Math Table
Every Monday from 12:00 - 1:30 pm
Usually held in Valentine Terrace Room A - downstairs in Valentine Hall
Watch for emails for any changes
Math Table is an informal social time for students and faculty to get together and chat. There's no need to be majoring in Mathematics or Statistics; all are welcome. Please join us any time on Mondays between noon and 1:30 pm.
Upcoming Math Colloquium:
The Amherst College Math Colloquium is a series of talks for undergraduates. More information about upcoming and past talks can be found at
https://npflueger.github.io/colloquium
All are welcome! The talks are intended to be mostly accessible to students who have taken calculus, although they may also provide a preview of deeper waters. The colloquium talks are usually one hour long (50 + 10 minutes for questions). We usually have a 30 minute pre-talk small gathering (with snacks and refreshments) beforehand.
Wednesday, April 17
Speaker: Alanna Hoyer-Leitzel (Mount Holyoke College)
4:00pm talk in SMUD 206; 3:45pm refreshments in SMUD 208
Topic: Comparing models of disturbance in applied dynamical systems
Abstract: Different choices for modeling disturbance to a dynamical system can lead to different predictions of future outcomes. For example, when modeling population growth, traditional techniques use a continuous disturbance to model removing part of the population. However, if the disturbance is relatively fast compared to the recovery period, we can choose to remove part of the population instantaneously in a type of impulsive differential equation that I like to call a flow-kick system. In this talk I'll introduce flow-kick systems and show that when maintaining a constant disturbance rate, flow-kick systems can have qualitatively different outcomes than their analogous continuous systems if the time between disturbances is large enough. I'll discuss some theory briefly but mainly focus on applications, including fires in savannas and human immune system reaction to reoccurring exposure to a virus.
Bio: Alanna Hoyer-Leitzel is an Associate Professor Mathematics at Mount Holyoke College. Her research in dynamical systems focuses on bifurcations and disturbance, with applications in physical, ecological, and biological systems. She likes cats, small dogs, and dabbling in fiber arts and gardening.
Upcoming Statistics and Data Science Colloquium talks:
The Amherst College Statistics and Data Science Colloquium is a series of talks for undergraduates.
All are welcome! The talks are intended to be accessible to students who have taken several statistics courses, although they may also provide a preview of deeper waters. The colloquium talks are usually one hour long (50 + 10 minutes for questions). We usually have a 15 minute pre-talk small gathering (with snacks and refreshments) beforehand.
More information about the Statistics and Data Science Colloquium series and upcoming talks can be found at the following link: https://nhorton.people.amherst.edu/colloquia.