
January 2002 From National Science Foundation Math meeting to feature Internet, helicity, analytic number theoryMore than a dozen mathematicians supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) will speak on mathematical concepts and the role of the Internet at the joint meeting of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Jan. 6-9, 2002, at the San Diego Convention Center, Calif. NSF-funded mathematicians will also receive awards. Media are welcome. Below are some highlights of the presentations. Dennis DeTurck, University of Pennsylvania: Helicity of vector fields in geometry, biology, and plasma physics Invited address: Sun., Jan. 6, 2002, 11:10 a.m. The "helicity" concept has applications ranging from the complexity of DNA to the motion of plasmas in space. With support from NSF, DeTurck studies partial differential equations and has organized a multi-university program to improve the science and math education of students at the undergraduate level and below.Andrew Granville, University of Georgia: Probability, combinatorics, and physics in analytic number theory Invited address: Mon., Jan. 7, 10:05 a.m. Analytic number theory has changed because of new ideas from quantum physics and other fields. Granville heads an NSF-supported program at Georgia that "vertically integrates" the mathematics research of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates.Tony Chan, University of California at Los Angeles: Variational PDE models and algorithms in image processing Invited address: Mon., Jan.7, 11:10 a.m. The integration of math and computers has allowed great strides in image processing, with uses ranging from the restoration of photos to the development of complex geometric models for object detection. Chan was one of the founders of the NSF Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA and serves on NSF's Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee.Thomas Banchoff, Brown University: The down side of the trapezoid: an immediate past president surveys the Internet MAA retiring president address: Wed., Jan. 9, 10:05 a.m. The Internet is playing an increasing role in research and education. Banchoff, a long-time NSF grantee, is active in developing uses of the Internet for mathematics education, particularly software for geometric visualization and for communication between instructors and students.For further information, contact: Amber Jones 703-292-8070, [email protected] For the meeting agenda, see: http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/2049_program.html | |