Mathematics Department Weekly Reader

Calendar

Up-to-date information is posted in the Mathematics extended calendar. If you have information to put on the calendar, please contact Sue Ellen.

Week of April 21, 2008 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxprinter friendly version

 

 

Volumes

Twenty-one new titles are now available in the Sprague Undergraduate Resource Room. These additional resources are possible through mentoring funds from an NSF REU grant.

All instructors, please remember...

Final course evaluations are to be given this week. Please return by May 1.

 

Grad students group photograph

All grad students: Wednesday after Graduate Student Seminar (around 5:00 p.m.) please meet on the front steps of Beardshear Hall for a group photo. We need everyone!

 

A matter of safety

From the April 2008 Environmental Health and Safety Newsletter:

In 2007, Iowa experienced 42 tornados (five below the normal of 47). Most of these tornados were rated F0 (23) and F1 (13) with five F2’s, one F3 and no F4’s or F5’s. The area east of the Rocky Mountains and
north of the Gulf of Mexico experiences more tornados than anywhere else in the world.

Records dating back to 1967 show that a tornado has occurred in Iowa during every month of the year. During that period, there was a low of 18 tornados in a year up to a high of 120.

The average warning time for a tornado is only 18 minutes.

The City of Ames’ outdoor warning system is activated whenever the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning for Ames or an actual tornado is sighted by law enforcement personnel or other reliable sources.

The City's warning system is routinely tested at 10:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.

No “all clear” siren is sounded after a tornado has passed.

Hiding in a car is not safe during a tornado since it can toss a car hundreds of feet.

Highway overpasses are one of the worst places to be in a tornado. The winds from a tornado can intensify as they pass under an overpass, whisking people out into the storm.

SAFE ZONES IN CARVER: all interior classrooms and interior hallways, restrooms, reading room and 449. Stay away from windows, glass doors and exterior walls.

 

Tornado WATCH	Tornado WARNING
Weather conditions are considered favorable for tornados to form in and near the watch area. When a tornado watch has been issued for your area, you should monitor weather radio, local radio or television for additional watches or warnings.	A tornado warning means that a tornado has been sighted by the public or local law enforcement, or that Doppler radar has indicated an area of rotation that could develop, or has developed into a tornado. Seek shelter immediately.

 

 

Colloquia this week

Tuesday 4:10 in 1414 Molecular Biology
George Andrews, Penn State University, The Indian Genius: Ramanujan: His life and the excitement of his mathematics

 

Seminar topics this week

Combinatorics, Algebra, Number Theory Seminar
Monday 4:10 p.m. Carver 290
George Andrews, Old and new thoughts on the Rogers-Ramanujan identities

Computational and Applied Mathematics
Monday 4:10 p.m. Carver 294
TBA

Discrete Mathematics
Tuesday 1:10 p.m. Carver 294
Laura DeLoss and Geoff Tims on The graph complement conjecture for minimum rank

Computational Invariant Theory EXTRA
Tuesday 3:10 p.m. Carver 128
Jim Murdock on Invariants of SU(2) and SU(2) x SU(2)

Probability
Wednesday 2:10 p.m. Carver 294
Krishna Athreya on The mathematics of gambling

Hypergeometric Series
Monday 4:10 p.m. Carver 290
George Andrews, Penn State University on Old and new thoughts on the Rogers-Ramanujan identities

Graduate Student Seminar
Wednesday 4:10 p.m. Carver 204
Scott Hanson on Applications of nonharmonic Fourier series to control theory
GRAD STUDENT GROUP PHOTO following seminar on steps of Beardshear

Computational Invariant Theory
Thursday 2:10 p.m. Carver 298
Ken Driessel on Reynold's operators
Optional second hour for discussion, proof details, examples, etc.

Analysis
Thursday 3:10 p.m. Carver 204
TBA