Speaker Series
SUMO hosts regular talks by professors, grad students, or visitors in the mathematics department. The purpose of this series is to expose undergraduates to topics beyond the standard curriculum, as well as to introduce them to Stanford's faculty and community. Talks are generally accessible to students in the 50-series.
Interested in giving a talk? Email us at [stanfordugradmath at gmail.com].
Past Speaker Events
2019-2020 |
2021-2022 |
2022-2023 |
2023-2024 |
2024-2025 |
2025-2026 |
2026-2027 |
2024–2025 Schedule
Fall 2024
| Date |
Speaker |
Title |
Abstract |
Media |
| Date |
Speaker |
Talk Title |
Abstract |
Media |
| October 16 |
Rick Sommer |
Proving Independence |
Kurt Godel's ground-breaking Incompleteness Theorems demonstrate fundamental limits on formal mathematical reasoning. In particular, the First Incompleteness Theorem says, roughly, that for any reasonable axiomatization of mathematics there are statements that are neither provable nor refutable from those axioms. Such statements are said to be independent of the axioms. In this talk, we will explore methods for showing a statement is independent of a given an axiom system, and we will look at some famous examples. Our exploration will include a discussion of the independence of the Continuum Hypothesis, the statement that the cardinality of the real numbers is the next infinite cardinality after the cardinality of the natural numbers. |
Poster \ Recording |
| November 1 |
Mark Levi |
Physics in Service of Math |
Sometimes physical reasoning gives a strikingly short solution to a mathematical problem as in examples listed below. I chose these (out of many more) requiring no background beyond basic calculus. Somehow this connection between math and physics "fell between two seats" and is rarely if ever mentioned in textbooks. But this physical tradition in math goes back at least to Archimedes, who computed what we now call definite integrals using physical thought experiments. I will distribute the list below at the beginning of the lecture and ask for the show of hands for the first problem to discuss. After we are done with the first choice we will repeat the process until we run out of time. |
Poster \ Recording |
| November 15 |
Romain Speciel |
X-rays work and that's pretty crazy ngl |
You hurt yourself and rush to the hospital and they take a picture of the INSIDE OF YOUR ARM without even touching you and somehow we've accepted that this is completely normal. No one bats an eye; you probably even complain about how long it took. But tbh it's pretty insane we can do that. How though? |
|
Winter 2025
| Date |
Speaker |
Title |
Abstract |
Media |
| Date |
Speaker |
Talk Title |
Abstract |
Media |
| January 24 |
Brian Conrad |
The Dirac Belt Trick and Quaternions |
It's possible to twist a belt twice in the same direction so that the end result is untwisted. A variant can be done using an open mug of coffee (for some extra suspense). There are many videos about this on the Internet, but they're all deficient because (as far as I have seen) none of them explain the actual mathematics underlying this surprising phenomenon, which is connected to Dirac's theory of particle spin. The math content behind this involves the relationship between spatial rotations and a peculiar 4-dimensional number system called quaternions (along with some topology ideas). It illuminates other phenomena as well, such as gimbal lock (which nearly caused Apollo 13 to spin out of control) and accuracy in flight simulators. In this talk, we'll aim to discuss all of these topics (except particle spin). |
Poster |
| February 28 |
Brian Conrad and Tadashi Tokieda |
Ask Us Anything |
Profs. Tokieda and Conrad will answer any math queries (modulo personal and homework questions) you toss at them in this unique event format. This is your chance to ask about those theorems, conjectures, concepts, examples or histories in mathematics for which you've always had unanswered questions. The discussion will be moderated largely around undergraduate-level mathematics, though all are welcome to attend and ask! |
|
Spring 2025
| Date |
Speaker |
Title |
Abstract |
Media |
| Date |
Speaker |
Talk Title |
Abstract |
Media |
| May 2 |
Josef Greilhuber |
Dr. Heisenberg or how I learned to stop worrying and accept uncertainty |
Heisenberg's famous uncertainty principle is often presented as a mysterious, almost malicious "bug in reality" preventing us from simultaneously knowing a particle's position and velocity. In reality, there is nothing very mysterious about (this instance of) it at all, once one accepts the quantum mechanical description of a particle's state as a traveling wave: one cannot squeeze a wave into too small a place before it will start having difficulties to propagate in an orderly fashion, without losing its shape or direction. What is perhaps surprising is just how well we can quantify the extent of this phenomenon! |
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