Student Seminar

The student seminar provides an excellent opportunity for Wellesley College students to present mathematical research and different topics to both their peers and faculty.

Presentations are usually substantial, typically lasting about fifty minutes from 12:30 to 1:20. Speakers therefore develop both public speaking and researching skills through their participation.

Students who are interested in speaking should be on the lookout for an email from the student seminar coordinator.  Typically a call for presenters is sent out to the departmental email list at the beginnings of the spring and fall semesters.  If you aren't on the departmental email list, you can contact Melanie Chamberlin to find out who is coordinating the student seminar (or you can sign up for the Math Department Google group so you can stay up-to-date on departmental events).

Schedule for Fall 2013

Students who are giving talks in the student seminar are asked to complete this sheet to help them prepare for their talk.

Date Speaker Title of Talk
September 16 Anjali Kayal Visualizing Math: Graphical Representations of Algebraic Objects
September 23 Yulan Qing (Brown University) Pi and Bouncing Pigs
September 30 Laura Bruno  
October 7 Wendy Wu  
October 14    
October 21 Ginny Tang  
October 28    
November 4    
November 11 Kaity Schwartz  
November 18    
November 25    
December 2    

 

Interested in Speaking in the Student Seminar?

Any student interested in lecturing may seek faculty advice on finding a topic appropriate for her; a list of possible student talks is also available here. A PLTC public speaking tutor will be able to help in preparation. To see the seminars presented in the past, please click here. This website offers tips on giving a good presentation, as well as this document. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions are also available.

Need help finding a good presentation topic?

The key to a good presentation topic is finding a piece of mathematics that you find intriguing but would like to know more about. Then, you will have fun doing the background research for the talk and your enthusiasm for the topic will help you give a good talk. Here are some suggestions for finding a good topic:

  1. Has there been any math topic in class or at an internship or job that you wanted to learn more about? If so, google around about that topic for more information and ask your talk advisor for advice.
  2. Check out http://www.math.hmc.edu/funfacts/ to peruse some fun math facts, and see if any catch your fancy.
  3. Another great place to look are the magazines Math Horizons and The College Mathematics Journal. These magazines have math articles that are meant for audiences with a background in college mathematics. Math Horizons is specially meant for college students; we have (online) access through the Wellesley Library. Peruse a recent article for ideas. The College Math Journal and Mathematics Magazine (another more expository journal that can be more advanced) can be searched (but not viewed) at: http://www.math.hmc.edu/journals/journalsearch2/

 

Already have a topic presentation in mind?

Here is a list of faculty members who can help assist you as you develop your presentation.

Stanley Chang
  • Applications of linear algebra to economics, genetics and cryptography
  • Number theory
  • Basic topology, the classification of surfaces

Alexander Diesl 

  • Various topics in algebra and number theory

Oscar Fernandez

  • Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian Mechanics and Integrability
  • Dynamical Systems
  • Mathematical Physics

Megan Kerr

  • Non-Euclidean geometry: the parallel postulate
  • Sphere-packing
  • Minimal surfaces, double bubble theorem

Karen Lange

  • Topics in Logic; the Recursion Theorem, Goedel's theorems, set theory

Martin Magid

  • Topics in geometry: the Theorem Egregium, the Gauss-Bonnet Theorem
  • Set theory, Goedel's Incompleteness Theorem
  • Non-parametric statistics tests

Andy Schultz (on leave '13-'14)

  • Number theoretic topics including error-correcting codes and check-digit schemes, primality testing and pseudoprimes, the nature of $\pi$ (its irrationality, its decimal expansion, etc.), etc.
  • Linear algebra topics including applications image compression and Markov processes
 Alan Shuchat
  • Infinite-dimensional vector spaces, Banach and Hilbert spaces
  • Linear programming and optimization
  • Queues and probability

Fred Shultz

  • Linear algebra and applications, including applications to quantum mechanics
  • Dynamical systems, chaos theory
  • Functional analysis, including infinite-dimensional linear algebra, quantum computing, Fourier series
  • Topics in combinatorics

Jonathan Tannenhauser

  • Physics
  • Connections between mathematics and physics or biology

Ann Trenk

  • Topics in graph theory
  • Topics in combinatorics

Ismar Volic

  • Topics in topology: classification of surfaces, the fundamental group, topological groups, interplay between geometry and analysis
  • Knot theory, Seifert surfaces, the Jones polynomial, Poincare conjecture
  • Topics in number theory: quadratic reciprocity, Diophantine equations, cryptography, open problems
  •  

 

Upcoming Events

 

Monday, Sept 30, SCI 362/364

Laura Bruno is this week's speaker in the student seminar. She'll give a talked entitled School's in Session: The Locker Problem. We'll meet in 362 for lunch around 12:20, then head over to 364 around 12:35 to hear the talk.
 

Thursday, Oct 17, SCI 362/396

Ruth Charney from the Brandeis will give the 12th annual Heard Lecture.  The title of her talk is Robotics and Geometry. We'll meet around 3:45 for some refreshments and socializing before heading to room 396 for the talk at 4:15.  Everyone is welcome to attend!  Afterward the department will hold a banquet dinner in honor of the speakers.  Students who are interested in joining us for the dinner should speak with a professor or with Melanie.

 

Want e-updates?

Want to hear about the latest events in the math department via email?  Join the department's Google group by signing up here!