Events for February 2009
If there are any Math/CS events that you would like posted on this calendar, please contact Kevin Hartshorn (hartshorn@moravian.edu).
Monday, February 2, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
4:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Epsilon talk
Math/CS common area
Valentine's Day geometry
We will have some fun with geometry as we experiment with different ways of creating heart shapes.
Epsilon talks are short (approximately 20 minute) presentations on mathematics that you probably won't see in the classroom.
Everyone is invited. Light snacks are provided.
Friday, February 20, 2009
3:50 PM to 4:45 PM
Mathematics Colloquium
PPHAC 233
Some Stories from the History of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
David Bressoud (Macalester College)
Dr. Bressoud is the DeWitt Wallace Professor of Mathematics at Macalester College and the president of the Mathematical Association of America. He has received the MAA Distinguished Teaching Award (Allegheny Mountain Section), the MAA Beckenbach Book Award for Proofs and Confirmations, and has been a Pólya Lecturer for the MAA.
Dr. Bressoud is author of the books A Radical Approach to Real Analysis and A Radical Approach to Lebesgue Theory, which provide an introduction to real analysis and measure theory with a historical lens and motivation.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Moravian student math conference
HUB and PPHAC
The keynote speaker will be David Bressoud, who will give a talk titled Proofs and Conjecture: The Story of the Alternating Sign Matrix Conjecture. After the keynote, students from around the region will give talks about research from summer projects, honors work, or class research.
Monday, February 23, 2009
4:00 PM to 4:50 PM
Computer Science Colloquium
PPHAC 232
What is artificial intelligence?
Kate Lockwood (Northwestern University)
Artificial Intelligence is an exciting area of computer science research and applications. Historically, it has also given rise to a number of debates and ethical concerns. In this talk, I'll give some background on the development of the field and introduce some of the theories and debates that helped define early AI. I'll also explore some modern approaches to AI and the current direction of the field.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
4:00 PM to 4:50 PM
Computer Science Colloquium
PPHAC 330
Maximal Software
Matthew Long (Ohio State University)
Maximality is a property of software; just as we call software "correct," "fast," or "elegant," we can call software "maximal." Informally, a software system is maximal if it does not unnecessarily restrict the non-determinism permitted by its specification. Though this property sounds exotic, it's something that--in many cases--we intuitively desire of our software. In this talk, we'll formalize this intuitive desire by defining maximality and examine (as well as try to build) some examples of maximal software. We will also look at some difficult challenges that we face when designing maximal software and the theoretical results from which these challenges stem. We will also discuss some open questions and exciting research opportunities surrounding reasoning about maximality properties.