Math Club Colloquium

Welcome to the Math Club Colloquium pages! Here you will find a record of colloquium talks dating back to 2010. Talks are accessible to a broad audience of students and faculty in mathematics and related disciplines. It is usually held during common hour on Tuesdays from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm, but the day, time and location does change so please note the details listed by each talk. 

Academic Year 2017 - 2018

Sep  26, 2017: Noson Yanofsky (Brooklyn College)

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm 

1141 Ingersoll Hall

Title: The​ ​Octonions​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Laws​ ​of Nature

Abstract:​ ​We will explore various philosophies about the laws of nature. What are they? How do they control the physical world? Do they control everything? We shall push a novel idea about the nature of the laws of nature. In order to prove our point we will make an analogy with various number systems like the complex numbers, the quaternions, the octonions and strange things like sedenions and 32-dimensional numbers.

Oct 24, 2017: Diogo Pinheiro (Brooklyn College)

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm 

1141 Ingersoll Hall

Title: Least action principles and the equations of classical mechanics

Abstract: Many of the laws of physics can be expressed in terms of least action principles. In this talk, we will discuss the deep connection between such least action principles and some famous equations from mathematical-physics and classical mechanics, namely the Euler-Lagrange equation and Hamilton's equations.

Mar 6, 2018: Marty Lewinter (Marty Lewinter (Purchase College and Learn America)

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

1141 Ingersoll Hall

Title: Fun With Math 

Abstract: We will highlight a few interesting gems taken from number theory and geometry. While studying and doing research in mathematics is a serious endeavor, we start to love math for its beauty and cleverness.

Mar 27, 2018:  Robert Sibner (Brooklyn College) 

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

1141 Ingersoll Hall

Title: Fermat's Theorem on the Sum of Two Squares

Abstract: Questions about the possibility of the representation of an integer as a sum squares go back to Diophantus in the third century. Fermat stated in 1640 and, a century later, Euler gave the first proof, that a representation by the sum of two squares was possible for primes of the form 4n+1 and not for those of the form 4n-1. Since then, many proofs of this have appeared; usually the proofs use advanced mathematics or delicate arguments in number theory (see e.g. Wikipedia article). I will present a proof that is both simple and natural, using mathematics that is not so advanced and arguments that are not delicate. Since the proof is essentially a one-liner, in order that the talk lasts longer than two minutes, I'll describe all the background mathematics in detail.

Apr 17, 2018: Jeff Suzuki (Brooklyn College)

12:30 - 2 p.m., 1141 Ingersoll Hall

Title: Confidence in the Census

Abstract: Every 10 years, the United States conducts a census to determine how many persons live in each of the states. Much depends on this information: most importantly, the number of Representatives in Congress for a state is determined by this "exact count." The problem of allocating a discrete resource (in this case, the number of Representatives) among several recipients is known as the apportionment problem. We'll take a look at various solutions to the apportionment problem, as well as examine some issues with the current method that will lead to malapportionment following the 2020 census.