Month: November 2012

                                                                                                                                                                             Undergraduate Math Seminar will meet on
Wednesday, 5:30-6:30 in LGRT 1634. This week, Derek Mobilio will speak
on “Meteorology
and Mathematics: A Match Made in the Upper Atmosphere” (abstract below). As
always, pizza and soda will be provided.

Abstract:

Meteorologists are well-known as TV personalities with some skill in
forecasting the conditions of our atmosphere. But did you know that
meteorologists are also top notch mathematicians? Every bit of information
you see in a weather forecast relies heavily on mathematics—from the
governing differential equations of air flow to the numerical models from
which temperature and precipitation are forecasted. This talk will just
scratch the surface of the unique marriage between mathematics and
atmospheric science. Using algebra and calculus, we will (1) derive the
hypsometric equation from the equation of state, (2) develop a prognostic
equation for a local temperature the total derivative of temperature
change, (3) discuss the concept of atmospheric instability, and (4)
investigate a multiple linear regression model to predict northeast
seasonal snowfall for this coming winter. General questions about
meteorology education and the science of our atmosphere will be welcome at
the conclusion of the program.

Since this Wednesday is a Monday, we won’t be having a seminar this week. We also won’t be meeting on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

After the break, we have two great talks lined up on applied math, so watch this space for abstracts and titles.

Please join us for the Undergraduate Math Seminar on Wednesday, 5:30-6:30 in LGRT 1634. This week, Alden Gassert
will give an untitled talk on Pascal’s Triangle and other nice topics
(abstract below). As always, pizza and soda will be provided.

Abstract:

At some point in our lives, we have all asked, “what is research in
mathematics?” I hope to provide a glimpse of what it is like to do
research mathematics by sharing my recent work. In the first part of
this talk, we will look at many of the well-known relations within
Pascal’s famous triangle. In the second part, I will share my resent
research experiences in which my problem led me to find some obscure
relations between elements of Pascal’s Triangle.