One of the most common questions mathematicians hear is, “What can I do with math?”  It’s a hard question to answer because there is so much!  To help students recognize the many ways in which math is used and the wealth of opportunities available to them, the math department recently started an applied math seminar, which runs on Friday afternoons several times a semester.

Organized by Dr. Norma Ortiz-Robinson with assistance from Dr. Lora Bailey, the seminar began in Winter 2020 and hosted a few well-attended talks before the Covid-19 pandemic brought it to a temporary halt and then a temporary transition to online only.  Since that time, there have been 7 to 9 talks every year covering a wide range of topics.

For example, a recent talk by Dr. Stephanie Lahey, the Oschinsky Research Associate at the Cambridge University Library in the United Kingdom, described how mathematics is used in the analysis of medieval books and manuscripts. 

Earlier in the semester, the seminar hosted Dr. Alexander Wiedemann from Randolph Macon College in Virginia.  Dr. Wiedemann described how machine learning can detect structure in a large collection of communications.  He then demonstrated how these ideas have been used to analyze the call logs within a small-town police department and implications for understanding policing in certain towns.

All the talks in the seminar are meant to be accessible to students, and speakers have successfully related complicated mathematics in ways that connect to ideas students are familiar with from their classes.  One advantage of the Covid-induced disruption is that the seminar transitioned to Zoom for a while with the presentations recorded and shared with others who are not able to attend.  Even though we are back to meeting in person, we also stream each talk in a Zoom meeting that anyone can enjoy, and record the presentation so others can watch later.  Of course, attending in person allows one to enjoy a slice of pizza with other attendees.

One seminar every year is devoted to a panel discussion with a few of our mathematics alumni.  In these discussions, alumni describe their career trajectories and respond to questions from students and faculty.  It’s always wonderful to reconnect with our former students in this way and impressive to see the variety of things they are doing and the success they have found. 

In addition to the talks described earlier, presentations have illustrated applications of mathematics to whale behavior, chemistry, image deblurring, topological data science, economics, psychology, and more.  While some of the speakers have been Grand Valley faculty, the majority are from other institutions, which is a good way to help students see themselves as belonging to a wider community of mathematicians.

The calendar of talks, along with presentation abstracts, is available online and everyone, including alumni, is welcome to attend, either in person or virtually.  If you would like to speak at the seminar, please reach out to Dr. Ortiz-Robinson to discuss your ideas. 

We hope to see you at an upcoming seminar!