
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Mathematical Origami and Flat-Foldability
=== February 20, Geoff Bentsen ===
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |If you've ever unfolded a piece of origami, you might have noticed complicated symmetries in the pattern of creases left behind. What patterns of lines can and cannot be folded into origami? And why is it sometimes hard to determine?
 
|-
Title: An Analyst Wanders into a Topology Conference
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 17
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED
Abstract: Fourier Restriction is a big open problem in Harmonic Analysis; given a "small" subset <math>E</math> of <math>R^d</math>, can we restrict the Fourier transform of an <math>L^p</math> function to <math>E</math> and retain any information about our original function? This problem has a nice (somewhat) complete solution for smooth manifolds of co-dimension one. I will explore how to start generalizing this result to smooth manifolds of higher co-dimension, and how a topology paper from the 60s about the hairy ball problem came in handy along the way.
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
=== February 27, James Hanson ===
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 24
Title: What is...a Topometric Space?
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
Abstract: Continuous first-order logic is a generalization of first-order logic that is well suited for the study of structures with a natural metric, such as Banach spaces and probability algebras. Topometric spaces are a simple generalization of topological and metric spaces that arise in the study of continuous first-order logic. I will discuss certain topological issues that show up in topometric spaces coming from continuous logic, as well as some partial solutions and open problems. No knowledge of logic will be required for or gained from attending the talk.
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
 
|-
=== March 6, Working Group to establish an Association of Mathematics Graduate Students ===
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 31
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Jacob Wood
Title: Introducing GRAMS (Graduate Representative Association of Mathematics Students)
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |What is the length of a <s>potato</s> pumpkin?
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |How many is a jack-o-lantern? What is the length of a pumpkin? These questions sound like nonsense, but they have perfectly reasonable interpretations with perfectly reasonable answers. On our journey through the haunted house with two rooms, we will encounter some scary characters like differential topology and measure theory. Do not fear; little to no experience in either subject is required.
Abstract: Over the past couple months, a handful of us have been working to create the UW Graduate Representative Association of Mathematics Students (GRAMS).  This group, about 5-8 students, is intended to be a liaison between the graduate students and faculty, especially in relation to departmental policies and decisions that affect graduate students. We will discuss what we believe GRAMS ought to look like and the steps needed to implement such a vision, then open up the floor to a Q&A. Check out our [http://sites.google.com/wisc.edu/grams/home website] for more information.
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |November 7
=== March 13, Connor Simpson ===
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED: DISTINGUISHED LECTURE
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
Title: Counting faces of polytopes with algebra
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
 
|-
Abstract: A natural question is: with a fixed dimension and number of vertices, what is the largest number of d-dimensional faces that a polytope can have? We will outline a proof of the answer to this question.
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |November 14
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Sapir Ben-Shahar
=== March 26 (Prospective Student Visit Day), Multiple Speakers ===
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Hexaflexagons
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Come along for some hexaflexafun and discover the mysterious properties of hexaflexagons, the bestagons! Learn how to make and navigate through the folds of your very own paper hexaflexagon. No prior knowledge of hexagons (or hexaflexagons) is assumed.
====Eva Elduque, 11-11:25====
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |November 21
Title: Will it fold flat?
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Andrew Krenz
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |All concepts are database queries
Abstract: Picture the traditional origami paper crane. It is a 3D object, but if you don’t make the wings stick out, it is flat. This is the case for many origami designs, ranging from very simple (like a paper hat), to complicated tessellations. Given a crease pattern on a piece of paper, one might wonder if it is possible to fold along the lines of the pattern and end up with a flat object. We’ll discuss necessary and sufficient conditions for a crease pattern with only one vertex to fold flat, and talk about what can be said about crease patterns with multiple vertices.
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |A celebrated result of applied category theory states that the category of small categories is equivalent to the category of database schemas. Therefore, every theorem about small categories can be interpreted as a theorem about databases.  Maybe you've heard someone repeat Mac Lane's famous slogan "all concepts are Kan extensions."  In this talk, I'll give a high-level overview of/introduction to categorical database theory (developed by David Spivak) wherein Kan extensions play the role of regular every day database queries.  No familiarity with categories or databases will be assumed.
 
|-
====Soumya Sankar, 11:30-11:55====
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |November 28
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |THANKSGIVING
Title: An algebro-geometric perspective on integration
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
Abstract: Integrals are among the most basic tools we learn in complex analysis and yet are extremely versatile. I will discuss one way in which integrals come up in algebraic geometry and the surprising amount of arithmetic and geometric information this gives us.
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |December 5
====Chun Gan, 12:00-12:25====
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Caroline Nunn
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Watch Caroline eat a donut: an introduction to Morse theory
Title: Extension theorems in complex analysis
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Morse theory has been described as "one of the deepest applications of differential geometry to topology." However, the concepts involved in Morse theory are so simple that you can learn them just by watching me eat a donut (and subsequently watching me give a 20 minute talk explaining Morse theory.) No background is needed beyond calc 3 and a passing familiarity with donuts.
 
|}
Abstract: Starting from Riemann's extension theorem in one complex variable, there have been many generalizations to different situations in several complex variables. I will talk about Fefferman's field's medal work on Fefferman extension and also the celebrated Ohsawa-Takegoshi L^2 extension theorem which is now a cornerstone for the application of pluripotential theory to complex analytic geometry.
</center>
 
====Jenny Yeon, 2:00-2:25====
 
Title: Application of Slope Field
 
Abstract: Overview of historical problems in Dynamical Systems and what CRN(chemical reaction network) group at UW Madison does. In particular, what exactly is the butterfly effect? Why is this simple-to-state problem so hard even if it is only 2D (Hilbert's 16th problem)? What are some modern techniques availble? What do the members of CRN group do? Is the theory of CRN applicable? 
 
====Rajula Srivastava, 2:30-2:55====
 
Title: The World of Wavelets
 
Abstract: Why the fourier series might not be the best way to represent functions in all cases, and why wavelets might be a good alternative in some of these.
 
====Shengyuan Huang, 3:00-3:25====
 
Title: Group objects in various categories
 
Abstract: I will introduce categories and talk about group objects in the category of sets and manifolds. The latter leads to the theory of Lie group and Lie algebras.  We can then talk about group objects in some other category coming from algebraic geometry and obtain similar results as Lie groups and Lie algebras.
 
====Ivan Ongay Valverde, 3:30-3:55====
 
Title: Games and Topology
 
Abstract: Studying the topology of the real line leads to really interesting questions and facts. One of them is the relation between some kind of infinite games, called topological games, and specific properties of a subsets of reals. In this talk we will study the perfect set game.
 
====Sun Woo Park, 4:00-4:25====
 
Title: Reconstruction of character tables of Sn
 
Abstract: We will discuss how we can relate the columns of the character tables of Sn and the tensor product of irreducible representations over Sn. Using the relation, we will also indicate how we can recover some columns of character tables of Sn.  
 
====Max Bacharach, 4:30-4:55====
 
Title: Clothes, Lice, and Coalescence
 
Abstract: A gentle introduction to coalescent theory, motivated by an application which uses lice genetics to estimate when human ancestors first began wearing clothing.
 
=== April 3, Yu Feng ===
 
Title: Suppression of phase separation by mixing
 
Abstract: The Cahn-Hilliard equation is a classical PDE that models phase separation of two components. We add an advection term so that the two components are stirred by a velocity. We show that there exists a class of fluid that can prevent phase separation and enforce the solution converges to its average exponentially.
 
=== April 17, Hyun Jong Kim===
 
Title: Musical Harmony for the Mathematician
 
Abstract: Harmony can refer to the way in which multiple notes that are played simultaneously come together in music. I will talk about some aspects of harmony in musical analysis and composition and a few ways to interpret harmonic phenomena mathematically. The mathematical interpretations will mostly revolve around symmetry and integer arithmetic modulo 12.
 
=== April 24, Carrie Chen ===
 
Title: Pedestrian model
 
Abstract: When there are lots of people in a supermarket, and for some reason they have to get out as soon as possible, how do you expect the crowd to behave? Suppose each person is a rational individual and assume that each person has all knowledge to other people’s position at every time and further the number of people is huge, we can model it using mean field game model and get the macroscopic behaviour.
 
== Fall 2019 ==
 
=== September 25, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== October 2, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== October 9, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== October 16, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== October 23, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== October 30, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== November 6, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== November 13, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== November 20, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== December 4, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD
 
=== December 12, TBD===
 
Title: TBD
 
Abstract: TBD

Latest revision as of 19:14, 2 December 2024

The AMS Student Chapter Seminar (aka Donut Seminar) is an informal, graduate student seminar on a wide range of mathematical topics. The goal of the seminar is to promote community building and give graduate students an opportunity to communicate fun, accessible math to their peers in a stress-free (but not sugar-free) environment. Pastries (usually donuts) will be provided.

  • When: Thursdays 4:00-4:30pm
  • Where: Van Vleck, 9th floor lounge (unless otherwise announced)
  • Organizers: Ivan Aidun, Kaiyi Huang, Ethan Schondorf

Everyone is welcome to give a talk. To sign up, please contact one of the organizers with a title and abstract. Talks are 25 minutes long and should avoid assuming significant mathematical background beyond first-year graduate courses.

The schedule of talks from past semesters can be found here.

Fall 2024

Date Speaker Title Abstract
September 12 Ari Davidovsky 95% of people can't solve this! Image.png

We will attempt to answer this question and along the way explore how algebra and geometry work together to solve problems in number theory.

September 19 CANCELLED NONE NONE
September 26 Mateo Morales Officially petitioning the department to acquire a ping pong table. Ever want to prove something is a free group of rank 2? Me too. One way to do this is to use a ping pong argument of how a group generated by two elements acts on a set.

I will illustrate the ping pong argument using an example of matrices, explain how it works, and explain why, kinda.

Very approachable if you know what a group is but does require tons of ping pong experience.

October 3 Karthik Ravishankar Incompleteness for the working mathematician In this talk we'll take a look at Gödels famous incompleteness theorems and look at some of its immediate as well as interesting consequences. No background in logic is necessary!
October 10 Elizabeth Hankins Mathematical Origami and Flat-Foldability If you've ever unfolded a piece of origami, you might have noticed complicated symmetries in the pattern of creases left behind. What patterns of lines can and cannot be folded into origami? And why is it sometimes hard to determine?
October 17 CANCELLED NONE NONE
October 24 CANCELLED NONE NONE
October 31 Jacob Wood What is the length of a potato pumpkin? How many is a jack-o-lantern? What is the length of a pumpkin? These questions sound like nonsense, but they have perfectly reasonable interpretations with perfectly reasonable answers. On our journey through the haunted house with two rooms, we will encounter some scary characters like differential topology and measure theory. Do not fear; little to no experience in either subject is required.
November 7 CANCELLED: DISTINGUISHED LECTURE NONE NONE
November 14 Sapir Ben-Shahar Hexaflexagons Come along for some hexaflexafun and discover the mysterious properties of hexaflexagons, the bestagons! Learn how to make and navigate through the folds of your very own paper hexaflexagon. No prior knowledge of hexagons (or hexaflexagons) is assumed.
November 21 Andrew Krenz All concepts are database queries A celebrated result of applied category theory states that the category of small categories is equivalent to the category of database schemas. Therefore, every theorem about small categories can be interpreted as a theorem about databases.  Maybe you've heard someone repeat Mac Lane's famous slogan "all concepts are Kan extensions."  In this talk, I'll give a high-level overview of/introduction to categorical database theory (developed by David Spivak) wherein Kan extensions play the role of regular every day database queries.  No familiarity with categories or databases will be assumed.
November 28 THANKSGIVING NONE NONE
December 5 Caroline Nunn Watch Caroline eat a donut: an introduction to Morse theory Morse theory has been described as "one of the deepest applications of differential geometry to topology." However, the concepts involved in Morse theory are so simple that you can learn them just by watching me eat a donut (and subsequently watching me give a 20 minute talk explaining Morse theory.) No background is needed beyond calc 3 and a passing familiarity with donuts.
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