SIAM Student Chapter: Agentic Implementations of Modern Applications
2026-03-13 12:30 - 13:30 (America/Chicago) | EMS Building, EMS E495, 3200 Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Agentic Implementations of Modern Applications
We’ll be hearing from Kolin Konjura, a Senior Solutions Engineer at Microsoft with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from UWM and a Master’s Degree in Mathematics. He will discuss how modern agentic systems are being implemented across industry applications, highlighting opportunities for students in applied mathematics, data science, and computational fields.
This event is hosted by the SIAM Student Chapter, UWM

Colloquium: Dr. Jennifer Elder
2026-03-13 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Doing Anything You Want With Combinatorics
Dr. Jennifer Elder
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Missouri Western State University
When Mathematical Reviews first launched as a journal in 1940, combinatorics was not listed as a research area. The Seven Bridges of Königsberg was solved in 1736, so this absence is not due to later development of the field. Combinatorics has simply been hard to define on its own, given that it is used as a tool in so many different areas of mathematics.
This talk will take the opposite point of view. We will center our focus on several research problems motivated from a combinatorial standpoint, and the connections to other fields of research. These connections can be simple, such as bridging different subareas of combinatorics: a study of a specific set of words uncovering unexpected properties of intervals in a lattice. Or the connections can be more odd, connecting widely different areas of mathematics: a study of braid diagrams on k strands as a dynamical algebraic system.

Graduate Student Colloquium: Jonathan Walker-Moses
2026-04-03 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
The Beautiful Interplay of Rotation Groups in Three Dimensions

We’ll explore the connections between the rotation Lie groups (SU(n) and SO(n)) in two and three dimensions. In doing so, we’ll prove a remarkable theorem about the way that SU(2) and SO(3) relate using quaternions and then discuss some connections to complex analysis at the end. In doing so, we’ll take a very fun and (in my opinion) mind-blowing journey through spheres of different dimensions. Absolutely no knowledge of Lie theory is expected and I’ll be happy to clarify any details from topology or group theory that come up that you aren’t familiar with.

Colloquium: Prof. Genevieve Walsh
2026-04-03 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Quasi-isometric Hyperbolic and Cusped Relatively Hyperbolic Groups are Symmetric
Prof. Genevieve Walsh
Professor of Mathematics
Tufts University
This talk will first describe hyperbolic groups and relatively hyperbolic group pairs, and give some key examples. We then delve into understanding when the cusp space for a relatively hyperbolic group can be quasi-isometric to a hyperbolic group. For example, real hyperbolic spaces admit uniform and non-uniform lattices. We show that this is the exception. In particular, if a hyperbolic group is quasi-isometric to a cusped space for a relatively hyperbolic group, then both groups are lattices acting on a rank-1 symmetric space.
This is joint work with Daniel Groves, Emily Stark, and Kevin Whyte.

UWM Marden Lecture in Mathematics: Juggling Counts
2026-04-09 16:30 - 17:30 | Lubar Hall N140, 3202 N Maryland Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Juggling Counts
Presented by Prof. Steve Butler, Morrill, Professor of Mathematics at Iowa State University
Mathematics is a language which can help us describe and explore patterns. One source of patterns that mathematicians have been exploring comes from juggling (the tossing of objects, usually balls or clubs). We will look at multiple ways to describe juggling patterns that allow us to find new juggling patterns, and to count how many possible patterns exist. We can compare answers to various problems to give a combinatorial proof of Worpitzky’s identity. We will also look at a few juggling-based problems that mathematics has not yet succeeded in answering.
This event is a part of the Marden Lecture Series, each Spring the Department of Mathematical Sciences invites a distinguished mathematician to lecture to a general audience. The Marden Lecture honors Morris Marden (1905 – 1991), who founded our graduate program and made our department a research department. The Marden lecture is funded through the Miriam and Morris Marden Fund and is co-sponsored by the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
A banquet will be held in the LEC AmFam Dream Studio following the lecture.

Community of Practice: Student Feedback
2026-04-10 12:30 - 13:30 | EMS Building, Room E495, E495; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Student Feedback: “I Just Want to Have Fun”
Now is one of the most challenging points in the academic year. How do we combat the post-spring-break lull, student and instructor burnout, and the “is the semester over yet!?!?” mentality? While worksheets and problems up at the board are powerful, can we design active learning that students find more “fun”? We’ll demo and design content-centered games or activities. Have an activity/idea to share? Bring it with!!!
What is the Community of Practice?
The Community of Practice is a space for everyone in the department (lecturers, GTAs, faculty) to come together and have chats, professional development, speakers, workshops, and more related to teaching and learning. There’s no sign-up; simply attend if you want! If you would like to be involved in any planning or would like to run a session, please email me (henathan@uwm.edu) and let me know.
The Community of Practice Canvas Site
We have a Community of Practice Canvas site where we keep a signup and modules for past sessions. If you would like to enroll, here is the link: https://uws-td.instructure.com/enroll/XK96LD

Colloquium: Dr. Steve Butler
2026-04-10 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
A Short Course in Spectral Graph Theory
Prof. Steve Butler
Morrill Professor of Mathematics
Iowa State University
Graphs are used to model relationships (edges) between objects (vertices). A graph’s structure can efficiently stored in an array format. We can go one step further and replace arrays by matrices (which are arrays with benefits!), the eigenvalues of these matrices tell us some information about the graph. The extent to which we can understand the structure of the graph from these eigenvalues is spectral graph theory. We will do a quick walk through of some of the flavors of matrices that are studied in spectral graph theory, and some results that arise from their study.

Colloquium: Dr. Peter Hinow
2026-04-17 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Information coming soon!

Colloquium: Dr. Kevin Palencia Infante
2026-04-17 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
“My Instructor Was Kind of a Computer”: Rethinking Faculty–Student Interactions in Calculus

Dr. Kevin Palencia Infante
Assistant Professor & Calculus Coordinator
Northern Illinois University

While computers and AI are playing a growing role in education, faculty remain essential to teaching in ways that meaningfully shape student learning. In this talk, I present findings on how calculus students experience their interactions with instructors. Drawing on a qualitative study framed by academic validation and invalidation, Black and Hispanic students share perspectives on their classroom experiences. They highlight instructional practices that support their learning, including collaborative environments, clear conceptual guidance, availability outside of class, and actions that make them feel valued. They also point to interactions that leave them feeling unsupported or not validated. Across these experiences, students emphasize the importance of compassion, care, and instructor presence. By centering student voices, this talk shows how faculty–student interactions shape students’ experiences in calculus beyond content delivery.

Math Comics With Dr. Asmita Sodhi
2026-04-17 14:00 - 16:00 | EMS Building, Room W110
The wonderful mathematical artist Dr. Asmita Sodhi will Zoom in to talk about her work with math comics and run a workshop, where we will try our hand at making some of these comics ourselves! There will be free donuts, and we will bring tea (BYOM: Bring Your Own Mug)!

Colloquium: Dr. Craig Guilbault
2026-04-24 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States

MS Thesis Defense: Mr. Carlos Sanchez Diaz
2026-05-01 09:00 - 10:00 | EMS Building, Room E495, E495; 3200 N Cramer St., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
MS Thesis Defense
Carlos Sanchez Diaz
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
This thesis investigates the pedagogical approaches to mathematical functions in the United States and Mexico with the goal of improving instruction in mathematics for Spanish-speaking English Language Learners. By comparing the United States Illustrative Mathematics curriculum with Mexico’s Nueva Escuela Mexicana (Matemáticas IV), the study identifies a near-isomorphic relationship between Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice and Mexico’s disciplinary competencies. This mapping provides U.S. educators with a framework to understand the prior educational experiences of Mexican immigrant students. Ultimately, these insights should enable teachers to leverage existing student knowledge and deliver more culturally responsive, effective mathematical instruction.
Committee Members:
Kevin McLeod, Suzanne Boyd, and Pamela E. Harris

Colloquium: Dr. Dave Spade
2026-05-01 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Statistical Modeling of Control of Animal Motion in Three Dimensions

This manuscript gets ahold of the control aspect of how Daphnia magna move through their surroundings in a control-type environment with still water and with no external stimuli. We present a statistical model for step lengths and roll, pitch, and yaw angles. We then use this model to describe a procedure for generating biologically realistic synthetic trajectories. The aim of this article is to provide a starting point for modeling animal motion in a variety of environmental settings.

PhD Dissertation Defense: Mr. Andrew Frohmader
2026-05-01 15:00 - 16:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Graded multiplicities in the Kostant-Rallis setting
Mr. Andrew Frohmader
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
This dissertation contains two main results. First, we provide combinatorial branching rules for GL(n, C) to O(n, C) and GL(2n, C) to Sp(2n, C) extending the Littlewood restriction rules. Second, we use these branching rules and the combinatorics of GL(n, C)-crystals to derive a formula for the graded multiplicity of a K-type in the regular functions on the K-nilpotent cone for GL(n, R), GL(n, C) and GL(n, H).
Advisor:
Jeb Willenbring
Committee Members:
Allen Bell, Chris Hruska, Istvan Lauko, and Kevin McLeod

Colloquium: Dr. Gabriella Pinter
2026-05-08 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States

Award Ceremony
2026-05-14 13:00 - 15:00 | WI
More details to come.

MS Thesis Defense: Ms. Jerianne Bonaguidi
2026-05-15 14:00 - 15:00 | EMS Building, E495, 3200 N Cramer St, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Proving a Softball Pitch Can Rise Under 60mph Through Mathematical Modeling
Jerianne Bonaguidi
Graduate Student
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Many softball coaches claim that a pitcher cannot actually throw a rise ball under 60mph; they claim it is just a “high fastball.” This project tests that theory with a live pitcher, calculus, and physics equations. The major claim is that if a pitcher has a high enough spin rate, the ball can still rise throughout its whole entire trajectory, even if thrown under 60mph.
Advisor:
Dr. Gabriella Pinter
Committee Members:
Dr. Craig Guilbault
Dr. Lijing Sun
