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'''This page has not been updated in more than 1 year.''' 
The AMS Student Chapter Seminar (aka Donut Seminar) is an informal, graduate student seminar on a wide range of mathematical topics. The goal of the seminar is to promote community building and give graduate students an opportunity to communicate fun, accessible math to their peers in a stress-free (but not sugar-free) environment. Pastries (usually donuts) will be provided.


 
* '''When:''' Thursdays 4:00-4:30pm
 
The AMS Student Chapter Seminar is an informal, graduate student-run seminar on a wide range of mathematical topics. Pastries (usually donuts) will be provided.
 
* '''When:''' Wednesdays, 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
* '''Where:''' Van Vleck, 9th floor lounge (unless otherwise announced)
* '''Where:''' Van Vleck, 9th floor lounge (unless otherwise announced)
* '''Organizers:''' [https://www.math.wisc.edu/~hast/ Daniel Hast], [https://www.math.wisc.edu/~mrjulian/ Ryan Julian], Cullen McDonald, [https://www.math.wisc.edu/~zcharles/ Zachary Charles]
* '''Organizers:''' Ivan Aidun, Alex Bonat, Kaiyi Huang, Ethan Schondorf


Everyone is welcome to give a talk. To sign up, please contact one of the organizers with a title and abstract. Talks are 30 minutes long and should avoid assuming significant mathematical background beyond first-year graduate courses.
Everyone is welcome to give a talk. To sign up, please contact one of the organizers with a title and abstract. Talks are 25 minutes long and should avoid assuming significant mathematical background beyond first-year graduate courses.


The schedule of talks from past semesters can be found [[AMS Student Chapter Seminar, previous semesters|here]].
The schedule of talks from past semesters can be found [[AMS Student Chapter Seminar, previous semesters|here]].


== Spring 2017 ==
== Spring 2025 ==
 
<center>
=== January 25, Brandon Alberts ===
{| cellspacing="5" cellpadding="14" border="0" style="color:black; font-size:120%"
 
! align="center" width="200" bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |'''Date'''
Title: Ultraproducts - they aren't just for logicians
! align="center" width="200" bgcolor="#A6B658" |'''Speaker'''
 
! align="center" width="300" bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |'''Title'''
Abstract: If any of you have attended a logic talk (or one of Ivan's donut seminar talks) you may have learned about ultraproducts as a weird way to mash sets together to get bigger sets in a nice way. Something particularly useful to set theorists, but maybe not so obviously useful to the rest of us. I will give an accessible introduction to ultraproducts and motivate their use in other areas of mathematics.
! align="center" width="400" bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |'''Abstract'''
 
|-
=== February 1, Megan Maguire ===
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |January 30
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Caroline Nunn
Title: Hyperbolic crochet workshop
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Watch Caroline eat a donut: an introduction to Morse theory
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Morse theory has been described as "one of the deepest applications of differential geometry to topology." However, the concepts involved in Morse theory are so simple that you can learn them just by watching me eat a donut (and subsequently watching me give a 20 minute talk explaining Morse theory.) No background is needed beyond calc 3 and a passing familiarity with donuts.
Abstract: TBA
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |February 6
=== February 8, Cullen McDonald ===
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Inbo Gottlieb-Fenves
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Numbers Modulo One
=== February 15, Paul Tveite ===
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |For millions of years, people have wondered what subsets of the circle are invariant under multiplication by squares. In this talk, I will tell you the answer.
 
|-
Title: Fun with Hamel Bases!
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |February 13
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED
Abstract: If we view the real numbers as a vector field over the rationals, then of course they have a basis (assuming the AOC). This is called a Hamel basis and allows us to do some cool things. Among other things, we will define two periodic functions that sum to the identity function.
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
=== February 22, Wil Cocke ===
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |February 20
Title: Practical Graph Isomorphism
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Chiara Travesset
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
Abstract: Some graphs are different and some graphs are the same. Sometimes graphs differ only in name. When you give me a graph, you've picked an order. But, is it the same graph across every border?
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
 
|-
=== March 1, Megan Maguire ===
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |February 27
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Awildo Gutierrez
Title: I stole this talk from Jordan.
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
Abstract: Stability is cool! And sometimes things we think don't have stability secretly do. This is an abridged version of a very cool talk I've seen Jordan give a couple times. All credit goes to him. Man, I should have stolen his abstract too.
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |March 6
=== March 7, Liban Mohamed ===
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |TBA
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
Title: Strichartz Estimates from Qualitative to Quantitative
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
 
|-
Abstract: Strichartz estimates are inequalities that give one way understand the decay of solutions to dispersive PDEs. This talk is an attempt to reconcile the formal statements with physical intuition.
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |March 13
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |TBA
=== March 15, Zachary Charles ===
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
Title: Netflix Problem and Chill
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |March 19
Abstract: How are machine learning, matrix analysis, and Napoleon Dynamite related? Come find out!
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |TBA
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Special Visit Day Talks!
=== April 5, Vlad Matei ===
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
 
|-
=== April 12, Micky Steinberg ===
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |March 20
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED
Title: Groups as metric spaces
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
Abstract: Given a group as a set of generators and relations, we can define the “word metric” on the group as the length of the shortest word “between” two elements. This isn’t well-defined, since different generating sets give different metrics, but it is well-defined up to “quasi-isometry”.  Come find out what we can do with this! There will lots of pictures and hand-waving!
|-
 
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |March 27
=== April 19, Solly Parenti ===
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |SPRING BREAK
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
Title: Elementary Integration
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
 
|-
Abstract: Are you like me? Have you also told your calculus students that finding the antiderivative of e^(-x^2) is impossible? Do you also only have a slight idea about how to prove it? Come find out more about the proof and free yourself of that guilt.
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |April 3
 
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Emma Hayes
=== April 26, Ben Bruce ===
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
 
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
Title: Permutation models
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |April 10
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |TBA
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |April 17
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |TBA
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |April 24
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |TBA
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |May 1
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |TBA
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |TBA
|}
</center>


Abstract: Permutation models belong to a version of axiomatic set theory known as "set theory with atoms." I will give some examples of permutation models and highlight their connection to the axiom of choice and notions of infinity. There will be concrete examples, and no prior knowledge of set theory is required.


=== May 3, Iván Ongay-Valverde ===
== Fall 2024 ==
<center>
{| cellspacing="5" cellpadding="14" border="0" style="color:black; font-size:120%"
! align="center" width="200" bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |'''Date'''
! align="center" width="200" bgcolor="#A6B658" |'''Speaker'''
! align="center" width="300" bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |'''Title'''
! align="center" width="400" bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |'''Abstract'''
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |September 12
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Ari Davidovsky
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |95% of people can't solve this!
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" | [[File:Image.png|360px]]


Title: Living with countably many reals?
We will attempt to answer this question and along the way explore how algebra and geometry work together to solve problems in number theory.
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |September 19
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |September 26
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Mateo Morales
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Officially petitioning the department to acquire a ping pong table.
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Ever want to prove something is a free group of rank 2? Me too. One way to do this is to use a ping pong argument of how a group generated by two elements acts on a set.
I will illustrate the ping pong argument using an example of matrices, explain how it works, and explain why, kinda.


Abstract: Can I make you believe that a countable set of reals are all the reals? If we just have countably many reals, what happens with the others? Do they have any special properties? Let's play a little with our notion of 'reality' and allow to ourselves to find crazy reals doing weird things. Hopefully, no-one's headache will last forever.
Very approachable if you know what a group is but does require tons of ping pong experience.
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 3
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Karthik Ravishankar
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Incompleteness for the working mathematician
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |In this talk we'll take a look at Gödels famous incompleteness theorems and look at some of its immediate as well as interesting consequences. No background in logic is necessary!
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 10
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Elizabeth Hankins
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Mathematical Origami and Flat-Foldability
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |If you've ever unfolded a piece of origami, you might have noticed complicated symmetries in the pattern of creases left behind. What patterns of lines can and cannot be folded into origami? And why is it sometimes hard to determine?
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 17
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 24
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |October 31
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Jacob Wood
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |What is the length of a <s>potato</s> pumpkin?
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |How many is a jack-o-lantern? What is the length of a pumpkin? These questions sound like nonsense, but they have perfectly reasonable interpretations with perfectly reasonable answers. On our journey through the haunted house with two rooms, we will encounter some scary characters like differential topology and measure theory. Do not fear; little to no experience in either subject is required.
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |November 7
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |CANCELLED: DISTINGUISHED LECTURE
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |November 14
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Sapir Ben-Shahar
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Hexaflexagons
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Come along for some hexaflexafun and discover the mysterious properties of hexaflexagons, the bestagons! Learn how to make and navigate through the folds of your very own paper hexaflexagon. No prior knowledge of hexagons (or hexaflexagons) is assumed.
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |November 21
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Andrew Krenz
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |All concepts are database queries
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |A celebrated result of applied category theory states that the category of small categories is equivalent to the category of database schemas. Therefore, every theorem about small categories can be interpreted as a theorem about databases.  Maybe you've heard someone repeat Mac Lane's famous slogan "all concepts are Kan extensions."  In this talk, I'll give a high-level overview of/introduction to categorical database theory (developed by David Spivak) wherein Kan extensions play the role of regular every day database queries.  No familiarity with categories or databases will be assumed.
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |November 28
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |THANKSGIVING
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |NONE
|-
| bgcolor="#D0D0D0" |December 5
| bgcolor="#A6B658" |Ivan Aidun
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Impromptu talk
| bgcolor="#BCD2EE" |Caroline is sick today, so Ivan will give an impromptu talk about something.
|}
</center>

Latest revision as of 03:08, 7 February 2025

The AMS Student Chapter Seminar (aka Donut Seminar) is an informal, graduate student seminar on a wide range of mathematical topics. The goal of the seminar is to promote community building and give graduate students an opportunity to communicate fun, accessible math to their peers in a stress-free (but not sugar-free) environment. Pastries (usually donuts) will be provided.

  • When: Thursdays 4:00-4:30pm
  • Where: Van Vleck, 9th floor lounge (unless otherwise announced)
  • Organizers: Ivan Aidun, Alex Bonat, Kaiyi Huang, Ethan Schondorf

Everyone is welcome to give a talk. To sign up, please contact one of the organizers with a title and abstract. Talks are 25 minutes long and should avoid assuming significant mathematical background beyond first-year graduate courses.

The schedule of talks from past semesters can be found here.

Spring 2025

Date Speaker Title Abstract
January 30 Caroline Nunn Watch Caroline eat a donut: an introduction to Morse theory Morse theory has been described as "one of the deepest applications of differential geometry to topology." However, the concepts involved in Morse theory are so simple that you can learn them just by watching me eat a donut (and subsequently watching me give a 20 minute talk explaining Morse theory.) No background is needed beyond calc 3 and a passing familiarity with donuts.
February 6 Inbo Gottlieb-Fenves Numbers Modulo One For millions of years, people have wondered what subsets of the circle are invariant under multiplication by squares. In this talk, I will tell you the answer.
February 13 CANCELLED NONE NONE
February 20 Chiara Travesset TBA TBA
February 27 Awildo Gutierrez TBA TBA
March 6 TBA TBA TBA
March 13 TBA TBA TBA
March 19 TBA Special Visit Day Talks! TBA
March 20 CANCELLED NONE NONE
March 27 SPRING BREAK NONE NONE
April 3 Emma Hayes TBA TBA
April 10 TBA TBA TBA
April 17 TBA TBA TBA
April 24 TBA TBA TBA
May 1 TBA TBA TBA


Fall 2024

Date Speaker Title Abstract
September 12 Ari Davidovsky 95% of people can't solve this! Image.png

We will attempt to answer this question and along the way explore how algebra and geometry work together to solve problems in number theory.

September 19 CANCELLED NONE NONE
September 26 Mateo Morales Officially petitioning the department to acquire a ping pong table. Ever want to prove something is a free group of rank 2? Me too. One way to do this is to use a ping pong argument of how a group generated by two elements acts on a set.

I will illustrate the ping pong argument using an example of matrices, explain how it works, and explain why, kinda.

Very approachable if you know what a group is but does require tons of ping pong experience.

October 3 Karthik Ravishankar Incompleteness for the working mathematician In this talk we'll take a look at Gödels famous incompleteness theorems and look at some of its immediate as well as interesting consequences. No background in logic is necessary!
October 10 Elizabeth Hankins Mathematical Origami and Flat-Foldability If you've ever unfolded a piece of origami, you might have noticed complicated symmetries in the pattern of creases left behind. What patterns of lines can and cannot be folded into origami? And why is it sometimes hard to determine?
October 17 CANCELLED NONE NONE
October 24 CANCELLED NONE NONE
October 31 Jacob Wood What is the length of a potato pumpkin? How many is a jack-o-lantern? What is the length of a pumpkin? These questions sound like nonsense, but they have perfectly reasonable interpretations with perfectly reasonable answers. On our journey through the haunted house with two rooms, we will encounter some scary characters like differential topology and measure theory. Do not fear; little to no experience in either subject is required.
November 7 CANCELLED: DISTINGUISHED LECTURE NONE NONE
November 14 Sapir Ben-Shahar Hexaflexagons Come along for some hexaflexafun and discover the mysterious properties of hexaflexagons, the bestagons! Learn how to make and navigate through the folds of your very own paper hexaflexagon. No prior knowledge of hexagons (or hexaflexagons) is assumed.
November 21 Andrew Krenz All concepts are database queries A celebrated result of applied category theory states that the category of small categories is equivalent to the category of database schemas. Therefore, every theorem about small categories can be interpreted as a theorem about databases.  Maybe you've heard someone repeat Mac Lane's famous slogan "all concepts are Kan extensions."  In this talk, I'll give a high-level overview of/introduction to categorical database theory (developed by David Spivak) wherein Kan extensions play the role of regular every day database queries.  No familiarity with categories or databases will be assumed.
November 28 THANKSGIVING NONE NONE
December 5 Ivan Aidun Impromptu talk Caroline is sick today, so Ivan will give an impromptu talk about something.
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