Iowa State University Mathematics Colloquium
Spring 2008

Schedule of Talks

Time: 4:10-5p.m. Tuesday, 268 Carver Hall

Date

Speaker

Title (Click on the title of a talk for the abstract if available).

Jan 22, Tuesday
(
3:10-4p.m. 294 Carver)

Yaxiang Yuan,  Chinese Academy of Sciences

Subspace Methods for Large Scale Nonlinear Equations and Nonlinear Least Squares

Jan 22, Tuesday

Leslie Hogben, Howard Levine, Justin Peters, etc.

These are your NSF Math Institutes - use them!

Jan. 24, Thursday

Alicia Labra, University of Chile

Semiprimality and Solvability Of Commutative Right-Nilagebras

Jan. 29, Tuesday

Nikolaos Zygouras, Univ. of South California

Pinning-Depinning Transition in Random Polymers

Feb. 5, Tuesday

Alex Roitershtein, Iowa State University

A random walk on Z with drift driven by its occupation time at zero

Feb. 7, Thursday

Anastasios Matzavinos, Ohio State University

Theoretical Approaches to Actin Filament Dynamics

Feb. 12, Tuesday

Howard Levine, Iowa State University

A Mathematical Argument for Using Aptamers in Chemotherapy and Imaging

Feb. 22, Friday Carver 204, 11a.m.-11:50a.m.

Marko Djordjevic, Ohio State University

Modeling and bioinformatics of gene regulation

Mar. 7, Friday, Carver 202, 3:10p.m.-4p.m.

Hemanshu Kaul, Illinois Institute of Technology

Graph Packing - Conjectures and Results

Mar. 11, Tuesday

Peter Olver, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Applications of Moving Frames

Mar. 25, Tuesday

Alan Paterson,  Univ. of Mississippi

The index theorem from an analysis perspective

April. 1, Tuesday

Ae Ja Yee, Penn. State University

Rogers-Ramanujan identities and related partition theorems

April. 3, Thursday

Raffaele Romano, Max Planck Research Group, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany

Introduction to Quantum Error Correction Codes

April. 8, Tuesday

Roger Lui, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Mathematics of Molecular and Cellular Biology

April. 10, Thursday

Rakesh, University of Delaware

The spherical mean value operator for functions supported in a ball

April. 15, Tuesday

Isabel Darcy, University of Iowa

Modeling protein-DNA complexes using tangles

April. 17, Thursday

Weizhu Bao, University of Singapore

Mathematical Analysis and Numerical Simulation of Bose-Einstein Condensation

Apr. 22, Tuesday
1414 Molecular Biology

George Andrews, Penn. State University

Miller Distinguished Lecture: The Indian Genius, Ramanujan: His Life and the Excitement of His Mathematics

 

Abstracts:

January 22, Tuesday, Prof. Yaxiang Yuan, Institute of Computational Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Title:
Subspace Methods for Large Scale Nonlinear Equations and Nonlinear Least Squares
Abstract: In this talk, we consider large scale nonlinear systems of equations and nonlinear least square problems. We present subspace methods for solving these two special optimization problems. The subspace methods have the characteristic to force the next iteration in a low dimensional subspace. The main technique is to construct subproblems in low dimensions so that the computation cost in each iteration can be reduced comparing to standard approaches. The subspace approach offers a possible way to handle large scale optimization problems which are now attracting more and more attentions. Actually, quite a few known techniques can be viewed as subspace methods, such as the conjugate gradient method, the limited memory quasi-Newton method, the projected gradient method, and the null space method.

January 22, Tuesday, Prof. Leslie Hogben, Howard Levine, Justin Peters etc. Iowa State University
Title:
These are your NSF Math Institutes - use them!
Abstract:
The seven NSF Mathematical Sciences Institutes,
o American Institute of Mathematics (AIM),
o Institute for Advanced Study (IAS),
o Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA),
o Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM),
o Mathematical Biosciences Institute (MBI),
o Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI),
o Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI),
as well as
o Banff International Research Station (BIRS) (supported by  Canada, the US, and Mexico),
o Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach (MFO) (supported by Germany, the US, etc.)  represent a wonderful resource for the mathematics community.

In this colloquium, programs for faculty and graduate students offered by each institute will be described briefly by a faculty member with experience at that institute. Links to the pages of all the institutes can be found at http://mathinstitutes.org/.

Jan 24, Thursday, Prof. Alicia Labra, University of Chile
Title: Semiprimality and Solvability of Commutative Right-Nilagebras
Abstract:
We study commutative right-nilalgebras of rigth-nilindex four satisfying the identity (b,aa,a)=0, that is commutative algebras satisfying the identities ((aa)a)a = 0 and (b(aa))a-b((aa)a)= 0. We prove that if such a algebra is finitely generated and semiprime then it is a nilpotent Jordan algebra. Moreover, we prove that without the hypothesis of semiprimality these algebras are solvable. Our results require characteristic different from 2,3. This is a joint work with I. Correa and I. R. Hentzel.

Feb. 5, Tuesday. Prof. Alexander Roitershtein, Iowa State University
Title: A random walk on Z with drift driven by its occupation time at zero
Abstract:
We consider a one-dimensional nearest neighbor random walk on the integer lattice with time-dependent drift towards the origin, given by an asymptotically vanishing function of the number of visits to zero. We obtain limit theorems for this random walk. In particular, we show the existence of three regimes according to the rate of decay of the drift. When the rate is sufficiently fast, the random walk satisfies the invariance principle. When the rate is sufficiently slow, the position of the random walk, properly scaled, converges to a symmetric exponential law.

This is a joint work with Iddo Ben-Ari (UC Irvine) and Mathieu Merle (UBC). If time allows, I will also discuss the critical case, which is a work in progress.

Feb. 7, Thursday, Prof. Anastasios Matzavinos, the Ohio State University
Title: Theoretical approaches to actin filament dynamics
Abstract:
Dynamic control of the actin network in eukaryotic cells plays an essential role in their movement, but to date our understanding of how the network properties are controlled in space and time is still rudimentary. For example, how the cell maintains the pools of monomeric actin needed for a rapid response to signals, how the filament length distribution is controlled, and how the actin network properties are modulated by various bundling and severing proteins to produce the mechanical response is not known. In this talk we focus on the development and analysis of mathematical models which enable us to investigate the temporal evolution of the filament length distribution and the effect of the nucleotide composition on the dynamics of actin filaments in vitro. We discuss recent results on the relevant time scales for establishment of a time-invariant length distribution. We find that there are very long-lived intermediate length distributions that are not exponential. Also, we set up a master equation for the biochemical processes appearing at the actin-filament level and simulate the corresponding dynamics by generating numerical realizations through a Monte Carlo scheme. Statistical analysis of ensembles of generated realizations provides the moments of the various distributions of interest. Various challenges in this direction concerning the complexity of the Monte Carlo scheme are addressed and an analysis of the statistically-derived moments in the framework of simplified analytic models and correlated random walks is discussed.

Feb. 12, Tuesday Prof. Howard Levine, Iowa State University
Title: A Mathematical Argument for Using Aptamers in Chemotherapy and Imaging
Abstract:
A central challenge for drug design is to create molecules with optimal function that also partition efficiently into the appropriate in vivo compartment(s). This is particularly true in cancer treatments because cancer cells upregulate their expression of multidrug resistant trans- porters, which necessitates application of higher concentrations of extracellular drugs to enable cell killing. Here we give proof in principle with a mathematical model based on chemical kinetic considerations that intracellular RNA aptamers can increase the effective intracellular concentration of a drug is by "pulling" the drug in. We evaluate the use of cell-expressed aptamers with affinity for the drug to increase the efficiency of drug transport across the cell membrane and to increase the intracellular concentration of drug. We show that this outcome will occur if the aptamer diffuses throughout the cytoplasm. The ability of the aptamer to increase the intracellular concentration of its target molecule could also be used for imaging cells. We show by simulation that an intracellular aptamer can be enlisted for an integrated approach to both increase drug effectiveness and image aptamer-expressing cells.

An important finding from this study is the identification of the role of receptor diffusion in moving a drug from the membrane into the cell interior. The study predicts that the efficiency of drug action will be higher if the drug target molecule diffuses rather than being sequestered in an intracellular location such as is true for many enzymes.

Feb. 22, Friday, Prof. Marko Djordjevic, Ohio State University
Title: Modeling and bioinformatics of gene regulation
Abstract:
The talk will address both mathematical modeling of biological systems and biophysics approach to bioinformatic problems, through research examples arising in gene transcription. The first part of the talk will address how RNA polymerase is initiating gene transcription. The first quantitative model for the open complex formation (the first step in transcription initiation) will be presented, and shown to be in a good correspondence with the experimental data. In the second part of the talk, the problem of determining protein-DNA interaction parameters will be addressed. It will be shown how modeling of in-vitro selection experiments can significantly improve both the experimental design and bioinformatic procedure for inferring the interaction energies.

March 7, Friday Prof. Hemanshu Kaul, Illinois Institute of Technology
Title: Graph Packing - Conjectures and Results
Abstract:
A number of basic problems in graph theory can be stated as packing problems. Let G1 and G2 be graphs of order at most n. We say that G1 and G2 pack if their vertex sets map injectively into {1,...,n} so that the images of the edge sets are disjoint. The concept of graph packing generalizes various extremal graph problems, including problems on fixed subgraphs (such as the Hamiltonian Cycle problem), forbidden subgraphs (Turan-type problems), and equitable coloring. The study of packings of graphs was started in the 1970s by Sauer and Spencer, and by Bollobas and Eldridge. Graph packing results have also been widely applied to the study of computational complexity of graph properties.

We will discuss a few longstanding conjectures in this area, and present some recent results. In particular, we will present an extension (with A. Kostochka) of a classical theorem of Sauer and Spencer (1975) that is obtained through the characterization of its extremal graphs, and the best current result (with A. Kostochka and G. Yu) towards the well known Bollobas-Eldridge graph packing conjecture (1978), that further extends the Sauer-Spencer theorem.

March 11, Tuesday, Prof. Peter J. Olver University of Minnesota
Title: Applications of Moving Frames
Abstract:
In this talk, I will describe a new approach to the theory of moving frames that is based on equivariant maps. The method is completely algorithmic, and can be readily applied to completely general finite-dimensional Lie group and even infinite-dimensional pseudo-group actions. After introducing the basic ideas, I will attempt to survey a wide variety of new applications, including classification of differential invariants, invariant variational problems and differential equations, symmetries and object recognition in computer vision, and the design of symmetry-preserving numerical approximations.

April 1, Tuesday, Prof. Ae Ja Yee, Pennsylvania State University
Title: Rogers-Ramanujan identities and related partition theorems
Abstract:
In the theory of partitions, the most celebrated are the Rogers-Ramanujan identities in the sense that not only they have motivated partitionists to search for further identities in the partition theory but also they have become crucial bridges to connect the theory to other fields.

Within the partition theory, the discovery of the Rogers-Ramanujan identities raised two major questions: one is relation between partitions with difference conditions and partitions into parts satisfying certain arithmetic progressions, and the other is existence of nice combinatorial proofs like the proof of Euler's identity. This talk will be devoted to a survey of interesting partition theorems related to the Rogers-Ramanujan identities.

April 3, Thursday, Prof. Raffaele Romano Max Planck Research Group, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg
Title: Introduction to Quantum Error Correction Codes
Abstract:
The protection against the environmental action is an important achievement for the implementation of quantum technologies. In this talk, the main ideas founding the theory of Quantum Error Correcting Codes are described by using simple examples, and the general formalism is presented in a pedagogical way.

April 8, Tuesday, Prof.  Roger Lui, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Title: Mathematics of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Abstract:
The study of molecular and cellular biology includes topics from nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) all the way to cell motility and chemotaxis. Currently, this is a very active area of mathematical biology and many papers are written in this area in scientific and math journals every month. So far, there have not been a lot of significant advances either because the mathematical problems are extremely challenging or because people just don't know how to model them. In this talk, I shall illustrate these two points by discussing three examples: protein folding, biochemical network (cell signaling), and cell motility. I am an analyst by training so you will see a lot of equations in my talk but I will try to keep the technicalities to a minimum till the end.

April 15, Tuesday Prof. Isabel Darcy, University of Iowa
Title: Modeling protein-DNA complexes using tangles.
Abstract:
Protein-DNA complexes were first mathematically modeled using tangles in Ernst and Sumners seminal paper, "A calculus for rational tangles: applications to DNA recombination" (Math Proc Camb Phil Soc, 1990). A tangle consists of arcs properly embedded in a 3-dimensional ball. The protein is modeled by the 3D ball while the segments of DNA bound by the protein can be thought of as arcs embedded within the protein ball. This is a very simple model of protein-DNA binding, but from this simple model, much information can be gained. The main idea is that when modeling protein-DNA reactions, one would like to know how to draw the DNA. For example, are there any crossings trapped by the protein complex?  How do the DNA strands exit the complex? Is there significant bending? Tangle analysis cannot determine the exact geometry of the protein-bound DNA, but it can determine the overall entanglement of this DNA, after which other techniques may be used to more precisely determine the geometry.

April 17, Thursday, Prof. Weizhu Bao, National University of Singapore
Title: Mathematical Analysis and Numerical Simulation of Bose-Einstein Condensation
Abstract:
In this talk, I review the mathematical results of the dynamcis of Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and present some efficient and stable numerical methods to compute ground states and dynamics of BEC. As preparatory steps, we take the 3D Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) with an angular momentum rotation, scale it to obtain a four-parameter model and show how to reduce it to 2D GPE in certain limiting regimes. Then we study numerically and asymptotically the ground states, excited states and quantized vortex states as well as their energy and chemical potential diagram in rotating BEC. Some very interesting numerical results are observed. Finally, we study numerically stability and interaction of quantized vortices in rotating BEC. Some interesting interaction patterns will be reported.

 

Contact Information:

boushaba@iastate.edu or linglong@iastate.edu