Mathematics Department Research Seminar / SPRING 2010
Fri. 3:30 - 4:30 pm
47 Cowley Hall

	2/12	Sheldon Lee (Viterbo University) Random Walks and Continuum Coupling A random walk can be thought of as a discrete version of the diffusion equation. We will begin with a basic overview of random walks, and their connection to the diffusion equation. Next, we discuss basic deterministic coupling, along with stability and convergence issues. Finally, we discuss how a random walk region can be coupled to a continuous region.
	2/19	Futaba Okamoto Rainbow Connectivity of Graphs   -- An Introduction --
	2/26	Robert Allen Isometries on the Bloch Space Let X be a Banach space (a complete normed linear space). The problem of characterizing the isometries from X to X, that is the linear operators on X which preserve the norm, is open for most spaces. In this talk, I will discuss what is known of the isometries when X is taken to be a classical space, and in particular, when X is the Bloch space. Also, I will discuss current research in the characterization of isometries amongst specific types of operators. This talk will be accessible to a general audience.
	3/5	Melissa Bingham Statistical Methods for Modeling 3-Dimensional Orientation Data Orientation data are common in areas such as materials science and human kinematics. While some attention has been paid to methods for modeling orientations in the statistical literature, these methods suffer many limitations and are often difficult to apply in real-world problems. Motivated by a materials science problem, a new, useful class of distributions on orientations in 3 dimensions is developed. Statistical inference for this class is explored and application is made to the motivating problem. This talk will be accessible to a general audience.
	3/12	Huiya Yan Hamiltonian Line Graphs and Related Problems
	3/26	Robert Allen Turing Instabilities in Reaction-Diffusion Equations: A Model for the Formation of Mammalian Coat Patterns In this talk, I will discuss the analysis of the bifurcation structure of a reaction-diffusion equation with Thomas non-linearities, and the spatial patterns produced by what are called Turing instabilities. We use AUTO to construct the bifurcation structure for our system. We will discuss pattern formation in one and two dimensions. Also, we will present a visualization system developed to enhance AUTO. This is joint work with Evelyn Sander, Richard Tatum and Thomas Wanner.
	4/2	Todd Will Computing the Modular Chromatic Number for Trees
	4/9	Michael A. Wodzak (Viterbo University) The Bard the Laird and the Lender Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice" was written at about the same time as John Napier was creating the Logarithm. We will look at the mathematical development of logarithms and see that those mathematical themes are actually echoed throughout the play.
	4/16	No meeting (MAA Wisconsin Annual Meeting at UW Oshkosh)
	4/23	Chris Malone (Winona State University) Resequencing Topics in an Introductory Applied Statistics Course The introductory applied statistics course taken by many thousands of undergraduate students has undergone a transformation over the past 25 years. Changes in what we teach, how we teach, and how we assess have impacted introductory statistics courses at institutions worldwide. In this article we shift focus from what we teach and how we teach to when we teach. We propose changes to the sequence in which core statistical concepts are presented in an introductory applied statistics course. The proposed ordering of topics repeats the sequence of descriptive summaries - probability theory - statistical inference several times throughout the course in various contexts.
	4/30	TBA
	5/7	TBA
		Fall 2009 schedule
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