Seminars and Colloquia by Series

Science Matters lecture series - How Not to Be Wrong

Series
Other Talks
Time
Thursday, March 26, 2015 - 19:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Clary Theater, Bill Moore Student Success Center
Speaker
Jordan Ellenberg – University of Wisconsin, Department of Mathematics

Please Note: A reception will follow the talk and giving time for visitors to chat with Ellenberg and each other.

The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us how wrong this view is: Math touches everything we do, allowing us to see the hidden structures beneath the messy and chaotic surface of our daily lives. It’s a science of not being wrong, worked out through centuries of hard work and argument.

Physics Colloquium - The Intelligent Physics Student's Guide to Pricing and Hedging

Series
Other Talks
Time
Monday, December 1, 2014 - 15:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Howey Building - Room L2
Speaker
Emanuel Derman – Columbia University

Please Note: Predrag Cvitanovic, School of Physics

The syntax of theoretical physics and modern finance is deceptively similar, but the semantics is very different. I present a short introduction to the principles of modern finance, and compare and contrast the field to physics.

Some Classic Puzzles of Martin Gardner, The Best Friend Mathematics Ever Had

Series
Other Talks
Time
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 - 16:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 005
Speaker
Colm Mulcahy – Spelman College

Please Note: Colm Mulcahy is a professor of mathematics at Spelman College, in Atlanta, where he has taught since 1988. He's currently on leave in the DC area. Over the last decade, he has been at the forefront of publishing new mathemagical principles and effects for cards, particularly in his long-running bi-monthly Card Colm for the MAA. Some of his puzzles have been featured in the New York Times. His book Mathematical Card Magic: Fifty-Two New Effects was published by AK Peters/CRC Press in 2013. Colm is a recipient of MAA's Allendoerfer Award for excellence in expository writing, for an article on image compression using wavelets.

Martin Gardner was best known for his 300 "Mathematical Games" columns in Scientific American, in which he introduced thousands of budding mathematicians to topics such as RSA cryptography, fractals, Penrose tiles and Conway's game of Life, as well as elegant puzzles which still lead to "Aha!" moments today. In his centennial year we'll survey some of what he achieved and in particular the puzzle legacy he leaves behind.

Birth & Future of Multi-scale Modeling of Macromolecules

Series
Other Talks
Time
Monday, November 24, 2014 - 16:30 for 2.5 hours
Location
GT Student Center Ballroom
Speaker
2013 Nobel Laureate Michael Levitt – Stanford University

Please Note: Biography: Michael Levitt is an American-British-Israeli biophysicist and professor of structural biology in the Stanford University School of Medicine and a winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Born in South Africa in 1947, Levitt earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Kings College London and his Ph.D. in biophysics from Cambridge University. His research involves multi-scale approaches to molecular modeling: Coarse-grained models that merge atoms to allow folding simulation and hybrid models that combine classical and quantum mechanics to explain how enzymes works by electrostatic strain. Levitt's diverse interests have included RNA and DNA modeling, protein folding simulation, classification of protein folds and protein geometry, antibody modeling, x-ray refinement, antibody humanization, side-chain geometry, torsional normal mode, molecular dynamics in solution, secondary structure prediction, aromatic hydrogen bonds, structure databases, and mass spectrometry. His Stanford research team currently works on protein evolution, the crystallographic phase problem and Cryo-EM refinement. He is a member of both the Royal Society of London and the U.S. National Academy of Science. Levitt also remains an active computer programmer--"a craft skill of which I am particularly proud," he says.

The development multiscale models for complex chemical systems began in 1967 with publications by Warshel and Levitt recently recognized by the 2013 Nobel Committee for Chemistry. The simplifications used then at the dawn of the age of computational structural biology were mandated by computers that were almost a billion times less cost-effective than those we use today. These same multiscale models have become increasingly popular in application that range from simulation of atomic protein motion, to protein folding and explanation of enzyme catalysis. In this talk I describe the origins of computational structural biology and then go on to show some of the most exciting current and future applications. Please RSVP. Reception begins at 4:30PM; lecture starts at 5:00PM.

Frontiers in Science - Bionic Knees and Elephant Nerves

Series
Other Talks
Time
Thursday, November 6, 2014 - 19:00 for 2 hours
Location
Clary Theatre
Speaker
Max Donelan – Simon Fraser University, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology

Please Note: 
After the talk there will be a reception and time for visitors to chat with Donelan and each other.

Professor Max Donelan talks about the bionic energy harvester, which uses energy generated from walking to power portable devices. He also discusses his research on the reflexes and nerves of animals, from elephants to shrews.

Atlanta Lecture Series in Combinatorics and Graph Theory XIII

Series
Other Talks
Time
Saturday, November 1, 2014 - 13:00 for 4 hours (half day)
Location
Emory University
Speaker
Peter Keevash – Oxford University
Emory University, Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, with support from the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency, will continue the series of mini-conferences and host a series of 9 new mini-conferences from 2014-2017. The 13th of these mini-conferences will be held at Emory University during November 1-2, 2014. The conferences will stress a variety of areas and feature one prominent researcher giving 2 fifty minute lectures and 4 outstanding researchers each giving one fifty minute lecture. There will also be several 25 minute lecturers by younger researchers or graduate students. For more details, see the schedule

Homecoming 2014

Series
Other Talks
Time
Friday, October 31, 2014 - 16:00 for 5 hours
Location
North end of Tech Green
Speaker
Homecoming – Schools in the College of Sciences
This year's homecoming activities promise to be better than ever with all of the schools in the College of Sciences getting together to throw one big bash. Hear the CoS All-Star band, play casino and table games and take part in our photo contest. Come early to take a tour of science labs and hear faculty and students show-off their research. This is Halloween, so wear your costume to take part in the 2014 All Hallow's Eve Costume contest, if you wish. Come as your favorite costume, extra points for including some science in your get-up. There will be fabulous prizes, giveways and much, much more! Families, kids and guests are welcome. Those without an RSVP will still be able to purchase food, but for free food RSVP is required.

What does it mean to be intelligent?

Series
Other Talks
Time
Thursday, October 30, 2014 - 19:00 for 2 hours
Location
Clary Theater
Speaker
Randy Engle – School of Psychology, Georgia Tech

Please Note: After the lecture, there will be a reception and time to chat with Engle and other guests.

During the next Frontiers in Science lecture, Randy Engle, professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Psychology, will talk about how the cultural and biological aspects of human intelligence differ from each other, and even change over a lifetime. Engle will discuss how biologically based intelligence is involved in our ability to pay attention and resist distractions. He’ll also discuss how socio-economic status plays a role. He’ll uncover some of the brain mechanisms and genetics involved, and talk about recent attempts, by such companies as Lumosity, to help people improve their fluid intelligence.

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