Math

Mathematics Colloquium

The Mathematics Colloquia is a series of talks by the Willamette University Math Department and visiting speakers. These talks are aimed at faculty and undergraduate math students and will introduce the audience to fun, interesting applications of undergraduate mathematics, as well as more advanced topics in mathematics research. Colloquium talks will be held Thursdays at 4:00pm in Ford Room 102. Refreshments will be provided. We hope you can join us! If you would like more information, please contact Prof. Erin McNicholas.

Colloquium Schedule 2009-2010 

Thursday, November 19, 2009, 4:00pm (Ford 102)

Spring 2010 Math Courses Preview  

This week's Math Colloquium will be a preview of upcoming advanced math courses offered by the department. Come for a sneak peek before you set your spring class schedule; or if you already know what classes you're taking, stop by to learn about a variety of topics you may want to investigate in the future:

New courses we'll preview are:

• Number Theory
• Combinatorics
• Real Analysis
• Senior Seminar: Cryptology
• Senior Seminar: Markov Chains

Come for the Root Beer Floats; stay for the mathy goodness!

Previous Abstracts

Fall 2009 Talks:

September 8, Prof. Virgil Pierce, University of Texas - Pan American
Enumeration of Polygon Dissections

September 24, Christina Edholm, Willamette University
Zero Forcing on a Graph

October 2, Charley Mathes, Willamette University
Ropelength of Alternating, Almost-Alternating, and Paired Links

October 9, Mjohan Rajagopalan, Loose Cannon Studios
What Every Student Should Know About Making Games

October 15, Prof. Yevgeniy Kochegov, Oregon State University
On Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods and Mixing Times

October 29, Andrea Walker, Sandia National Laboratory
A Brief Intro to Cryptography and Related Job Opportunities at Sandia Labs 

November 5, Prof. Chris Sinclair, University of Oregon
TBA

November 12, Emeritus Professor Richard Iltis, Willamette University
Fourier Analysis

Spring 2010 Talks: