Calendar for Math Grad Talks

The purpose of these talks is to provide an informal and social setting in which department members can show each other what they're working on. While grad student attendance is not mandatory, it is extremely useful to see what research looks like as opposed to classwork. For more information about our talks, or if you would like to give one, please contact Dave Rose.

Seminars In This Week * Next Week * This Month * This Semester * Previous Semesters *

• Friday, February 12, 2010, 4:30pm, 119 Physics, Graduate/faculty Seminar
  Perturbation analysis for impulsive differential equations: How asymptotics can resolve the ambiguities of distribution theory
  Tom Witelski (Duke University)

   

  Models for dynamical systems that include short-time or abrupt forcing can be written as impulsive differential equations. Applications include mechanical systems with impacts and models for electro-chemical spiking signals in neurons. We consider a model for spiking in neurons given by a nonlinear ordinary differential equation that includes a Dirac delta function. Ambiguities in how to interpret such equations can be resolved via perturbation methods and asymptotic analysis of delta sequences.

• Friday, February 19, 2010, 4:30pm, 119 Physics, Graduate/faculty Seminar
  Categorification and knot homology
  Dave Rose (Duke University)

   

  Categorification can be viewed as the process of lifting scalar and polynomial invariants to homology theories having those invariants as (graded) Euler characteristics. In this (expository) talk, we will discuss categorification in general and as manifested in specific examples (ie Khovanov homology). Examples will be given showing how the categorified invariants are stronger and often more useful than the original invariants. This subject lies at the intersection of many areas: homological algebra, topology, representation theory, and the theory of n-categories all play a part. As such, this talk will be of interest to a wide audience. Also, for those of you who attended my talk on category theory last term, this will provide applications of all the complicated categorical machinery we discussed.

• Friday, March 26, 2010, 4:30pm, 119 Physics, Graduate/faculty Seminar
  TBD
  Aubrey HB

• Friday, April 2, 2010, 4:30pm, 119 Physics, Graduate/faculty Seminar
  TBD
  Jim Nolen (Duke University)

• Friday, April 9, 2010, 4:30pm, 119 Physics, Graduate/faculty Seminar
  TBD
  Miles Crosskey (Duke University)

• Friday, April 23, 2010, 4:30pm, 119 Physics, Graduate/faculty Seminar
  TBD
  Jake Bouvrie (Duke University)