University of Georgia
Department of Mathematics

Seminar Schedule
November 19 - November 23, 2007

All Seminars are held in Boyd Graduate Studies Bldg. unless otherwise noted.

MONDAY, November 19, 2007

Algebra 2:30pm, Room 410
Speaker: Victor Kreiman, University of Georgia
Title of talk: Factorial Schur Functions in Representation Theory
Abstract: We give formulas expressing factorial Schur functions (or, more generally, products of factorial Schur functions) in terms of Schur functions. The formulas exhibit a positivity property, implying that factorial Schur functions are characters of representations of a reductive group. We discuss two proofs of the formulas. The first proof decomposes the tableaux defining a factorial Schur function into a disjoint union of weighted copies of Kashiwara's crystal graphs. The second proof generalizes a concise proof by Stembridge of the Littlewood-Richardson rule.

Topology
2:30pm, Room 303
Speaker: Louis Yang Liu, University of Georgia
Title of talk: Fundamental Group of Manifolds with Positive Sectional Curvature: An application of the Second Variation Formula
Abstract:  There are some theorems in Riemannian geometry describing the relationship between local geometry and global topology. This talk will focus on the notable Synge Theorem for orientable manifolds with positive sectional curvature, in which I'll talk about its detailed proof by applying the second variation formula, and its consequence on non-orientable manifolds.

Faculty and Graduate Social
3:00pm, Room 409
Coffee, Tea, Cookies

TUESDAY, November 20, 2007

VIGRE - Graduate Student Seminar
2:00pm, Room 304
Speaker: Caner Kazanci, University of Georgia
Title: Energy Cycling in Ecological Networks
Abstract: A common way to simulate ecosystems is to form a set of differential equations where the solution represents the state changing in time. Another way to analyze these systems is by formulating system-wide organizational properties. Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) formulates ecological network properties that quantify how the environmental inputs are shared among identities, or how much energy or matter cycling occurs within the system. Obviously, such analysis is essential in understanding how a specific ecological system functions, how it can be sustained or manipulated. However it is almost impossible to actually verify how well these algebraic definitions reflect their meanings. In this talk, we present a discrete stochastic method that provides an accurate computation of these ecological properties.


FRG Analysis and Additive Combinatorics Working Group
3:30pm, Room 410


WEDNESDAY, November 21, 2007

Thanksgiving Holidays


THURSDAY, November 22, 2007




FRIDAY, November 23, 2007

Thanksgiving Holidays