News & Events

Monday, October 23, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Bottleneck in the Drug Pipeline?
Alternative Tumor Measurement-based Phase II Clinical Trial Endpoints for Predicting Overall Survival

Ming-Wen An, Vassar College

In the final stages of a long and costly drug discovery process, a drug compound is introduced into humans as part of a clinical trial. A clinical trial is a research study with a pre-defined protocol and is conducted in different phases. In oncology, as many as 60% of drug compounds that reach the last phase (Phase III) fail this final step. This high failure rate may reflect inappropriate evaluation of compounds in preceding Phase II trials, in which the primary endpoint is often binary tumor response, based on the Response Evaluation Criteria for Solid Tumors (RECIST). This motivates the search for alternative Phase II endpoints. In this talk, we will introduce clinical trials and survival analysis to contextualize the problem. Then we will describe our work evaluating alternative categorical and continuous tumor measurement-based endpoints for their ability to predict overall survival using data from real clinical trials.
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Hegeman 204
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Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Thursday, October 26, 2017

A Rose by Any Other Name:
Measuring Activity in the Amygdala in Response to  Odors

Pia-Kelsey O’NeillColumbia University

Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium
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Thursday, October 26, 2017

Addicted to Rehab:
Race, Gender, and Drug Treatment in the Era of Mass Incarceration 

Allison McKimSociology Program

After decades of the American “war on drugs," relentless prison expansion, and rising opioid deaths, political officials are finally challenging mass incarceration. Many point to an apparently promising solution: addiction treatment. However, we know so little about what goes on inside treatment programs that scholars have called it a “black box.” Allison McKim’s ethnographic research heads inside the black box to compare two treatment programs for women – one in the criminal justice system and one in the healthcare system. There, she finds two different ways of defining and treating addiction. She reveals that the category "addiction" reflects punitive criminal justice policy and its race, class, and gender politics. Thus when we use "addiction" to understand and address complex social problems, we further stigmatize marginalized women, reproduce inequality, and extend punishment.
Time: 4:45 pm
Location: Preston Theater
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Thursday, October 26, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Monday, October 30, 2017

A Reading by Diane Ackerman

The celebrated author reads from The Zookeeper’s Wife

On Monday, October 30, at 2:30 p.m. in Weis Cinema, Bertelsmann Campus Center, Diane Ackerman reads from The Zookeeper’s Wife. Sponsored by the Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series, introduced by Bradford Morrow and followed by a Q&A, the reading is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required.

The Zookeeper’s Wife, a little known true story of WWII, enjoyed months as the New York Times #1 nonfiction bestseller, was the basis for the 2017 feature film of the same title, and received the Orion Book Award, which honored it as “a groundbreaking work of nonfiction, in which the human relationship to nature is explored in an absolutely original way through looking at the Holocaust. A few years ago, ‘nature’ writers were asking themselves, How can a book be at the same time a work of art, an act of conscientious objection to the destruction of the world, and an affirmation of hope and human decency? The Zookeeper’s Wife answers this question.”

Diane Ackerman’s other works of nonfiction include An Alchemy of Mind, a poetics of the brain based on the latest neuroscience; Deep Play, which considers play, creativity, and our need for transcendence; A Slender Thread, about her work as a crisis line counselor; The Rarest of the Rare and The Moon by Whale Light, in which she explores the plight and fascination of endangered animals; On Extended Wings, her memoir of flying; and her bestseller, A Natural History of the Senses. Her most recent book, The Human Age: The World Shaped by Us, a celebration of the natural world and human ingenuity, and an exploration of human-driven planetary change, received the P.E.N. Henry David Thoreau Award for Nature Writing.

Several of Ackerman's books have been Pulitzer Prize and National Book Circle Critics Award finalists. She also has the rare distinction of having a molecule named after her—dianeackerone— a pheromone in crocodilians. Her essays about nature and human nature have been appearing for decades in the New York Times, New Yorker, American Scholar, Smithsonian, National Geographic, and elsewhere.

Any supporter who donates $500 or more to Bard’s literary journal Conjunctions receives a BackPage Pass providing VIP access to any Fall 2017 or future event in the Innovative Contemporary Fiction Reading Series. Have lunch with a visiting author, attend a seminar on their work, and receive premium seating at their reading. Or you can give your BackPage Pass to a lover of literature on your gift list! To find out more, click here or contact Micaela Morrissette at conjunctions@bard.edu or (845) 758-7054.
Time: 2:30 pm
Location: Campus Center, Weis Cinema
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Monday, October 30, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Senior Prospectus Talks

Sam Baumgartner
Yuming Liu
Andres Mejia
Kirill Shakhnovskiy
Yida Shao
Darren Tirto
Eric Zhang
Lingxin Zhao
Time: 11:40 am
Location: Hegeman 204
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Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Thursday, November 2, 2017

Poisons, Predators, and Parasites:
Integrating Ecological and Evolutionary Complexity into Toxicology

Jessica HuaBinghamton University SUNY 

Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium
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Thursday, November 2, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Friday, November 3, 2017

Birth and Death in the Milky Way

 

David Helfand, Columbia University

Over the past ten years, my colleagues and I have been using the Very Large Array radio telescope to construct by the far highest resolution survey yet made of our Galaxy at centimeter wavelengths. The images reveal thousands of Galactic radio emitters which mark the places of stellar birth in cold clouds of  gas and dust, and stellar death in the violent explosions of supernove. Combining this survey with data from other wavelengths, particularly the Spitzer Space Observatory's Infrared survey of the Galaxy provides a spectacular new multi-colored view of the Milky Way and reveals a number of unexpected surprises.

 
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Hegeman 107
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Monday, November 6, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Stellating Deltahedra

 

Heidi Burgiel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Learn to fold a star-building unit -- a modification of the Sonobe module for unit origami.  These modules combine to form right angled pyramids over equilateral triangles.  Participants will have the opportunity to stellate a tetrahedron (creating a cube) and to explore the eight strictly convex deltahedra.

 
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Hegeman 204
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Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Thursday, November 9, 2017

The Chimpanzees of Ngogo

Sarah Dunphy-Lelii, Psychology Program

Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium
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Thursday, November 9, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Monday, November 13, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Digital Topology:
A Smooth Introduction

Nicholas A. ScovilleUrsinus College 

Digital images surround us. They are found in our computers, iPhones, televisions, and more. Because they are so integrated into our lives, there is a constant need to manipulate and investigate these images. Anything that one might want to do with a digital image will inevitably involve some kind of mathematics, whether it be linear algebra, geometry, or topology. In this talk, we will introduce not only the topology of digital images, but topology in general. We'll discuss some of the main ideas in topology and use them to figure out what topology would mean in a digital setting. Our newfound knowledge of digital topology will then allow us to dene a digital version of the Hopf fibration, a function between spheres of different dimensions which links together circles in a beautiful and profound way. This talk will be accessible to undergraduates.
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Hegeman 204
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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

AMC 8 Contest

Sponsored by the Bard Math Circle

The AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills.
The contest is paired with an engaging math talk at the middle school level, presented by a Bard mathematician.

The Bard Math Circle hosts this annual event to promote a culture of mathematical problem solving and math enrichment in the mid-Hudson Valley.
Time: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Location: Reem-Kayden Center
Website: Event Website
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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Thursday, November 16, 2017

Integrating Livestock and Wildlife in an African Savanna

Felicia Keesing, Biology Program

Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium
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Thursday, November 16, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Monday, November 20, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Monday, November 27, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Thursday, November 30, 2017

How to Plan a Meaningful Summer

Felicia KeesingBiology Program

Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium
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Thursday, November 30, 2017

Harlem and the Roots of Gentrification, 1965-2003

Brian Goldstein, Swarthmore College

In the last four decades of the twentieth century, Harlem, New York—America’s most famous neighborhood—transformed from the archetypal symbol of midcentury “urban crisis” to the most celebrated example of “urban renaissance” in the United States. Once a favored subject for sociologists studying profound poverty and physical decline, by the new millennium Harlem found itself increasingly the site of refurbished brownstones, shiny glass and steel shopping centers, and a growing middle-class population. Drawing from Brian Goldstein’s new book, The Roots of Urban Renaissance: Gentrification and the Struggle Over Harlem (Harvard University Press, 2017), this lecture will trace this arc by focusing on competing visions for Harlem's central block. In doing so, it will reveal the complicated history of social and physical transformation that has changed this and many American urban centers in the last several decades. Gentrification is often described as a process controlled by outsiders, with clear winners and losers, victors and victims. In contrast, this talk will explore the role that Harlemites themselves played in bringing about Harlem’s urban renaissance, an outcome that had both positive and negative effects for their neighborhood. 
Time: 4:40 pm
Location: Olin, Room 102
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Thursday, November 30, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Monday, December 4, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Monday, December 11, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Thursday, December 14, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Monday, December 18, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
E-mail to Friend

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Biology Drop-in tutoring

for 100- and 200-level classes

Mondays/Thursdays ● 7:30-9 p.m.
Tuesdays/Wednesdays ● 7-9 p.m.
RKC pods
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: RKC pods
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Past Events

• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2008



2012

Senior Project Poster Session

December 13
Reem-Kayden Center

Students Presenting:
Stephanie Dunn

Adviser: Felicia Keesing

Justin Gero

Adviser: Felicia Keesing

Liza Miller

Adviser: Brooke Jude

Keaton Morris-Stan

Adviser: Philip Johns

Megan Naidoo 

Adviser: Philip Johns

Jonah Peterschild 

Adviser: Felicia Keesing

Damianos Lazaridis Giannopoul

Adviser: John Cullinan



Chaos and Network Synchronization

December 12
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium

A lecture by
Lucas Illing
Candidate for the position in Physics
Time-delayed coupling and self-feedback occurs in many systems and is particularly important at high speeds, where the time it takes signals to propagate through device components is comparable to the time scale of the signal fluctuations. A fascinating feature of systems with delay is that even seemingly simple devices can show exceedingly complex dynamics such as chaos.  I will talk about the generation of high-speed chaos using optoelectronic time-delayed feedback oscillators and discuss a particularly intriguing form of collective behavior that arises when several such oscillators are coupled to form a network. Under certain conditions the entire network will oscillate in synchrony, in spite of the signal propagation delays in the coupling links.



Collecting Electrons from Bacteria with Microbial Fuel Cells

December 5
Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium

A lecture by
Emily Gardel
Candidate for the position in Physics
The energy for all forms of life comes from the flow of electrons in energetically favorable pairings of oxidation and reduction reactions. While humans can only use oxygen as an electron acceptor, bacteria have the ability to use a variety of compounds, including solid materials, such as metal oxides. This metabolic diversity makes these micron-sized organisms dominant members of our biosphere and opens possibilities for biotechnological applications, including electricity production, bioremediation, and wastewater treatment. In my research, I focus on bacteria that are capable of transferring electrons outside the bacterial cell to a solid-phase electron acceptor. I will discuss how this phenomenon can be studied by separating the locations of the oxidation and reduction reactions while providing an electrode as an electron acceptor for the bacteria. These microbial fuel cells (MFCs) produce an electrical current and there is interest in understanding the limiting factors governing overall power performance in these systems. Using an environmental MFC, I have found that current production decreases when the system is mass-transfer limited. By allowing the electrode to rest disconnected from electron flow, any necessary nutrients or electron donors diffuse to the bacteria on the electrode and allow for increased current production upon reconnecting the electrode. These findings demonstrate a method for determining an optimal way for operating MFCs used for electricity generation as well as raise additional questions about bacteria-electrode electron transfer.



Bring Disease to Light: Medical Diagnostics for Low-Resource Settings

November 29
RKC 111

A lecture by
Neil Switz
Candidate for the position in Physics



Quasichemical Consideration of the Effect of Osmolytes in Protein Solution Thermodynamics CANCELED

November 6
RKC 102

**This lecture has been canceled and will be rescheduled at a later date**

A lecture by
Dilip Asthagiri
Johns Hopkins University
 




Bard Summer Research Poster Session

September 27
Reem-Kayden Center

Students presenting:Michael Anzuoni, Tedros Balema, Amanda Benowitz, Cara Black, Sheneil Black, Max Brown, Celeste Cass, Matteo Chierchia, Nikesh Dahal, Francesca DiRienzo, Leila Duman, Jose Falla, David Goldberg, Sumedha Guha, Nabil Hossain, Linda Ibojie, Lena James, Seoyoung Kim, Thant Ko Ko, Lila Low-Beinart, Yuexi Ma, Keaton Morris-Stan, Mark Neznansky, Matthew Norman, Ian Pelse, Liana Perry, Min Kyung Shinn, Olja Simoska, William Smith, Nathan Steinauer, Xiaohan Sun, James Sunderland, Weiqing Wang, Michael Weinstein, Clare Wheeler, Sara YilmazAdvisers: Craig Anderson, Christian Bracher, John Cullinan, Swapan Jain, Philip Johns, Brooke Jude, Tanay Kesharwani, Christopher LaFratta, Barbara Luka, Emily McLaughlin, Keith O’Hara, Lauren Rose





So You Want to Become an Engineer?

September 14
Hegeman 102

Nicole Ross graduated from RPI in 2011 with a BS in chemical engineering. Her first job was with Schlumberger, “the world’s largest oilfield services company.” She’ll talk about the engineering curriculum and her work experience.

Her talk will be illuminating to students interested in pursuing a degree any field of engineering through the joint programs with Columbia University and Dartmouth College.




Senior Project Poster Session

May 17
Reem-Kayden Center

Graduating Seniors:
Daniela Anderson, Lilah Anderson, Nadya Artiomenco, Conor Beath, Rachel Becker, Jeannette Benham, Matthew Boisvert, Samantha Brechlin, Ke Cai, Nicole Camasso, Curtis Carmony, Deven Connelly, Shellie Ann Dick, Sara Doble, Siyao Du, Madison Fletcher, Briana Franks, Abigail Fuchsman, Kira Gilman, Erin Hannigan, Lucas Henry, Andrew Hoffman-Patalona, Maxwell Howard, Yunxia Jia, Adriana Johnson, Axel Kammerer, Nicole Kfoury, Sankalpa Khadka, Youseung Kim, Sining Leng, Emily Mayer, Stergios Mentesidis, Mariya Mitkova, Samantha Monier, Jessica Philpott, Jega Jananie Ravi, Laura Schubert, Lindsey Scoppetta, Evan Seitchik, Hannah Shapero, Abhimanyu Sheshashayee, Eli Sidman, Gabriella Spitz, Veronica Steckler, Joshua Tanner, Emma Taylor-Salmon, Isabelle Taylor, Giang Tran, Will Wisseman, Kimberly Wood, Zhiwei Wu, Dimin Xu, Jing Yang, Yongqing Yuan, Changwei Zhou



All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Triangles

March 15
Hegeman 308

Joshua Bowman
SUNY Stony Brook
Flat surfaces (such as a cube or tetrahedron with the vertices removed) show up in a variety of mathematical areas. Their structure can be studied using Delaunay triangles, which in most cases are uniquely determined by the surface. As a surface is deformed, its Delaunay triangles change, and the way in which they change can give us a surprising amount of information about the surface. The only prerequisites for this talk are knowing what a
2x2 matrix is, and a certain level of comfort with abstract constructions.



Orthogonal Maximal Abelian Subalgebras of the n x n Matrices

March 8
Hegeman 308

A lecture by
Jan Cameron
Vassar College
Though the terminology may be unfamiliar, you have certainly seen a maximal abelian self-adjoint subalgebra (masa) of the complex matrices in your linear algebra course: the algebra of diagonal matrices. The notion of orthogonality for a pair of masas in M_n(C) is simple to describe, but surprisingly deep and relates to many areas of mathematics. In this talk, we'll consider the fascinating and important open problem of nding complete sets of pairwise orthogonal masas in the n x n complex matrices. We'll look at a few dierent ways to think about the problem, as well as why one might be interested in a solution, and an assortment of related questions. If time permits, I'll talk a bit about how orthogonal masas have come up in current research on structure theory of nite von Neumann algebras.This talk will be accessible to anyone who has had a course in linear algebra



Making the Most of Euler's Formula

March 1
Hegeman 308

Kristin Camenga
Department of Mathematics
Houghton College
Most people remember working with polyhedra in elementary and high school: cubes, prisms, tetrahedra, pyramids, etc. Euler's formula states that if V is the number of vertices, E the number of edges and F the number of faces of a polyhedron, V + F = E + 2. This is a beautiful and useful formula - but can't we do more? Can we get a similar theorem if we change some of our hypotheses? How does Euler's formula change if we allow polyhedra to be in dimension 4 or 5 or n? What if we look at angles of polyhedra instead of the number of faces? We will look at a number of examples as we generalize Euler's formula in these directions and others. We will end with a glimpse of open questions about angles in polytopes. No specific math background will be assumed, but curiosity is expected!



Symmetries of Julia Sets

February 23
Hegeman 308

James Belk
Mathematics Program
Bard College
A fractal is a mathematical shape that exhibits the same structure at a range of different scales. Among the most famous fractals are the Julia sets, which arise in a simple way from polynomials and complex numbers. In this talk, I will introduce Julia sets and discuss some of their basic properties. I will then indicate a connection between Julia sets and certain groups of functions on the unit circle. This talk should be accessible to students who have taken Proofs and Fundamentals. Some familiarity with groups would be helpful, but is not necessary.




The History and Arithmetic of Legendre Polynomials

February 16
Hegeman 308

A lecture by
John Cullinan
Mathematics Program

The Legendre Polynomials are orthogonal polynomials that have deep connections to mathematical physics. For example, they arise when solving the Laplace equation in spherical coordinates. It is also the case that the Legendre Polynomials are extensively studied for their number-theoretic properties. In this talk we will describe some of these properties as well as discuss some open questions surrounding the Legendre Polynomials. This talk should be accessible to students who are currently taking Proofs and Fundamentals (though some group theory will be used at the end).

**MATH TEA**The weekly Math Tea will immediately follow the seminar.  Join us for tea and refreshments at 4:30 in the Albee 3rd floor Math Lounge.