Mathematical Sciences

Colloquium: Dr. Sarah Sword
2025-01-24 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Studying Successful Doctoral Students from Underrepresented Groups
Dr. Sarah Sword
Principal Research Scientist
Education Development Center, Inc.
In this talk, we will share early findings from an NSF study of 75 doctoral students and recent PhDs in mathematics from underrepresented groups. The project has conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with four cohorts: newly accepted students, early graduate students (pre-qualifying exams), advanced graduate students (dissertation level), and recent PhDs (0-5 years since graduation). The research questions in the study are: (1) What are lived experiences of successful underrepresented students who are pursuing mathematics PhDs? and (2) What formal and informal structures are perceived by doctoral students as effective supports? Themes drawn from the interviews can inform department policies and practices to create environments that support students from underrepresented groups as they earn PhDs in mathematics.

Graduate Student Colloquium: Soft Open
2025-01-31 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Graduate Student Colloquium: Soft Open
This is our first Math Graduate Student Colloquium. We will be hanging out, eating snacks, and getting back into the swing of semester life. Please, join us and get a feel of what to expect in this semester’s colloquium. If you want to bring any snacks, feel free to show off any baking, cooking, or generosity skills.

Community of Practice: Introduction to Transparency in Learning and Teaching
2025-02-07 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Community of Practice: Introduction to Transparency in Learning and Teaching
What is the core purpose of the assignments, tasks, and learning opportunities in our courses? Better yet, what do our students think is the primary purpose? In this workshop we will discuss Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) and how it can inform our teaching. We’ll develop a list of best practices and brainstorm how to implement in our courses. To get the most out of the session, bring an assignment such as a homework set, an out-of-class task, or a project from a class you’re teaching – ideally something coming up this semester or early next semester—and bring along a colleague, too! We’ll actively workshop together, and you’ll walk away with a new and improved transparent assignment (or at least the tools to build one)!

For a sneak peek, check out tilthighered.com

Facilitated by Hayley Nathan and Suzanne Boyd.

Colloquium: Ning Wei
2025-02-07 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
The Impact of Ephaptic Coupling and Ionic Electrodiffusion on Arrhythmogenesis in the Heart
Ning Wei
Assistant Professor
Purdue University
Cardiac myocytes synchronize through electrical signaling to contract heart muscles, facilitated by gap junctions (GJs) in the intercalated disc (ID). GJs provide low-resistance pathways for electrical impulse propagation between myocytes, serving as the primary mechanism for electrical communication in the heart. However, research indicates that conduction can persist without GJs. For instance, GJ knockout mice still exhibit slow, discontinuous electrical propagation, suggesting alternative communication mechanisms. Ephaptic coupling (EpC) serves as an alternative way for cell communication, relying on electrical fields within narrow clefts between neighboring myocytes. Studies show that EpC can enhance conduction velocity (CV) and reduce conduction block (CB), especially when GJs are compromised. Reduced GJs and significant electrochemical gradients are prevalent in various heart diseases. However, existing models often fail to capture their combined influence on cardiac conduction, which limits our understanding of both the physiological and pathological aspects of the heart. Our study aims to address this gap by developing a two-dimensional (2D) multidomain electrodiffusion model that incorporates EpC. This is the first model to capture the dynamics of all ions across multiple domains, enabling us to reveal the impact of EpC in the heart. In particular, we investigated the interplay between ionic electrodiffusion and EpC on action potential propagation, morphology, electrochemical properties and arrhythmogenesis in both healthy and ischemic hearts. Our findings indicate that ionic electrodiffusion enhances CV and reduces CB under strong EpC. Specifically, the electrodiffusion of Ca2+ and K+ intensifies the effects of EpC on action potential morphology, whereas Na+ diffusion mitigates these effects. Ionic electrodiffusion also facilitates action potential propagation into ischemic regions when EpC is substantial. Moreover, strong EpC can effectively terminate reentry, prevent its initiation, and lower the maximum dominant frequency (max DF), irrespective of GJ functionality. However, weak EpC may help counteract proarrhythmic effects when GJ coupling is slightly to moderately reduced, contributing to the stabilization of conduction patterns. Additionally, strong EpC notably alters ionic concentrations in the cleft, significantly increasing [K+] and nearly depleting [Ca2+], while causing moderate changes in [Na+]. This multidomain electrodiffusion model sheds light on the mechanisms of EpC in the heart.

Graduate Student Colloquium: Liam Jemison
2025-02-14 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, Room E495, E495; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Finite Elements for Mathematicians
Liam Jemison
PhD Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
We will discuss the finite element method, a powerful approach for numerically solving differential equations. We will introduce the weak formulation of a differential equation from the functional analysis viewpoint with a simple application of the galerkin method, and then discuss generalizations, some error estimates, and software implementations.

Colloquium: Dr. Alexander Wilson
2025-02-14 14:00 - 15:30
Symmetries and Diagram Algebras
Dr. Alexander Wilson
Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Oberlin College
In this talk I will introduce you to the world of symmetric group representations through diagram algebras, which trace their origin to the Temperley-Lieb algebra with applications in integrable models, knot theory, and quantum groups. For representation theory, these algebras offer a sneaky path toward solving difficult problems by understanding the ways that graph-theoretic diagrams combine. The only background I will assume is some familiarity with linear algebra, so if you like (or at least tolerate) playing around with pretty combinatorial objects, I hope you’ll attend!

Community of Practice: Supporting Students in Math (SupportU)
2025-02-21 12:00 - 13:30 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Community of Practice: Supporting Students in Math (SupportU)
Have you interacted with a student that you were especially concerned about, but you didn’t quite know what to say, who to tell, or what to do? Perhaps the student confided in you about a serious personal issue, said something that led you to worry about them, or acted in a way that concerned you. We welcome Dr. Becky Freer, the Associate Dean of Students, who will facilitate a training on supporting students. You’ll learn tools to identify and support students who may be experiencing challenges or crises. You’ll also learn about how to make referrals, seek assistance, and connect students to the Dean of Students Office Case Managers as well as campus and community resources.

Facilitated by Dr. Becky Freer, Associate Dean of Students

Colloquium: Mr. Mike Clutterbuck
2025-02-21 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Embeddings: The Language of AI
Mr. Mike Clutterbuck
Lead Data Scientist
Wantable Inc.
Embeddings are a core concept in machine learning that help AI understand and organize complex data. They take things like words, images, or user behavior and turn them into compact numerical representations, making it easier for AI to spot patterns and relationships. This is how LLMs understand language and recommendation systems personalize content.
Mathematically, embeddings work by placing similar items closer together in a structured space, using techniques like matrix factorization, neural networks, and dimensionality reduction. This makes them essential for search, personalization, fraud detection, next-word prediction, and more. While they might seem abstract, embeddings are working behind the scenes in many of the AI-powered products and tools we use today

PhD Dissertation Defense: Kimberly Harry
2025-02-27 10:00 - 12:00 | EMS Building, Room W434, W434; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Kostant’s Formula and Parking Functions: Combinatorial Explorations
Kimberly Harry
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
We let L(λ) denote the irreducible highest weight representation of the classical simple Lie algebra g with highest weight λ. Kostant’s weight multiplicity formula gives a way to compute the multiplicity of a weight µ in L(λ), denoted m(λ, µ), via an alternating sum over the Weyl group whose terms involve the Kostant partition function. The Weyl alternation set A(λ, µ) is the set of Weyl group elements that contribute nontrivially to the multiplicity m(λ, µ). We prove that Weyl alternation sets are order ideals in the weak Bruhat order of the Weyl group. Specializing to the Lie algebra of type A, we prove that the Weyl alternation sets A(˜α, µ), where ˜α is the highest root of sl_{r+1}(C) and µ is a positive root is a product of Fibonacci numbers. Using this result, we show that the q-multiplicity of the positive root in the representation L(˜α) is precisely a power of q. We give a complete characterization of the Weyl alternation sets A(˜α, µ), where µ is now a negative root of sl_{r+1}(C). We also show that the cardinality of these Weyl alternation sets satisfies a two-term recurrence relation involving Fibonacci numbers. Time permitting I will present further results related to collaborative projects I have contributed to during my years at UWM.
Advisor: Pamela E. Harris
Committee Members:
Profs. Jeb Willenbring, Kevin McLeod, Gabriella Pinter, and Jonah Gaster

Graduate Student Colloquium: Matt McClinton
2025-02-28 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, Room E495, E495; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Fractal Geometry and Non-Integer Dimensions
Matt McClinton
PhD Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Popularized in the 1980s, fractals have become something of a household name. These fractal sets often demonstrate peculiar topological properties. One such property is the notion of a fractal dimension. Sets such as the Cantor set, Sierpinski Gasket (SG), and the von Koch curve are traditionally visualized in 2D images. However, these sets actually exist in-between dimensions 1 and 2!
Certain fractals can be built using what is known as an Iterated Function System (IFS), and there is a powerful theorem stating that having an IFS representation of a fractal provides a simple means of determining the fractal dimension. I will begin by stating the IFS that generates the Sierpinski Gasket. There are two transformations on the Gasket to which creates the Level-n Stretched Sierpinski Gasket (SSG^n). I will demonstrate how one constructs the IFS for SSG^n, as well as provide the highlights to a theorem in which I prove the fractal dimension of SSG^n.

Colloquium: Prof. Alastair Fletcher
2025-02-28 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, EMS E495, 3200 Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Infinitesimal Spaces of Quasiregular Mappings
Prof. Alastair Fletcher
Professor of Mathematical Sciences and Director of Undergraduate Studies
Northern Illinois University
How can we differentiate functions which are not differentiable? In the context of quasiregular mappings, a generalization of holomorphic functions where now infinitesimal circles are mapped to infinitesimal ellipses, there is a satisfactory answer to this question given by infinitesimal spaces. In this talk, we will survey these objects and discuss some ongoing work with relevance to the Decomposition Problem for bi-Lipschitz maps.

Community of Practice: Let's Talk About OER (Open Educational Resources*)
2025-03-07 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Community of Practice: Let’s Talk About OER (Open Educational Resources*)

We will chat about the state of OER (Open Educational Resources*) within the Community and within the department. We’ll discuss its pros and cons as well as opportunities and barriers. Please bring any of your own thoughts, concerns, and experiences related to OER!
*OER refers to learning materials that are free to access, reuse, and adapt. For example, open textbooks, open learning videos, open online homework platforms, open lesson plans, etc.
Facilitated by Kelly Kohlmetz

Colloquium: Dr. Jason DeBlois
2025-03-07 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Some Things We Do and Don’t Know About Knots
Dr. Jason DeBlois
Associate Professor
University of Pittsburgh
In this talk, “knot” will mean a circle embedded in three-dimensional space. These have been formally studied since the late 19th century. More recently, new computational and geometric tools have allowed us to make substantial progress on understanding the landscape of knots and their invariants, but they have also raised new questions. I will introduce the study of knots, sketch its history, and describe what is known (to me) about some of these questions relating to hyperbolic geometry.

Graduate Student Colloquium: Ariel Minakawa and Gavin Sayrs
2025-03-14 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, Room E495, E495; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Stirling Permutations to Increasing Plane Trees and Back
Ariel Minakawa and Gavin Sayrs
Undergraduate Students
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
A Stirling permutation is a permutation on the multiset {1,1, 2, 2, 3, 3, … ,n, n} such that any numbers appearing between repeated values of i must be greater than i. Recall that a plane tree is a tree drawn on a plane with no edges crossing. An increasing plane tree is a plane tree where each vertex is labeled from 1 to n, with labels increasing away from the root. Our main result establishes a bijection from Stirling permutations to its respective increasing plain tree.

Colloquium: Prof. Shamgar Gurevich
2025-03-14 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
How you think on a function defined on 0,1,…,N-1?
Prof. Shamgar Gurevich
Professor of Mathematics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Between thousand to million times per day, your cellphone calculates the Fourier Transform (FT) of certain functions defined on 0,1,…,N-1, with N large (order of magnitude of thousands and more). The calculation is done using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) – discovered by Cooley–Tukey in 1965 and by Gauss in 1805.
In the lecture I want to advertise a beautiful way—due to Auslander-Tolimieri—to obtain the FFT as a natural consequence of an answer to the following:
QUESTION: How to think on the space of functions on the set 0,1,…,N-1?
Engineers tell us that there are two answers for this question:
(A) as functions on that set, where 0,1,…,N-1 regarded as times;
and,
(B) as functions on that set, where 0,1,…,N-1 regarded frequencies;
and then the FT is an operator translating between the two spaces.
In the lecture, I will explain that there is another answer, i.e., a not so well-known third space (C), of arithmetic nature, that also gives an answer to the above question, and then the FFT appears simply as the composition of two operators:
the one translating between spaces (A) and (C), and the one that translates (C) to (B).
Remark: The lecture is prepared to be understood to anyone who is familiar with basic linear algebra. In particular, advanced undergraduate students, from computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, etc, are more than welcome to attend.

Spring Break
2025-03-16 - 2025-03-23

Graduate Student Colloquium: Jackson Thurmond
2025-03-28 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, Room E495, E495; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Generalized Linear Model Approach to the Prediction of the Outcome of Mixed Martial Arts Fights
Jackson Thurmond
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Mixed martial arts is a complex combat sport that encompasses striking, grappling and submissions. In a sport where fights can be won by finishing a fight or go to decision there is a multitude of factors that can influence the outcome of a fight. In the Ultimate Fighting Championship a fighter is either designated the red or blue corner. Since mixed martial arts is a sport in which two competitors fight, and one is declared a winner, the result of a fight can be thought of a binary classification problem. In an effort to determine which factors are statistically significant to a fight, a generalized linear model approach was selected.

Colloquium: Dr. Lauren Rose
2025-03-28 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, EMS E495, 3200 Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Quads, Finite Geometry, and Sidon Sets
Dr. Lauren Rose
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Bard College
Quads is a SET-like card game, produced by the AWM under the name “EvenQuads”. The cards can be represented as points in $mathbb{Z}_2^6$​, where a quad in the game corresponds to an affine plane in the finite geometry$ AG(6,2)$. Our primary focus is on quad-free collections of cards, which correspond to Sidon sets. We explore an Quads analog of the “Cap Set” problem for SET, presenting results and ongoing research.

Math Community of Practice: Let's Talk About Math Anxiety
2025-04-04 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Math Community of Practice: Let’s Talk About Math Anxiety

According to a March 2024 US News survey, most college students report struggling with mental health issues. Given that mathematicians are typically not mental health professionals, knowing how to address this in the classroom often falls outside the scope of our expertise. This session will introduce participants to the concept of math anxiety, a mental health issue that affects how students perform in our classrooms. Participants will learn about the condition, dispel some common myths and rumors about mental health in the classroom, and leave with a list of research-supported interventions they can try in their classes to support students with math anxiety without sacrificing content or rigor.
Facilitated by Beccah MacKinnon

Colloquium: Dr. Suzanne Boyd
2025-04-04 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Polynomial-time Computability of the Julia Set for Polynomial Skew Products of Two Complex Variables
Dr. Suzanne Boyd
Associate Professor
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Ingrained in the modern study of dynamical systems is the use of computer experiments for revelation and illustration. In this talk, I will explain a polynomial-time computer algorithm for approximating the Julia set of a polynomial skew product of two complex variables. I will begin by defining the involved terms, including computability, Julia set, and polynomial skew product. This work is joint with Christian Wolf. It relies on some my previous work on designing and implementing rigorous computer algorithms to confirm results of the experimental observations on the dynamics of polynomial maps of two complex variables, including polynomial skew products. These algorithms are designed to locate a neighborhood of the chain recurrent set, build a model of the dynamics of the map on this set, and attempt to determine hyperbolicity (or Axiom A) of the map on its chain recurrent set.

MS Thesis Defense: Mr. Gregor Grote
2025-04-15 15:30 - 17:00 | EMS Building, Room W434, W434; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Homomesy: Theory, Applications, and Explorations
Gregor Grote
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Homomesy is a phenomenon that occurs in combinatorial structures when the average value of a statistic over each orbit is the same. This talk explores the theory of homomesy for arbitrary sets, functions, and statistics. I provide general results about homomesy and show how these can be used to solve problems in combinatorics more efficiently.
Advisor:
Pamela E. Harris
Committee Members:
Suzanne L. Boyd
David Spade

Marden Lecture: Dr. Trachette Jackson
2025-04-16 16:30 - 17:30 | Lubar Hall N140, 3202 N Maryland Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Mobilizing Mathematics for the Fight Against Cancer
Dr. Trachette Jackson
Professor of Mathematics and Associate Vice President for Research – Strategic Partnerships and Inclusive Excellence
University of Michigan
It is an exciting time to work in the interdisciplinary field of Mathematical Oncology. Even TIME Magazine agrees, “A team-based, cross-disciplinary approach to cancer research is upending tradition and delivering results faster.” Mathematical oncologists apply mathematical and computational modeling approaches to every aspect of cancer biology, from tumor initiation to malignant spread to treatment response. This talk will highlight a suite of mathematical models from the past and present designed to improve the efficacy of drug treatment strategies for cancer. Combined with existing and newly generated experimental data, these mathematical models are poised to enhance the ability to combine promising drugs for clinical trials. This type of interdisciplinary science can reduce the time and costs associated with transitioning novel therapeutics approaches from “equations to bench to bedside.”
Reception to follow in LEC

Marden Lecture Banquet
2025-04-16 17:30 - 19:00 | EMS Building, EMS E495, 3200 Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States

Marden Colloquium: Dr. Trachette Jackson
2025-04-17 13:00 - 14:00 | EMS Building, EMS E495, 3200 Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Agent-based Modeling of Dysregulated Cell Signaling and the Tumor-Immune Landscape Predicts New Possibilities for Combination Therapy
Dr. Trachette Jackson
Professor of Mathematics and Associate Vice President for Research – Strategic Partnerships and Inclusive Excellence
University of Michigan
Mathematical models, specifically agent-based models (ABMs), have shown recent successes in uncovering the multiscale dynamics that shape the trajectory of cancer. They have enabled the optimization of treatment methods and the identification of novel therapeutic strategies. To assess the combined effects on tumor growth and the immune response of monoclonal antibodies that boost the immune system (immunotherapy) and small molecule inhibitors (SMI) that counteract the effect of driver mutations, we build and analyze an ABM that captures key facets of tumor heterogeneity and immune cell dynamics, their spatial interactions, and their response to therapeutic pressures. Our model predicts that under certain conditions, immunotherapy alone is optimal; in others, immunotherapy followed by mutation-targeted therapy is best. These results suggest that optimal treatment depends on the strength of cellular signaling pathways and highlight the need to quantify mutation-dependent cell signaling and the fitness advantage conferred on cancer cells harboring these mutations.

Graduate Student Colloquium: Noah Mitchell, Levi Montee, and Harrison Piehowski
2025-04-18 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, Room E495, E495; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
The RSA Algorithm: Demonstration and Proofs
Noah Mitchell, Levi Montee, and Harrison Piehowski
Graduate Students
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
In this talk, we will explore the RSA algorithm, one of the most widely used cryptographic systems. Starting with a brief history of its development by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman in the late 1970s, we will then demonstrate RSA’s effectiveness through practical examples and mathematical proofs. Our presentation will include an interactive role-play, where two presenters use RSA to securely send messages, while a third attempts to decrypt them without the private key, showcasing RSA’s robustness in real-world scenarios.

Graduate Student Colloquium: Levi Montee
2025-04-25 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, Room E495, E495; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Partitioning the Natural Numbers with Fibonacci-like Sequences
Levi Montee
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Famously seen in the displacement of seeds in a sunflower, the branching of tree limbs or enumerating results in a variety of combinatorics problems, the Fibonacci sequence has become one of the most recognizable sequences in mathematics. Beginning f0 = 0, f1 = 1, and continuing fn+1 = fn + fn-1, this simple recurrence relation has been well studied for centuries. In this talk, we will investigate sequences determined by the same recurrence relation given alternative starting points. We attempt to classify these sequences, see which familiar Fibonacci properties are kept intact, and examine when two such sequences share terms. Ultimately, we aim to find a set of disjoint Fibonacci-like sequences that partition the natural numbers, and see how these might be useful in solving particular logic games/puzzles.

MS Thesis Defense: Mr. Jackson Thurmond
2025-04-25 13:30 - 14:30 | EMS Building, Room E408, E408; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Generalized Linear Model approach to the Prediction of the outcome of Mixed Martial Arts Fights
Mr. Jackson Thurmond
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Mixed martial arts is a complex combat sport that encompasses striking, grappling and submissions. In a sport where fights can be won by finishing a fight or go to decision there is a multitude of factors that can influence the outcome of a fight. In an effort to determine which factors are statistically significant to a fight a generalized linear model approach was selected. Since mixed martial arts is a sport in which two competitors fight, and one is declared a winner, the result of a fight can be thought of a binary classification problem.
Advisor:
David Spade
Committee Members:
David Spade, Chao Zhu, and Lijing Sun

Colloquium: Prof. Caroline Terry
2025-04-25 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Measuring Combinatorial Complexity via Regularity Lemmas
Prof. Caroline Terry
Associate Professor
University of Illinois-Chicago
Many tools have been developed in combinatorics to study global structure in finite graphs. One such tool is called Szemerédi’s regularity lemma, which gives a structural decomposition for any large finite graph. Beginning with work of Alon-Fischer-Newman, Lovász-Szegedy, and Malliaris-Shelah, it has been shown over the last 15 years that regularity lemmas can be used to detect structural dichotomies in graphs, and that these dichotomies have deep connections to model theory. One striking example is a dichotomy in the size of regular partitions, first observed by Alon-Fox-Zhao. Specifically, if a hereditary graph property H has finite VC-dimension, then results of Alon-Fischer-Newman and Lovász-Szegedy imply all graphs in H have regular partitions of size polynomial is 1/ε. On the other hand, if H has infinite VC-dimension, then results of Gowers and Fox-Lovász show there are graphs in H whose smallest 1/ε-regular partition has size at least an exponential tower of height polynomial in 1/ε. In this talk, I present several analogous dichotomies in the setting of hereditary properties of 3-uniform hypergraphs.

MS Thesis Defense: Mr. Kyle Piontek
2025-05-01 17:00 - 19:00 | EMS Building, W109
Mathematical Modeling Prompts in the Illustrative Mathematics Algebra 2 Course
Kyle Piontek
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
An analysis of the mathematical modeling in the modeling prompts from the Illustrative Mathematics Algebra 2 curriculum. In this presentation we will discuss how well the mathematical modeling process is represented by the tasks provided by the curriculum.
Advisor:
Dr. Kevin McLeod
Committee Members:
Dr. Kevin McLeod, Dr. Gabriella Pinter, and Dr. Jeb Willenbring

MS Thesis Defense: Mr. Luis Hasenauer
2025-05-02 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, Room E408, E408; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Bootstrap-Based Robustness Analysis of Parameter Optimization in Climate Models Using QuadTune
Luis Hasenauer
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Tuning the parameters of climate models is essential for improving their performance, but this process is often complicated by structural limitations, overfitting, and trade-offs between different regions or variables. In my thesis, I combined the QuadTune optimization framework with nonparametric bootstrap resampling to analyze parameter uncertainty and identify tuning conflicts.
Advisor:
Vincent Larson
Committee Members:
David Spade, Daniel Gervini
