Math and Physics Faculty/Student Research Seminar: Fall 2009 Schedule

All seminars are at 11:30 Thursday in the 3^rd floor math conference room (PMB 317) Lunch is provided!  

•  Date: 17 September 2009
  • Speaker:  Aaron Pollack, Wolfram Research.
  • Title: Mathematica 7: An Introduction
  • Abstract: This seminar will be given 100% in Mathematica and will show useful teaching and research examples for mathematics, the physical sciences, engineering, and business/economics. Ideas for creating universal examples in Mathematica that can be used by colleagues or students with no prior Mathematica experience will be a central theme. Since there is a large amount of new functionality in Version 7, most intermediate and advanced users who attend these talks report learning quite a bit as well. All attendees will receive an electronic copy of the examples, which can be adapted to individual projects.

•  Date: 8 October 2009
  • Speaker: Dr. Stefan Forcey, TSU.
  • Title: New quotients of the weak order on symmetric functions, and the algebras they support.
  • Abstract:  One can represent the elements of the symmetric groups in multiple ways. Classically these pictures have allowed lattices such as the Tamari order on binary trees and the Boolean posets to be seen as projections of the weak order on symmetric functions. In recent investigations into recursively defined families of convex polytopes we have uncovered several new poset structures on the skeletons of said polytopes. The shapes include familiar examples such as the simplices and cyclohedra (also known as type B associahedra) as well as less familiar examples from higher category and homotopy theory: the multiplihedra and composihedra.   We compare the new poset structures to Reading's Cambrian lattices. We then describe the algebras whose bases are our new posets, and whose product structure is inherited from the well known Hopf algebra of symmetric functions.

• Date: 15 October 2009

• Speaker: Dr. Sivapragasam Sathananthan, TSU.
• Title: Stochastic Discrete-Time Systems Under Markovian Switching:  Robust Feedback Control  Via Linear Matrix Inequalities.
• Abstract:  A problem of state feedback stabilization of discrete-time stochastic processes under Markovian switching is considered. The jump Markovian switching is modeled by a discrete-time Markov chain and the noise or stochastic environmental disturbance is modeled by a sequence of identically independently normally distributed random variables. Sufficient conditions based on linear matrix inequalities (LMI's) for stochastic stability is obtained. The proposed control law for this stochastic stability result depended on the mode of the system as well as the environmental disturbances. The robustness results of such stability concept against all admissible uncertainties are also investigated. If time permits, we will also discuss about H-infinity disturbance attenuation problem~.

• Date: 22 October 2009
  • Speaker: Andre Strong, TSU.
  • Title: TBA
  • Abstract:.

• Date: 29 October 2009
  • Speaker:  Michael Knap, TSU.
  • Title: TBA
  • Abstract:  .

• Date: 12 November 2009
  • Speaker: Dr. Yunlong Cui, Fisk University.
  • Title: Crystal growth and characterization of  scintillator material
  • Abstract: Europium-doped barium and strontium iodide crystals are high light yield scintillators with excellent energy resolution. The energy resolution of SrI₂:Eu at 662 KeV under ¹³⁷Cs gamma-ray irradiation has reached 2.6%.  In this presentation, I will report on material purification and crystal growth of BaI₂:Eu and SrI₂:Eu from the vertical Bridgman method. The crystals have been characterized with polarized Raman spectroscopy, optical absorption, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX)..

• Date: 19 November 2009, 10:00 am
  • Speaker: Senior Project Presentations.
  • Title: