In Spring 2022, math Club met Wednesdays in FMH 462. (View all quarters of Club.)

Wednesday, May 18, 2022, 4-5pm

Austen Nelson, Portland State University
Culinary Computation: Recipe and Network Structure Analysis.

Exploratory data analysis often involves decomposing the structure of large and complex networks. Learn how to collect and organize data into interpretable objects and apply graph theory tools such as modularity, hierarchical clustering, and spatial embedding to understand their structure. In this project, I build a network of cooking ingredients which can be analyzed to suggest ingredients for existing recipes, generate original recipes from specified constraints, and demonstrate the relationship between ingredients and recipes.

Wednesday, May 11, 2022, 12-1pm

Liubomir Chiriac, Portland State University
Problem Solving Seminar (joint event with Pi Mu Epsilon).

In this seminar Dr. Liubomir Chiriac will present a problem in number theory involving the Fibonacci sequence and discuss the background required as well as the techniques to solve the problem. He will also share his experiences in problem solving.

Wednesday, May 4, 2022, 4-5pm

Sydney Schmidt, Portland State University
Using Differential Equations to Model a Plucked Guitar String.

There are many connections between mathematics and music. One connection being how the wave equation can be used to model a plucked bass guitar string. We will begin by developing the solution to the boundary value wave equation problem employing standard techniques, including separation of variables and Fourier series expansion. We will then discretize the problem to look at numerical simulations. Finally, we conclude with some new directions for research and an alternate way to model a (non-bass) guitar string. If you like music and math, this talk is for you!

Wednesday, April 27, 2022, 3-4pm

John Caughman, Portland State University
Problem Solving Seminar (joint event with Pi Mu Epsilon).

In this seminar Professor John Caughman will present a math problem and discuss the background required as well as the techniques to solve the problem. He will also share his experiences in problem solving. You are invited to participate in a fun mathematics competition after the seminar. The winner of the competition will get an award.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022, 4-5pm

Sam Reynolds, Portland State University
Vector Graphs and the Minimum Rank Problem.

Given a graph, assign each of the vertices a vector in such a way that two vertices are connected by an edge if and only if their assigned vectors are not orthogonal. What is the smallest dimension needed for the vectors in order to be able to do this? We demonstrate that, very often, this problem can be solved with easy graph theoretic computations.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022, 4-5pm

Pieter Vandenberge, Portland State University
Intro to Math Club and LaTex

Math Club is a meeting group for all math students at Portland State. It’s a place to get together to talk about what interests us most in math, a place to practice giving presentations, and a place to meet people. Meetings are led by a speaker talking about their interests or research. Speakers can be any Portland State math student. We spend part of the time listening and the remainder of the time talking with each other and asking questions. This first week, after an introduction to Math Club, we’ll learn about the amazing math typesetting system known as LATEX(lay- tech) and how to use it to easily and quickly create beautiful mathematical documents. No experience is necessary, and everyone is encouraged to come. Please bring a laptop so you can write your own lovely math.