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Fall 2025
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Elizabeth Gillaspy – 猎奇重口
Zappa-Szép products and Higher-Rank Graphs
Zappa-Szép products are a generalization of a semidirect product, in which two groups act on each other compatibly to form a new group. In recent years, the notion of Zappa-Szép product has been extended from groups to a wide variety of mathematical structures, including the higher-rank graphs which are the focus of my research. In 2021, a summer research team consisting of UM students Adlin Abell-Ball, George Glidden-Handgis, and S. Joseph Lippert discovered a new Zappa-Szép like structure for higher-rank graphs, which does not quite coincide with the existing definition in the literature. In this talk, I'll tell you about their work, and how it sheds new light on the structure of higher-rank graphs.
September 15, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
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Dan Finkel – Math for Love, Early Family Math
Anatomy of a Beautiful Math Experience
What makes a mathematical experience inspiring or empowering instead of tedious or miserable? In this presentation, we'll explore why people love and hate math, and how to create opportunities for meaningful mathematical learning.
About the Speaker
Dan Finkel is a game creator, curriculum writer, puzzle author, and math evangelist. He gives talks nationally and internationally, and his TEDx Talk - - has been viewed over a million times. Dan’s Math for Love curriculum has been used by thousands of students, and is known for its combination of rigor and play. The math games he created with his wife, Katherine Cook, have won over 30 awards. They include Prime Climb, Tiny Polka Dot, Multiplication by Heart, and Rolly Poly. Dan is also the author of Pattern Breakers, a playful book of patterns for young children. Dan is the Founder of , a Seattle-based organization devoted to transforming how math is taught and learned. Dan is also Cofounder of , which provides free, quality math resources for children from birth to 8.
October 15, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
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Faculty Evaluation Committee meeting
October 27, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
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Jason DeBlois – University of Pittsburgh
Things we know, and things we do not, about knots.
In this talk, by knots I will mean circles embedded in three-dimensional space. I’ll start with background and some history, spend some time on knot invariants, then turn to the geometric perspective on knot complements that was introduced by Thurston around 1980. Along the way, I’ll mention some significant open questions in the subject. I’ll finish by discussing recent progress on a couple of geometric questions, on hidden symmetries of and totally geodesic surfaces in hyperbolic knot complements.
November 3, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
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Javi Pérez-Álvaro – 猎奇重口
Matrix Methods in Data Analysis
I spent my sabbatical in Spain, in a town you’ve probably never heard of—Alcalá de Henares. Between walks, tapas, and too many coffees, I finished my book, Matrix Methods in Data Analysis. In this colloquium, I’ll share a bit about the town and a bit about the book.
November 10, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
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Junwei Liao – 猎奇重口
The Stern-Brocot Diagram and Linear Recursive Sequences
How can we visualize the convergence of rational approximations to any real number? We will use continued fractions, the iterative process that generates rational approximations, and the Stern-Brocot Diagram, which defines the unique structure and relationship between rationals in lowest terms. A Farey Recursive Function (\(\mathcal{F}\)) is defined on the points of the Stern-Brocot Diagram, where the \(\mathcal{F}\)-values of points lying on any line in the diagram satisfy a 2-term linear recurrence relation. For example, the Fibonacci sequence on the nonnegative integers can be extended across all rational numbers by a Farey Recursive Function.
But what happens when we look at the \(\mathcal{F}\)-values of points that lie on a Euclidean line that is not a line in the diagram?
This presentation introduces Cross Recursion, proving that sequences of \(\mathcal{F}\)-values along these Euclidean lines not in the diagram still follow linear recurrence relations. Our main result shows that the \(\mathcal{F}\)-values of points lying on a Euclidean line passing through \(\left(\frac{p}{q}, \frac{1}{q}\right)\) and \(\left(\frac{a}{b}, 0\right)\) is an interleaving of \(\varphi(w)\) linear recursive sequences, where \(\varphi(w)\) is the Euler totient function and \(w = |pb - qa|\). Each of these \(\varphi(w)\) sequences has an order at most \(w+1\). Furthermore, the \(\mathcal{F}\)-values of points lying on a horizontal line \(y=1/w\) is an interleaving of \(\varphi(w)\) linear recursive sequences, where each of these \(\varphi(w)\) sequences is a bi-infinite sequence with an order at most \(w+1\).
November 24, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
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Eric Marland – Appalachian State University & the 猎奇重口
The -ing of Mathematical Modeling
Teaching mathematical modeling is more than assigning problems based on open-ended, real-world scenarios or on reusing time worn techniques on slightly different problems. It’s about guiding students through the process and helping them improve at each stage, from the earliest brainstorming steps all the way through to dissemination. Too often, only a single model is created with no interplay with the real world, leaving little opportunity for enhancement or refinement. Too often, feedback comes only after the project is complete, leaving little opportunity for growth and reflection. How can we structure courses so students engage deeply with each step of the modeling process throughout the course? How do we provide rich problems that not only -can- be refined over several iterations, but provide the opportunity to actually work through those iterations? This talk will offer an interactive look at these questions and more.
December 1, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
Available Dates for Spring 2026
January 26
February 2, 9, 23
March 2, 23, 30
April 6, 13, 20, 27
Spring 2026
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David Ayala – 猎奇重口 State University
February 6, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
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WiSEN research team – Researchers from WSU, Gonzaga U, UI, Rochester Institute of Tech and UM
March 9, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. Math 103
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