THIRD ANNUAL MEETING of the PRAIRIE NETWORK for RESEARCH in MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
Third Annual Meeting of the Prairie Network for Research in Mathematical Sciences
The meeting will take place from April 29 (Wednesday) to May 1 (Friday) 2009
in the Edwards School of Business (ESB)
at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
The plenary and contributed talks will talk place on April 29 and 30.
The student workshop will take place on May 1.
COMPLETE PROGRAM (timetable and abstracts)
TIMETABLE OF THE CONFERENCE
ABSTRACTS OF CONTRIBUTED TALKS
ADDITIONAL ABSTRACTS
U OF S CAMPUS MAP
FLOOR PLAN AND ROOM PHOTOS OF MEETING VENUE (ESB: Edwards School of Business)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ON-LINE
(courtesy of MITACS).
The registration deadline is March 31, 2009.
Financial support is available for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows:
please check the travel support box on the online registration form.
The meeting is hosted by the
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
at the
University of Saskatchewan
in the city of
Saskatoon
in the province of
Saskatchewan .
The meeting is financially supported by
the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences,
MITACS (Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems),
PIMS (Pacific Instutite for the Mathematical Sciences), and
the University of Saskatchewan.
PLENARY SPEAKERS:
-
Pure Mathematics:
Actions of maximal growth
Abstract
Yuri Bahturin
Biography
Publications
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada)
-
Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics:
Quantum engineering: taming the Schrödinger cat
Abstract
Alexandre Zagoskin
Biography
Lecturer in Physics, Department of Physics, Loughborough University (UK);
Adjunct Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia (Canada);
Co-founder, D-Wave Systems, Inc.
-
Statistics:
What are the limits of inferences from lousy data, and why should we care?
Abstract
Paul Gustafson
Biography
Professor, Deparment of Statistics, University of British Columbia (Canada)
-
Industrial and Computational Mathematics:
The end of the lazy programmer: challenges of multicore computing
Abstract
Michael Perrone
Biography
Ph.D., Manager, Multicore Computing, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York (USA)
CONTRIBUTED TALKS:
We expect to have 16 contributed talks of 20-25 minutes in three of the four theme areas:
pure mathematics, applied mathematics / mathematical physics, and statistics.
In place of contributed talks, industrial and computational mathematics will feature
a workshop on programming the Cell Broadband Engine.
The deadline for submission of title and abstract of contributed talks is February 28, 2009.
Please send your title and abstract to the member of the Local Organizing Committee
in your area:
STUDENT WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS:
-
Pure Mathematics:
Lattice basis reduction and its applications
Abstract
Murray Bremner
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Saskatchewan
-
Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics:
Panel discussion on graduate study and career opportunities in applied mathematics
-
Statistics:
What is biostatistics? An overview of the biostatistics graduate program at the
University of Saskatchewan
Abstract
Lisa Lix
School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan
-
Industrial and Computational Mathematics:
My takes on MITACS
Abstract
Ray Spiteri
Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan
ACCOMMODATION:
DESCRIPTION OF THE MEETING:
The mandate of the Prairie Network for Research in the Mathematical Sciences (PNRMS) is to
encourage and advance research in the mathematical sciences in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The primary objective of this meeting is to build research connections between faculty and
students in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, in the context of the Third Annual
Meeting of the PNRMS. The themes of the meeting include four broad areas: pure mathematics,
applied mathematics & mathematical physics, statistics, and industrial & computational mathematics.
The first two days of the meeting will feature invited plenary talks in the four theme areas. We
plan to have four plenary talks (one in each of the theme areas) with four parallel streams of
contributed talks. Researchers representing pure as well as applied directions will brush elbows
with industry experts (including some of our plenary speakers). The meeting will help create an
atmosphere conducive to interdisciplinary collaborations, and it will contribute to the goal of
promoting interdisciplinary research and forging collaboration with industry.
The third day will feature a student workshop, with the dual aims of giving graduate and senior
undergraduate students a clear sense of the nature of mathematical research, as well as
encouraging them to pursue a career in the mathematical sciences. Students will be exposed to
the wide array of possibilities for applying their mathematical skills to pure and applied research
in both academia and industry. The workshop will follow the model of the successful GRACE
Workshop held at the Second PNRMS Annual Meeting in Brandon in 2008. The topics of the
student workshop will be aligned with the four theme areas of the meeting and will cover a
diverse array of research pursued by faculty at the two member institutions of the PNRMS in
Saskatchewan and the three member institutions of the PNRMS in Manitoba. Further details on
the PNRMS can be found at PNRMS website.
The conference will be centered around a series of talks in several broad theme areas of
particular interest to U of S faculty members with the goal to enhance and encourage
interactions and collaborations between the U of S, the U of R, and the three universities in
Manitoba. Contributions will also be welcome from researchers from other areas, as well as
from postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and senior undergraduates. Plenary speakers will be
chosen to complement the theme areas. By highlighting theme areas and by attracting top
plenary speakers, we expect that participation in the Saskatoon meeting will be increased over
the previous meetings. Last year's meeting attracted over 40 participants; for an incomplete list
of participants, see Brandon Meeting and
Brandon Lectures.
The conference will highlight the following topics:
-
Pure Mathematics: Operator Algebras; Noncommutative Harmonic Analysis;
Mathematics of Computer Algebra; Applications of Algebra to Cryptography;
Lie Algebras and Representation Theory; Real Algebraic Geometry and Applications
-
Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics: Classical and Quantum System Modeling; Signal
Processing; Partial Differential Equations and their Applications; Integrable Systems and Solitons;
Quantum and Classical Information; Inverse Problems; Optimization
-
Statistics: Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Biomedical Statistics; Information Processing;
Communication Networks Modeling; Statistical Mechanics Models of Complex Chemical, Physical,
and Biological Systems
-
Industrial and Computational Mathematics: Programming and Numerical Algorithms for
High-Performance Computing; Rational Design of Catalytic Converters for Carbon
Sequestration; Oil Reservoir Simulation
The Student Workshop is aimed at senior undergraduate and graduate students, with the dual
aims of giving the students a clear sense of the nature of mathematical research, as well as
encouraging them to pursue a career in the mathematical sciences. The topics covered in the
Workshop represent a diverse array of mathematical research pursued by mathematicians at the
five member institutions.
The goal of the student workshop is to expose students to an array of research areas, and to
give them a feel for what contemporary research in the mathematical sciences is like. We expect
there to be four research talks of an introductory nature given by a mixture of junior and
senior faculty, followed by an informal panel Q&A session that is career oriented. Feedback
from students at the previous meetings suggests that they particularly appreciate the Q&A
session. The topics of the faculty presentations will mirror the themes of the conference.
For the area of pure mathematics, M. Bremner will deliver an introductory lecture on lattice
basis reduction and applications to cryptography. For the area of applied mathematics and
theoretical physics, we plan to invite an industrial scientist to discuss the demand for applied
mathematics research in a high-tech start-up environment. For the area of statistics, we hope
to have a faculty member from the School of Public Health deliver an introductory lecture about
biostatistics. For the area of industrial and computational mathematics, R. Spiteri will give a
presentation on MITACS and its programs, and the similarities and differences between academia
and industry.
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM COMMITTEE