Unless stated otherwise, colloquia are scheduled for Thursdays 4:30-5:30pm in LN 2205 with refreshments served from 4:00-4:25 pm in the Anderson Memorial Reading Room.
Here you find some directions to Binghamton University and the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
Thursday, November 15th, 2012
Speaker:
Igor Belegradek (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Title:
Open manifolds of nonpositive curvature
Time:
4:30 - 5:30 pm
Room: LN-2205
Abstract: This is a largely expository talk on known topological obstructions to nonpositive curvature. We shall first explore geometric meaning of nonpositive curvature and explain why it forces the manifold to be covered by a Euclidean space. We also discuss the uniformization of surfaces, and significance of metric completeness, after which we move to more delicate obstructions coming from harmonic map superrigidity, random groups with fixed point properties, and elementary group actions.
Thursday, November 29th, 2012
Speaker:
Sven Knoth (Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg)
Title:
A Brief Introduction to Statistical Process Control (SPC)
Time:
4:30 - 5:30 pm
Room: LN-2205
Abstract: SPC assembles methods for monitoring statistical data. Useful synonyms are sequential change point detection, surveillance, control charting, continuous inspection, disorder problems, detection of abrupt changes, jump detection etc. The area was created in the 1920s by Walter Shewhart. There are many papers on theoretical aspects and on application. Dozens of software packages allow practitioners to utilize SPC on the shop floor. Quality engineers and auditors love to ask process engineers and shop floor personnel whether and how they are applying SPC procedures. During the last decade control charts, the main tools of SPC, experienced a renaissance in public health. CUSUM control charts were adopted to be applied for new data designs (keyword risk adjustment). This talk will give an overview about and some personal reflections on that field SPC.
Thursday, December 6th, 2012
Speaker:
Kirsten Eisenträger (Penn State)
Title:
Elliptic curves and Hilbert's Tenth Problem.
Time:
4:30 - 5:30 pm
Room: LN-2205
Abstract: In 1900 Hilbert presented his now famous list of 23 open problems. The tenth problem in its original form was to find an algorithm to decide, given a multivariate polynomial equation with integer coefficients, whether it has a solution over the integers. Hilbert's Tenth Problem remained open until 1970 when Matiyasevich, building on work by Davis, Putnam and Robinson, proved that no such algorithm exists, i.e. Hilbert's Tenth Problem is undecidable. Since then, analogues of this problem have been studied by asking the same question for polynomial equations with coefficients and solutions in other commutative rings. In this talk we will discuss how elliptic curves can be used to prove the undecidability of Hilbert's Tenth Problem for various rings and fields.