2025/2026 SEMINARS

FALL

WINTER

SPRING

Math 208 - Algebraic Geometry

Oprea, Dragos

Oprea, Dragos

Oprea, Dragos

Math 209 - Number Theory

Bucur, Alina

Bucur, Alina

Bucur, Alina

Math 211A - Algebra

Golsefidy, Alireza

Golsefidy, Alireza

Golsefidy, Alireza

Math 211B - Group Actions

Frisch, Joshua

Frisch, Joshua

Frisch, Joshua

Math 218 - Biological Systems

Miller, Pearson

Miller, Pearson

Miller, Pearson

Math 243 - Functional Analysis

Ganesan, Priyanga & Vigdorovich, Itamar

Ganesan, Priyanga & Vigdorovich, Itamar

Vigdorovich, Itamar

Math 248 - Real Analysis

Bejenaru, Ioan

Bejenaru, Ioan

Bejenaru, Ioan

Math 258 - Differential Geometry

Spolaor, Luca

Spolaor, Luca

Spolaor, Luca

Math 268 - Logic

TBD

TBD

TBD

Math 269 - Combinatorics

Rhoades, Brendon & Warnke, Lutz

Rhoades, Brendon & Warnke, Lutz

Rhoades, Brendon & Warnke, Lutz

Math 278A - CCoM

Cheng, Li-Tien

Cheng, Li-Tien

Cheng, Li-Tien

Math 278B - Math of Info, Data

Cloninger, Alexander

Cloninger, Alexander

Cloninger, Alexander

Math 278C - Optimization

Nie, Jiawang

Nie, Jiawang

Nie, Jiawang

Math 288A - Probability

Peca-Medlin, John

Peca-Medlin, John

Peca-Medlin, John

Math 288B - Statistics

TBD

TBD

TBD

Math 292 - Topology Seminar

Chow, Bennett

Chow, Bennett

Chow, Bennett

Mon, Feb 2 2026
  • 2:00 pm
    Casey Perdue
    On the saturability of p-adic Lie groups

    Advancement to Candidacy

    APM 5829

    The study of p-adic Lie groups and their representations is a central piece of the p-adic Langlands program.  One tool which is used to study these is the notion of a saturated pro-p group, and the famous result of Lazard which states that every p-adic Lie group contains an open saturable subgroup.  In this talk, we will demonstrate a family of open saturated subgroups of G(F) for G a reductive group over a p-adic field F, which is indexed by the semisimple Bruhat-Tits building of G, given a mild assumption on G.  We will then review some group-theoretic consequences of this result.

  • 3:00 pm
    Professor Meltem Altun Ozarslan - UC Irvine; Hacettepe University
    Finite versus Full Exchange: Theory and Open Problems

    Math 211A: Algebra Seminar

    APM 7321

    The exchange property, introduced by Crawley and Jonsson in 1964 in the study of direct decompositions of algebraic systems and later extended to modules and rings by Warfield, plays a central role in modern decomposition theory. One of the main open problems in the area is whether the finite exchange property implies the full exchange property. This talk surveys the development of exchange theory from its module-theoretic origins to its ring-theoretic formulation via exchange rings. The last part of the talk is based on joint work with A. Cigdem Ozcan and focuses on lifting theory, including idempotent, regular, and unit lifting ideals and morphisms, and their interaction with local morphisms.

  • 4:00 pm
    Dr. Artan Sheshmani - BIMSA
    Tyurin degenerations, Relative Lagrangian foliations and categorification of DT invariants

    Math 208: Seminar in Algebraic Geometry

    APM 5829

    We discuss construction of a derived Lagrangian intersection theory of moduli spaces of perfect complexes, with support on divisors on compact Calabi-Yau threefolds. Our goal is to compute deformation invariants associated to a fixed linear system of divisors in CY3. We apply a Tyurin degeneration of the CY3 into a normal-crossing singular variety composed of Fano threefolds meeting along their anti-canonical divisor. We show that the moduli space over the Fano 4 fold given by total space of the degeneration family satisfies a relative Lagrangian foliation structure which leads to realizing the moduli space as derived critical locus of a global (-1)-shifted potential function. We construct a flat Gauss-Manin connection to relate the periodic cyclic homology induced by matrix factorization category of such function to the derived Lagrangian intersection of the corresponding “Fano moduli spaces”. The latter provides one with categorification of DT invariants over the special fiber (of degenerating family). The alternating sum of dimensions of the categorical DT invariants of the special fiber induces numerical DT invariants. If there is time, we show how in terms of “non-derived” virtual intersection theory, these numerical DT invariants relate to counts of D4-D2-D0 branes which are expected to have modularity property by the S-duality conjecture. This talk is based on joint work with Jacob Krykzca.

Tue, Feb 3 2026
  • 2:00 pm
    Isaiah Siegl - University of Washington
    Upper and lower bounds for the $e$-coefficients of chromatic symmetric functions

    Math 269: Seminar in Combinatorics

    APM 7321

    In 2024, Hikita showed that the chromatic symmetric functions of incomparability graphs of (3+1)-free posets expand with positive coefficients in the basis of elementary symmetric functions. This result resolved the long-standing Stanley–Stembridge conjecture. Finding a combinatorial interpretation of the $e$-coefficients remains a major open problem. In this talk I will define powerful and strong $P$-tableaux and conjecture that they give upper and lower bounds for the $e$-coefficients of chromatic symmetric functions. As evidence for these conjectures, we obtain combinatorial interpretations for various e-coefficients which live in between strong and powerful $P$-tableaux. Additionally, we show how Hikita’s theorem relates to strong $P$-tableaux and the Shareshian–Wachs inversion statistic.

Wed, Feb 4 2026
  • 4:00 pm
    Govind Menon - Brown University
    Towards a geometric theory of deep learning

    Department of Mathematics Colloquim

    APM 6402

    The mathematical core of deep learning is function approximation by neural networks trained on data using stochastic gradient descent. I will explain an emerging geometric framework for the analysis of this process. This includes a collection of rigorous results on training dynamics for the deep linear network (DLN) as well as general principles for arbitrary neural networks. The mathematics ranges over a surprisingly broad range, including geometric invariant theory, random matrix theory, and minimal surfaces. However, little background in these areas will be assumed and the talk will be accessible to a broad audience. The talk is based on joint work with several co-authors: Yotam Alexander, Nadav Cohen (Tel Aviv), Kathryn Lindsey (Boston College), Alan Chen, Zsolt Veraszto and Tianmin Yu (Brown).

Thu, Feb 5 2026
Fri, Feb 6 2026
  • 11:00 am
    TBD
    TBD

    Math 278B: Mathematics of Information, Data, and Signals

    APM 6402

Tue, Feb 10 2026
  • 11:00 am
    Paolo Leonetti - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria
    TBA

    Math 243: Functional Analysis Seminar

    APM 6402

Thu, Feb 12 2026
  • 4:00 pm
    Dave Penneys - Ohio State University
    TBA

    Math 295: Colloquium Seminar

    APM 6402

    TBA

Fri, Feb 13 2026
  • 11:00 am
    Thomas Madden - UCSD
    TBD

    Math 278B: Mathematics of Information, Data, and Signals

    APM 6402

Tue, Feb 17 2026
  • 11:00 am
    Bill Helton - UCSD
    TBA

    Math 243: Functional Analysis Seminar

    APM 6402

Fri, Feb 20 2026
  • 11:00 am
    TBD
    TBD

    Math 278B: Mathematics of Information, Data, and Signals

    APM 6402

Tue, Feb 24 2026
  • 11:00 am
    Matt Kennedy - University of Waterloo
    TBA

    Math 243: Functional Analysis Seminar

    APM 6402

Fri, Feb 27 2026
  • 11:00 am
    TBD
    TBD

    Math 278B: Mathematics of Information, Data, and Signals

    APM 6402

Tue, Mar 3 2026
  • 11:00 am
    Chris Deotte - NVIDIA
    Using AI Tools Like ChatGPT to Write Code and Do Mathematics

    Center for Computational Mathematics Seminar

    APM 2402 & Zoom ID 987 4413 1109

    In this talk, we explore how data scientists in industry are using modern AI tools such as ChatGPT to write code and perform mathematical reasoning. Chris Deotte is a Senior Data Scientist at NVIDIA, a seven-time Kaggle Grandmaster, and holds a PhD in mathematics.

    In recent years, data scientists and mathematicians have increasingly shifted from writing all code and derivations by hand to collaborating with AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. These tools are now capable of generating high-quality code, solving mathematical problems, and accelerating research and development workflows.

    We will examine concrete examples of how these AI tools perform on real-world coding and mathematical tasks. In particular, we will demonstrate how ChatGPT recently wrote over 99% of the code for a gold-medal-winning solution in an online competition focused on predicting mouse behavior from keypoint time-series data.

  • 11:00 am
    Linfeng - UCSD
    TBA

    Math 243: Functional Analysis Seminar

    APM 6402

Fri, Mar 6 2026
  • 11:00 am
    TBD
    TBD

    Math 278B: Mathematics of Information, Data, and Signals

    APM 6402

Tue, Mar 10 2026
  • 11:00 am
    Hui Tan, Changying Ding - UCLA
    TBA

    Math 243: Functional Analysis Seminar

    APM 6402

Fri, Mar 13 2026
  • 11:00 am
    TBD
    TBD

    Math 278B: Mathematics of Information, Data, and Signals

    APM 6402

Thu, Mar 19 2026
  • 9:00 am
    Sutanay Bhattacharya
    TBA

    Advancement to Candidacy

    APM 6402