Amanda Folsom is the Bicentennial Professor of Mathematics at Amherst College. Her research is in number theory, with a focus on modular and mock modular forms, harmonic Maass forms, Jacobi forms, quantum modular forms, q-series, and related objects, and includes applications to combinatorics and mathematical physics. She received her PhD from UCLA and has held positions at Yale University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Max Planck Institute in Bonn, and was a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study. She has received multiple NSF grants, including an NSF CAREER Award, and has been recognized with a Simons Fellowship and the AMS Mary P. Dolciani Prize for Excellence in Research. She is the co-author of a research-level book published by the AMS and has an extensive record of research publications, invited talks, and mentorship of undergraduate and graduate researchers.

Becca Thomases is Professor and Chair of Mathematical Sciences at Smith College. Her research combines data-driven analysis and computational methods to study partial differential equations in the life sciences and engineering, with a focus on how flagellated microorganisms swim in viscoelastic, mucus-like fluids. Before joining Smith, she served on the mathematics faculty at UC Davis, including as Vice Chair for Graduate Matters. She holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from UC Santa Barbara and a B.A. from Vassar College.

Non-Newtonian or complex fluids describe a wide class of materials from biological fluids like mucus and blood to everyday household products like shampoo and paint. There are many problems in physics and biology where understanding motion of (or in) complex fluids is essential for understanding natural phenomena. Tools from mathematical analysis and computational simulations can shed light on these complex problems that are significant in many biological, environmental, and industrial applications. I will describe some recent work on modeling micro-organism swimming in viscoelastic fluids, and understanding the mechanisms that lead to speed changes for swimmers in complex fluids.