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November 30: FRANCESCO MAGGI

Speaker: Francesco Maggi

Title: A stability theory for isoperimetric and minimal area problems

Abstract: We offer a non-technical, panoramic view on some old and new results concerning the quantitative description of minimizers and critical points in basic geometric variational problems involving area. In the first part of the talk we review basic results on almost-isoperimetric and almost-constant mean curvature boundaries, both in the Euclidean and in the Riemannian setting. In the second part of the talk, we introduce the approximation of possibly singular minimal surfaces by “soap films” with positve, small volume. Finally, we revisit some of these results in the more physical context of Allen-Cahn surface tension energies, and introduce a new convergence theorem for the diffused interface volume preserving mean curvature flow.

Where: Mathematics Hall, room 520
When: Wednesday, November 30, 2022 at 04:30pm

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November 02: JAMES MAYNARD

Title: Primes, the zeta function and zero density estimates.
Abstract:  If we could prove the Riemann Hypothesis, then there would be several fantastic consequences for our understanding of prime numbers. It turns out that even if the Riemann Hypothesis is false and there are some counterexamples to it, we can still obtain many of these consequences for primes provided the counterexamples are suitably ‘rare’. I’ll talk about this picture and recent joint work on possible patterns of counterexamples. As a consequence of our new approach if the zeros of the zeta function lay on finitely many vertical lines then we obtain several results on primes which are essentially as strong as what the Riemann Hypothesis would imply.

Where: Mathematics Hall, room 520
When: Wednesday, November 02, 2022 at 04:30pm

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Amol Aggarwal Awarded the 2022 Packard Fellowships in Science and Engineering

The Packard Foundation established the Fellowships program in 1988 to provide early-career scientists with flexible funding and the freedom to take risks and explore new frontiers in their fields. Each year, the Foundation invites 54 universities to nominate two faculty members for consideration. The Packard Fellowships Advisory Panel, a group of 12 internationally-recognized scientists and engineers, evaluates the nominations and recommends 20 Fellows for approval by the Packard Foundation Board of Trustees.

Amol Aggarwal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University. By developing (and often combining) algebraic, analytic, and probabilistic frameworks, Aggarwal studies how intricate structures behave in large scaling limits under various guises, such as statistical mechanical systems with many molecules; random matrices of high dimension; and surfaces of large genus.

For more information please visit: Meet the 2022 Class of Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering – The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

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In Memoriam – Steven M. Zelditch

Professor Steven M. Zelditch of Northwestern University passed away on September 11, 2022, two days short of his 69th birthday. He was a Ritt Assistant Professor at Columbia University from 1981 to 1985 where, among many important works, he laid down the foundations for a geometric theory of quantum chaos. He was well-loved and respected by all those who knew him, and his memory will live on in the Columbia Mathematics department.

https://sites.math.northwestern.edu/steve_zelditch/

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SEPTEMBER 14: Jinyoung Park

Abstract: For a finite set X, a family F of subsets of X is said to be increasing if any set A that contains B in F is also in F. The p-biased product measure of F increases as p increases from 0 to 1, and often exhibits a drastic change around a specific value, which is called a “threshold.” Thresholds of increasing families have been of great historical interest and a central focus of the study of random discrete structures (e.g. random graphs and hypergraphs), with estimation of thresholds for specific properties the subject of some of the most challenging work in the area. In 2006, Jeff Kahn and Gil Kalai conjectured that a natural (and often easy to calculate) lower bound q(F) (which we refer to as the “expectation-threshold”) for the threshold is in fact never far from its actual value. The positive answer to this conjecture enables one to narrow down the location of thresholds for any increasing properties in a tiny window. In particular, this easily implies several previously very difficult results in probabilistic combinatorics such as thresholds for perfect hypergraph matchings (Johansson–Kahn–Vu) and bounded-degree spanning trees (Montgomery). In this talk, I will present the recent resolution of the Kahn-Kalai Conjecture, along with some preceding work around this topic. Based on joint work with Keith Frankston, Jeff Kahn, Bhargav Narayanan, and Huy Tuan Pham.

Where: Mathematics Hall, room 520
When: Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 04:30pm

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FALL 2022 SAMUEL EILENBERG LECTURES

LECTURES ON LOCAL SYSTEMS IN ALGEBRAIC-ARITHMETIC GEOMETRY”

Abstract: The topological fundamental group of a smooth  complex algebraic variety is poorly understood. One way to approach it is to consider its complex linear representations modulo conjugation, that is  complex local systems. One fundamental problem is to recognize those coming from geometry, and more generally subloci of the moduli space of local systems with special arithmetic properties. This is the object of deep conjectures. We’ll study some consequences of those, notably integrality and crystallinity properties.

Tuesdays at 2:40 pm

Room 520, Mathematics Hall

2990 Broadway (117th Street)

First lecture: September 13, 2022

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Algebraic Geometry, Mathematical Physics, and Solitons “A conference in honor of Professor Igor Krichever”

The “Algebraic Geometry, Mathematical Physics, and Solitons” conference will take place on Friday, October 7 through Sunday, October 9, 2022. Columbia University, Mathematics department will be hosting this event in honor of Professor Igor Krichever.

Registration is required. To access the conference schedule, please visit the website below.

A conference on connections between and applications of
integrable systems in algebra, geometry, and physics: Conference webpage

2990 Broadway

Mathematics Hall, room 312

New York, N.Y. 10027

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Reflections on Geometry: 3-Manifolds, Groups and Singularities “A Conference in Honor of Walter Neumann”

The “Reflections on Geometry: 3-Manifolds, Groups and Singularities” conference will take place on Tuesday, June 7 through Friday, June 10, 2022. Columbia University, Mathematics department will be hosting this event in honor of Professor Walter Neumann.

Registration is required. To access the conference schedule, please visit the website below.

Conference webpage

2990 Broadway

Mathematics Hall, room 312

New York, N.Y. 10027

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Columbia University Students Placed First in the MCM Competition!

“COMAP is pleased to announce the results of the 38th annual Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM). This year, 15,105 teams representing institutions from twenty-two countries/regions participated in the contest. Twenty-Three teams from the following institutions were designated as OUTSTANDING WINNERS:”

For more information, please visit website.

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Michael Harris elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Please join us in congratulating Professor Michael Harris on his recent election to the National Academy of Sciences!

For more information, visit the NAS press release: http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2022-nas-election.html

 

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