In Spring 2016, math Club met at 4pm in Neuberger Hall 373*. (View all quarters of Club.)

*On May 12, we met in Neuberger Hall 204.

Thursday, April 5, 2016

Blake Rector, Portland State University
Optimization of smart solar inverters in a transactive control setting

Transactive control is a method by which economic signals can be used to help control the electric grid. We discuss an optimization problem posed in such a setting involving solar panels, a smart solar inverter, and battery storage.

Since Blake is also the Club president, there will also be a short introduction to the Club to let everyone know what’s up with it and why it is cool. You should be there!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Barry Fadness, Portland State University
The unit circle

   slides
When you first take courses in algebra, analysis, and topology, they may seem like distinct subjects. At the intersection of these areas, though, you will find Lie groups, of which the unit circle is a simple example. It is difficult to study Lie groups directly, so one examines other related objects that give information about the groups. I shall discuss two of them, which will then be applied to the circle.

Thursday, May 12, 2016 (in a special location: Neuberger Hall 204)

Maricela Mckay, Portland State University
Building mathematical models to capture multi-scale phenomena in applied geophysics problems

We are developing a methodology for studying the effects of anisotropy in earthquake cycle models. We will begin by describing the mathematical governing equations which are coupled to a non-linear friction law at one boundary of the domain. The methodology captures highly varying time scales. We will show some preliminary simulation results.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

James Mahoney, Portland State University
A mathematical warning

The Fibonacci sequence has too many patterns. Any investigation into the sequence, no matter how casual, will turn up a pattern. You might think this pattern is new. You could be right, but you're probably not. Even if it is new, good luck proving that it always holds. This talk is meant to be a cautionary tale, revealing my own harrowing experiences with patterns in the Fibonacci sequence so that you don't have to make the same mistakes I did.