|
Seminar and Colloquia
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics offers a weekly colloquium series on Thursdays. Most colloquia begin between 3:00 and 3:30. Seminars alternate between those aimed at Undergraduate (type U) and Graduate (type G) audiences.
John Pastor Professor of Biology University of Minnesota Duluth Abstract: There is much discussion about sustainability of natural resources and whether we are approaching so-called tipping points where systems change abruptly and become unsustainable. Mathematics can help us think more clearly about these problems. The mathematical ideas underlying "sustainability" and "tipping points" are equilibrium, stability, and bifurcations. I will show how these help us understand whether different harvesting policies of a population are sustainable. The unharvested population will be described by a logistic growth curve, from which we will subtract various functions representing different harvesting strategies. Different equilibria with different stabilities result. Various bifurcations happen at particular levels of harvesting where populations may go extinct or collapse to low levels. The underlying theory makes use of differential equations, but I will demonstrate the basic ideas graphically. Time: Thursday, September 24, 2009 3:00PM -- 4:00PM Location: 130 Solon Campus Center Michael Hafeman Abstract: I will provide an overview of my varied career as an actuary. I will begin with a description of my current activities as an independent consultant on financial sector regulatory issues. This will be followed by a discussion of the path taken to get there and some lessons learned along the way. An example will be used to illustrate how these lessons apply to a specific current activity--participation on the Public Interest Oversight Board. The objectives of the session will be to provide some insight on the range of opportunities available to actuaries and some ideas on factors that can contribute to career success. There will be opportunity for questions and discussion. Michael Hafeman is a 1974 graduate of UMD with degrees in mathematics and economics. He has assessed the insurance sectors of several countries for the International Monetary Fund and managed the development of comprehensive training materials on insurance supervision for the World Bank. He previously directed the Specialist Support Sector experts in Accounting and Financial Information, Actuarial, Capital, Capital Markets, Compliance, Credit Risk and Financial Services Technology, and oversaw the Office of the Chief Actuary, at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada. He will be inducted into the Swenson College of Science & Engineering Academy of Science & Engineering while on campus. Time: Friday, October 2, 2009 3:00PM -- 4:00PM Location: LSBE 118 Dick Green Department of Mathematics and Statistics Abstract: An average is one number that stands for a bunch of other numbers when one is doing something with them. There are many kinds of averages. Not only do different numbers produce different averages, but the same numbers produce different averages when different things are being done with then. Various kinds of averages will be illustrated with examples including the rate of tuition increase at UMD, family size, generation time and the Ortega hypothesis about scientific productivity. This talk will be accessible to anyone who has had a basic course in statistics. Time: Thursday, October 8, 2009 3:00PM -- 4:00PM Location: 130 Solon Campus Center |
|||||||||||||||||