Math and Cookies is an undergraduate research seminar and Department seminar is for math faculty members.
Math and Cookies and Department seminar will alternate each week.
These seminars are partly supported by NSF LEAPS-MPS (DMS-2532394).
If you are interested in giving a talk (or you know somebody), please let me know!
The following is the list of the speakers for the seminar for Fall 2025.
We meet: Wednesdays 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (or 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm) at Coykendal Science Building 320.
Oct 1 (Department Seminar): Chris Eppolito (SUNY New Paltz) - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm at CSB 320.
Title: Matroids from the ground(set) up
Abstract: Matroids are combinatorial objects which abstract properties of linear independence among vectors in a vector space. Which properties we choose to abstract give us completely different looking structures and axioms for these objects. This underlies the true power of matroids: their different descriptions provide us with a variety of different ways of constructing them and proving properties thereof. This talk will survey the most common axiomatizations of matroids, together with motivating examples and interesting constructions.
Oct 8 (Math and Cookies): Han-Bom Moon (Fordham University) - 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm at CSB 320.
Title: Let's count points!
Abstract: A fascinating fact in mathematics is that there are many interesting connections between seemingly different mathematical disciplines. In this talk, I will present a surprising formula counting integral points on polygons and sketch its proof. We will see a delightful interaction between algebra, geometry, and combinatorics. No prerequisite is assumed beyond single variable calculus. Everyone is welcome!
Oct 22 (Math and Cookies): Phanuel Mariano (Union College) - 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm at CSB 320.
Title: The isoperimetric inequality and its connection to probability
Abstract: The isoperimetric inequality is a geometric result relating the square of the circumference of a closed plane curve to the area it encloses, along with various generalizations of this relationship. There is a connection between inequalities that come up in probability and the classical isoperimetric inequality. The connection is through Brownian motion, which is a mathematical model for the random movement of a particle. It was first observed by Robert Brown in 1827 while looking at pollen grains through a microscope. I will discuss some classical isoperimetric problems related to the expected lifetime of Brownian motion from a domain.
Oct 29 (Department Seminar): Vladmir Shpilrain (The City College of New York) - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm at CSB 320.
Title: Tropical cryptography
Abstract: D. Grigoriev and I introduced a new area of "tropical cryptography" in 2014. What it means is that we used min-plus algebras (a.k.a. tropical algebras) as platforms for various cryptographic primitives. That is, we replaced the usual operations of addition and multiplication by the operations min(x,y) and x+y, respectively. An obvious advantage of using tropical algebras as platforms is unparalleled efficiency because in tropical schemes, one does not have to perform any multiplications of numbers since tropical multiplication is the usual addition. The focus therefore is entirely on the security of tropical cryptographic schemes. I will discuss several NP-hard problems in tropical algebras that one can use to build cryptographic primitives.
Nov 5 (Math and Cookies): Mee Seong Im (Johns Hopkins University)
Abstract: TBA
Nov 12 (Department Seminar): Cameron Wright (University of Washington)
Abstract: TBA
Nov 19 (Math and Cookies): Kei Kobayashi (Fordham University)
Abstract: TBA
Dec 3 (Department Seminar): Jeungeun Park (SUNY New Paltz)
Abstract: TBA