Past Events at the University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia PIMS site office is located in the Earth Sciences Building at the University of British Columbia (Map | Contact).

 

Past Events

  • 19-Sep-06

Comparing sumsets and difference sets

Since addition is commutative but subtraction is not, the subset S+S of a finite set S is predisposed to be smaller than the difference set S-S. As Mel Nathanson wrote: Even though there exist sets S that have more sums than differen   more››

Scientific Event

  • 18-Sep-06

A Mirror Theorem for Complete Intersection Orbifolds in Weighted Projective Spaces

The famous mirror formula for quintic threefolds, conjectured to Candelas, de la Ossa, Green, and Parkes, provides detail information on genus zero Gromov-Witten invariants of the quintic threefold. Mirror formula has been extended to larger class   more››

Scientific Event

  • 14-Sep-06

Closed form solution for maximizing CRRA type utility

This paper studies the problem of optimal investment in incomplete markets when the agents have CRRA type utility. Closed form solutions are obtained up to some unhedgeble risk represented by a process orthogonal on the stock price. The   more››

Scientific Event

  • 14-Sep-06

On classifications of links up to C_n-moves

A C_n-move (nin{Bbb N}) is a local move on links defined by Habiro, which can be regarded as a 'higher order crossing change'. The C_n-equivalence is an equivalence relation on links generated by C_n-move. The C_m-equivalence implies the C_n-equiv   more››

Scientific Event

  • 14-Sep-06

Nucleation of localised pattern in continuous media

The formation of patterns from quiescence under the continuous variation of a parameter has long been of interest across the physical and life sciences since the pioneering work of Alan Turing. We describe how spatially localised patches of patter   more››

Scientific Event

  • 13-Sep-06

The loop-erased random walk and the uniform spanning tree on the four-dimensional discrete torus

Let x and y be points chosen uniformly at random from the four-dimensional discrete torus with side length n. We show that the length of the loop-erased random walk from x to y is of order n2 (log n)^{1/6}, resolving a conjecture of Benjamini and   more››

Scientific Event

  • 13-Sep-06

Ionic and Metabolic Mechanisms in Pulsatile Insulin Secretion

Insulin is secreted in pulses with a period of about 5 minutes from the beta-cells of the pancreas. These pulses are in turn driven by oscillations of cytosolic calcium. Two parallel streams of investigation over more than two decades have studied   more››

Scientific Event

  • 12-Sep-06

Subfactors and (1+1)-dimensional TQFTs (Part 1)

In this joint work with Vijay Kodiyalam (IMSc, Chennai) and Vishwambhar Pati (ISI, Bangalore), we construct a certain 'cobordism category' D whose morphisms are suitably decorated cobordism classes between similarly decorated closed oriented 1-man   more››

Scientific Event

  • 11-Sep-06

Linearly reductive finite group schemes

I will report on joint work with Dan Abramovich and Martin Olsson. We classify linearly reductive finite group schemes in positive or mixed characteristic, and use this to define a good replacement for the notion of orbifold in positive or mixed c   more››

Scientific Event

  • 6-Sep-06

System Level Mathematical Analysis of Mitosis

Mitotic spindle goes through distinct morphological states characterized by increasing spindle length and distances between chromosomes. A complete picture of how the spindle assembles is still lacking. We performed an In Silico model screen to id   more››

Scientific Event

  • 5-Sep-06

Prime numbers, Riemann, and Langlands

Prime numbers have held a mystery over number theory since before Euclid. To introduce a powerful new tool to the subject, Riemann defined his analytic zeta function; with it, he described the Prime Number Theorem and conjectured Riemann's Hypothe   more››

Scientific Event

  • 30-Aug-06

Geometric flow in Kahler manifold

We will discuss some recent results on the Calabi flow, short time existence, stability and extension theorem. The Calabi flow is a 4th order parabolic flow which is gradient flow of certain convex functional in infinite dimensional space. If we h   more››

Scientific Event

  • 22-Aug-06
  • 10-Jul-06
  • 21-Jul-06

Summer School on Frontiers in Mathematics and Economics

The summer school brings together graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and young faculty members from business schools, economics, mathematics and operations research with leading economists and mathematicians. It exposes students in business a   more››

Scientific Event

  • 22-Jun-06

Modelling homotopy n-types in algebraic topology and category theory

Homotopy n-types are topological spaces with trivial homotopy groups in dimension greater than n. They arise naturally in algebraic topology and category theory. Both these areas of mathematics have seen the development of models of n-types. In th   more››

Scientific Event

  • 21-Jun-06

DIGITAL SNOWFLAKES

Several mathematical models of snow crystal growth will be discussed. For a popular class of cellular automata known as Packard's Snowflakes, one can develop a fairly complete rigorous theory, addressing limiting density, fractal shapes and   more››

Scientific Event

  • 6-Jun-06

Quantification of Blow-up Levels for a 2-D Elliptic Equation with Critical Exponential Nonlinearity

We study sequences of solutions of some elliptic PDE’s, on 2-dimensional bounded domain, with critical Moser-Trudinger exponential nonlinearity. We prove that lack of compactness occur only when standard bubbles appear and thus we can quantify t   more››

Scientific Event