Seminars and Colloquia by Series

Discrete Mathematical Biology Working Seminar

Series
Other Talks
Time
Monday, April 2, 2012 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 114
Speaker
Emily RogersSchool of Mathematics, Georgia Tech
A discussion of the papers "Accurate SHAPE-directed RNA structure determination" by Deigan et al (2008) and "SHAPE-directed RNA secondary structure prediction" by Low and Weeks (2010).

Discrete Mathematical Biology Working Seminar

Series
Other Talks
Time
Monday, March 26, 2012 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 114
Speaker
Will PerkinsGeorgia Tech
A discussion of the paper "Complete suboptimal folding of RNA and the stability of secondary structures" by Wuchty et al (1999).

Modern Aspects of Submodularity

Series
Other Talks
Time
Monday, March 19, 2012 - 09:20 for 8 hours (full day)
Location
Klaus 1116
Speaker
Tutorial lectures by Andreas Krause, Kazuo Murota and Jan VondrakETH, University of Tokyo, and IBM
Workshop Theme: Submodular functions are discrete analogues of convex functions, arising in various fields of computer science and operations research. Since the seminal work of Jack Edmonds (1970), submodularity has long been recognized as a common structure of many efficiently solvable combinatorial optimization problems. Recent algorithmic developments in the past decade include combinatorial strongly polynomial algorithm for minimization, constant factor approximation algorithms for maximization, and efficient methods for learning submodular functions. In addition, submodular functions find novel applications in combinatorial auctions, machine learning, and social networks. This workshop aims at providing a forum for researchers from a variety of backgrounds for exchanging results, ideas, and problems on submodular optimization and its applications. The workshop will be held from March 19-22, 2012. For complete details and workshop program, please see the website.

Physics Colloquium - The Physics of How Viruses Make New Viruses

Series
Other Talks
Time
Monday, March 12, 2012 - 15:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Markus Nano Conference Rm. 1116
Speaker
Rob PhillipsCal Tech
The viruses that infect bacteria have a hallowed position in the development of modern biology, and once inspired Max Delbruck refer to them as "the atom of biology". Recently, these viruses have become the subject of intensive physical investigation. Using single-molecule techniques, it is actually possible to watch these viruses in the act of packing and ejecting their DNA. This talk will begin with a general introduction to viruses and their life cycles and will then focus on simple physical arguments about the forces that attend viral DNA packaging and ejection, predictions about the ejection process and single-molecule measurements of ejection itself.

Karlovitz Lecture - From the Bees to the Birds Research Adventures

Series
Other Talks
Time
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 17:30 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Clough Commons, Room 144
Speaker
Dr. Bernd HeinrichUniversity of Vermont

Please Note: Booksigning to follow.

Author and biologist Bernd Heinrich will discuss his research into the biological mysteries of social insects and birds, including the seemingly illogical food-sharing behavior of ravens.

Discrete Mathematical Biology Working Seminar

Series
Other Talks
Time
Monday, March 5, 2012 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 114
Speaker
Shel SwensonGeorgia Tech
The paper "Complete probabilistic analysis of RNA shapes" (2006) by Voss, Giegerich, and Rehmsmeier will be discussed.

Discrete Mathematical Biology Working Seminar

Series
Other Talks
Time
Monday, February 27, 2012 - 11:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Skiles 114
Speaker
Shel SwensonGeorgia Tech
The paper "Abstract shapes of RNA" (2004) by Giegerich, Voss, and Rehmsmeier will be discussed.

Atlanta Lecture Series in Combinatorics and Graph Theory

Series
Other Talks
Time
Saturday, February 25, 2012 - 13:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Math and Science Center, Emory University
Speaker
Jacob FoxMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The 5th in a series of 9 mini-conferences features Jacob Fox as the prominent researcher who will give 2 fifty-minute lectures and 4 other outstanding researchers each giving one fifty-minute lecture. There will also be several 25-minute lectures by young researchers and graduate students. The lectures will begin at 1 PM on Saturday, February 25 and conclude at at noon on Sunday, February 26.To register, please send an email to rg@mathcs.emory.edu and for complete details, see the website. Registration is free.

4th Georgia Scientific Computing Symposium

Series
Other Talks
Time
Saturday, February 25, 2012 - 08:30 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Room S175, Coverdell Center, University of Georgia
Speaker
Georgia Scientific Computing SymposiumUniversity of Georgia
The purpose of the GSC Symposium is to provide an opportunity for professors, postdocs, and graduate students in the Atlanta area to meet in an informal setting, to exchange ideas, and to highlight local scientific computing research. Certainly, the symposium is open to whole mathematics and computer sciences communities. Three previous meetings were held at Emory University (2009), Georgia Institute of Technology (2010), and Emory University (2011). The 2012 GSC Symposium will be held at the University of Georgia campus and is organized by Dept. of Mathematics, University of Georgia. The following researchers have agreed to give invited plenary lectures: David Bader, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology; Michele Benzi, Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science, Emory University; Sung Ha Kang, School of Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology; Tianming Liu, Dept. of Computer Sciences, University of Georgia; Andrew Sornborger, Dept. of Mathematics, University of Georgia. There will be two poster sessions. Anyone attending this symposium may present a poster. We especially encourage graduate students and postdocs to use this opportunity displaying their research results. Please register at the  website.

Fish Robotics - Understanding the Diversity of Fish Locomotion Using Mechanical Devices

Series
Other Talks
Time
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 16:00 for 1 hour (actually 50 minutes)
Location
Klaus 1116
Speaker
George V. LauderHarvard University

Please Note: Hosted by Dan Goldman, School of Physics

There are over 28,000 species of fishes, and a key feature of this remarkable evolutionary diversity is a great variety of propulsive systems used by fishes for maneuvering in the aquatic environment. Fishes have numerous control surfaces (fins) which act to transfer momentum to the surrounding fluid. In this presentation I will discuss the results of recent experimental kinematic and hydrodynamic studies of fish fin function, and their implications for the construction of robotic models of fishes. Recent high-resolution video analyses of fish fin movements during locomotion show that fins undergo much greater deformations than previously suspected and fish fins possess an clever active surface control mechanism. Fish fin motion results in the formation of vortex rings of various conformations, and quantification of vortex rings shed into the wake by freely-swimming fishes has proven to be useful for understanding the mechanisms of propulsion. Experimental analyses of propulsion in freely-swimming fishes have led to the development of a variety of self-propelling robotic models: pectoral fin and caudal fin (tail) robotic devices, and a flapping foil model fish of locomotion. Data from these devices will be presented and discussed in terms of the utility of using robotic models for understanding fish locomotor dynamics.

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