Event Timeline
2025 Annual Allegheny Mountain Section Meeting
The 2025 Annual Allegheny Mountain Section Meeting will be held 3/28/25-3/29/25 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. See the conference webpage here.
Barbara T. Faires Allegheny Mountain Colloquium Series
Speaker: Kristin Camenga, Juniata College
Title: “Who are the people in your numerical range?”
Abstract: The numerical range of a matrix is a set of numbers that result when a matrix is multiplied in a certain way by all the vectors of the unit sphere. Classically, we work with matrices that have complex numbers as entries and we can graph the corresponding numerical range on the complex plane. The numerical range is known to be convex (have no holes or dents) and contains the eigenvalues of the matrix. I first learned about the numerical range at a workshop in 2011, where I started working with some collaborators. In this talk, I will introduce the numerical range and some of the questions that we've investigated. I will also share about how our research has unfolded, both the various collaborators who have motivated and enriched the process and the lessons I've learned about doing math research.
Zoom: [link]
Flyer: [link]
Barbara T. Faires Allegheny Mountain Colloquium Series
Speaker: Carl Wang-Erickson, University of Pittsburgh
Title: p-adicity
Abstract: For each prime number p, there is an alternative notion of distance between rational numbers known as the p-adic metric. In this talk we introduce the p-adic metric and p-adic numbers by way of comparison and contrast with the usual Archimedean metric and the real numbers. After a summary of some of the influences of these notions on mathematics today, we will conclude with a discussion of the development of a p-adic perspective on the Riemann zeta function.
Link: https://psu.zoom.us/j/94646948564
Flyer: link
Fall 2024 Section NExT Workshop
The Fall 2024 Section NExT Workshop will occur on Saturday, 9/28 at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. More details are available here.
Barbara T. Faires Allegheny Mountain Colloquium Series
Speaker: Boris Brimkov, Slippery Rock University
Zoom: https://bit.ly/allemo
Title: Propagation problems in graphs
Abstract: What does monitoring the electrical power grid have in common with getting good movie recommendations from Netflix, tracking the spread of information in social networks, searching for a fugitive who is trying to evade capture, and controlling a quantum system? All these tasks, and several others, can be modeled as graph propagation problems (in fact, they are all essentially the same problem), and they can be approached with the same battery of computational techniques. In this talk, we will explore the origins and applications of propagation problems in graphs, and discuss some of the solution techniques and remaining challenges related to these problems.
2024 Annual Allegheny Mountain Section Meeting
Please see the conference page for more details: Link
Barbara T. Faires Allegheny Mountain Colloquium Series
Speaker: Harvey Diamond (WVU)
Title: Insights and Revelations: Computational exploration with MATLAB
Abstract: Computation is generally understood to be a dreary assemblage of epsilons in its theory, decimal points in its output, and arcane programming syntax in its execution. But advances over the last two decades in the technology of computation, along with the development of compact, efficient, programming languages – yes, MATLAB – that provide, between them, a comprehensive environment for computation and visualization, have opened a new world for exploration. It is a world that interacts with mathematics, with inspiration passing in both directions, and as well, with the physical world, and the artistic. But it can also pose its own questions, and prompt its own natural paths, take you to remarkable vistas, both conceptual and visual, and might suddenly drop you right into the middle of some interesting mathematics you would not have otherwise encountered. We present some of those questions, paths, vistas, and mathematics, many that arose serendipitously, while teaching an introductory course in computation and MATLAB for nearly 20 years. We conclude with an obvious question: shouldn’t we be teaching computation, for these, and a myriad of other practical reasons, to our freshman math students?
Zoom link: https://bit.ly/allemo
Flyer: link
To be added to the mailing list, please email klp65@psu.edu.
Barbara T. Faires Allegheny Mountain Colloquium Series
Speaker: Dr. Samantha Allen (Duquesne University)
Title: The algebra of knots: searching for primes
Abstract: A mathematical knot is a knotted up loop in 3-dimensional space: think of tying a knot in a piece of rope and then fusing the ends of the rope together. Two knots are called equivalent if one can be deformed to another via an ambient isotopy (put simply, without breaking the loop or passing it through itself). There is a way to add two knots to create another knot (called the connected sum) and a knot which is not a connected sum is called prime.
In this talk, I will explain some basic properties of mathematical knots and the connected sum operation. We will see why this operation is well-defined and, in light of this operation, define the concept of a prime knot in a way analogous to a prime number. The remainder of the talk will be spent discussing how to identify prime knots, the state of the search so far, and some new research that makes identifying a prime knot an algebraic exercise (rather than a geometric one).
This talk will be accessible to students at all levels.
Zoom link: https://bit.ly/allemo
Flyer: link
To be added to the mailing list, please email klp65@psu.edu.
Barbara T. Faires Allegheny Mountain Colloquium Series
Speaker: Dr. Mike McConnell
Title: Modular Residue Designs: Fixed Points, Rotational Symmetry, and Circles
Zoom link: https://bit.ly/allemo
Flyer: PDF
Fall 2023 Section NExT Workshop
Register here: link
See more details here: Section NExT page
2023 Annual Allegheny Mountain Section Meeting
The webpage for the 2023 conference at PennWest Edinboro is here: https://www.alleghenymtn.maa.org/2023springconference
Allegheny Mountain Colloquium - Dr. Sabrina Streipert
Zoom link: https://bit.ly/3Xy9ZON
Allegheny Mountain Colloquium - Dr. Florian Frick
Dr. Florian Frick from Carnegie Mellon University will speak. See the flyer here for more details.
Allegheny Mountain Section Annual Conference
The section’s annual spring semester conference will be VIRTUAL.
See the conference webpage here: https://www.alleghenymtn.maa.org/2022springconference
Allegheny Mountain Colloquium - Dr. Stephen Deterding
See the flyer for this event here
Zoom link for this colloquium is https://bit.ly/3qgbZNg
Section NeXT Workshop
The 2021 Fall Section NExT workshop will be September 25th, from 10am-3pm at West Liberty University Highlands Center: 355 Wharton Circle, Suite 200, Triadelphia, WV 26059. (Note that this is not the main campus of WLU.) Participants are invited to attend in-person or via Zoom. Please note that WLU has a universal masking mandate.
In the morning Russ deForest will lead a workshop on a quantitative literacy course that he developed on Mathematics for Sustainability. After lunch, there will be a panel discussion on teaching lower-level courses, such as algebra and trigonometry. Our panelists are Jenna Cook, Lori Ogden, and Kevin Maxwell.
A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided for all participants. Faculty who have been in their job more than 6 years are encouraged to donate to Section NExT when registering for the section NExT meeting to defray the cost of their lunch.
