Fall 2018
Tuesday, September 18th
Mathematics & Computer Science Welcome Back Picnic
Noon
Rector Courtyard (Rain Location: Rector Atrium)
Lunch provided
Tuesday, September 25th
Ronesha Dennis & James Midkiff '17, Enterprise Knowledge
"Enterprise Knowledge: Introducing KM to Our Future"
Enterprise Knowledge is a services firm that integrates Knowledge Management (KM), Information Management & Technology, and Agile Approaches to deliver comprehensive solutions. Ronesha and James will discuss some of the theory behind knowledge management and how, as developers, they are able to deliver tailored, practical, and results-oriented solutions to their clients.
Noon
Tome 115
Lunch provided
Tuesday, October 9th
Barbara Nimershiem, Franklin & Marshall College
"The Shape (?) of Space"
Our home planet has a shape, called a "sphere" by topologists. Our understanding of this shape is informed by being able to leave the surface of the earth and look back, an image captured beautifully in Apollo 8's iconic photograph of the earth rising over the moon. Our home universe also has a shape. We are, however, unable to leave our 3-dimensional universe and look back to see it. This complication has not deterred topologists, who have described infinitely many possible shapes of space. This talk explores some of the possibilities and provides a glimpse into practical ways we may someday know the shape of the universe.
Noon
Tome 115
Lunch provided
Tuesday, October 16th
Professor Tracy McKay and Professor Jeff Forrester, Dickinson College
"Where Do I Go From Here?”
In this chat, we will discuss a wide variety of careers and opportunities for students majoring in mathematics and computer science. In addition, we will talk about graduate school options, internships, and REUs (Research Experience for Undergraduates), and provide specific information about our recent graduates. We'll discuss a wide variety of careers and opportunities for students majoring in mathematics and computer science.
Noon
Tome 115
Lunch provided
Tuesday, October 30th
Ben Orlin, author of Math with Bad Drawings: Illuminating the Ideas that Shape Our Reality
"The Unlikely Friendship of Math and Science"
On the one hand, mathematics is a toolkit, crafted to serve real-world purposes. On the other hand, math is a realm of pure logic, ideas pursued for their own sake. My question: How is it that, from knot theory to meta-logic to higher-dimensional geometry, the math that sounds the most fanciful turns out to be the most useful?
Noon
Tome 115
Lunch provided
Tuesday, November 27th
Lucas Waddell, Bucknell University
"Using genetic algorithms to design optimal robots for the U.S. Army"
In recent years, Operations Research practitioners have increasingly utilized nature-inspired algorithms (NIAs) to solve real-world, large-scale optimization problems. One of the most popular NIAs is the Genetic Algorithm (GA), which is based on ideas from Darwin’s theory of evolution. This talk will provide an introduction to GAs through the lens of a project that Lucas worked on for the U.S. Army during his time as an Operations Research Analyst at Sandia National Laboratories.
Noon
Tome 115
Lunch provided