# Colloquia

## Michelle Homp

Master of Arts for Teachers: A Mathematics Degree Designed with Teachers in Mind

Date: 11/30/2018
Time: 3:30PM-4:30PM
Place: 315 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: View

Date, Location:
2018-11-30

## David Jorgensen

Beyond Matrix Factorizations

Date: 11/29/2018
Time: 4:00PM-5:00PM
Place: 315 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: View

David Jorgensen

Date, Location:
2018-11-29

## Will Hall

Math Education Colloquium

Date: 11/28/2018
Time: 4:30PM-5:30PM
Place: 407 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: The biological and life sciences make up 30% of traditional Calculus I students (Bressoud, 2015) and we often build entire courses for these students in which calculus is set within contexts relevant for the biological and life sciences. However, we know very little about the role context plays in how students reason about calculus ideas within the biological and life sciences. These contexts are diverse yet tied together in their application to the life sciences and worthy of specific consideration.

I gave a set of five calculus accumulation tasks to twelve undergraduate life science majors. The data analyzed via open coding from a constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2000) and a new analytic tool, local theory diagrams was developed. Results indicate problem context influenced students’ assessment of the viability of their solution strategies as well as enabled them to reason through apparent contradictions in their work. In this talk I will share some of the details from my study and we will spend some time thinking through context-based reasoning within calculus.

Date, Location:
2018-11-28

## Jocelyn Quaintance

Hilbert Spaces, Hilbert Bases, and Fourier Series

Date: 11/14/2018
Time: 4:00PM-5:00PM
Place: 315 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: In honor of Salah Hamad's dissertation defense, I will give a graduate student accessible
talk discussing the basic theory of Hilbert spaces. In particular, I will define what it means for a Hilbert space
$E$ to have a Hilbert basis $(u_k)_{k\in K}$ and show how the concept of a Hilbert basis provides the canonical representation
of $E$ in terms of $l^2(K)$, namely the famous Riesz-Fischer theorem. Then I will discuss the connection between Hilbert bases and
the Fourier series of a square period function, ending with a brief recap of Joseph Fourier's fascinating life.

Date, Location:
2018-11-14

## Dong Ye

Cyclability and Linkage for Graphs with Local Conditions

Date: 11/9/2018
Time: 3:30PM-4:30PM
Place: 315 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: A graph G is k-cyclable if for any given k vertices, G has a cycle through all the given k vertices. It is well known that a k-connected graph is k-cyclable. A graph G is k-ordered or C_k-linked if for any give k vertices in an ordering, G has a cycle through all the given k vertices in the ordering. More general, a graph in H-linked if there is a injective map f which maps vertices of H to G such that G has a subgraph homeomorphic to H and rooted at f(V(H)). In this talk, we present some results on cyclability and linkage for graphs with extra local conditions, such as, claw-free and locally Hamiltonian etc.

Dong Ye

All are welcome.

Date, Location:
2018-11-09

## William "Bus" Jaco

Student Learning and Success in Entry-level Mathematics: Math Pathways, Corequisite Instruction, and Mathematics Learning by Inquiry

Date: 11/09/2018
Time: 3:30PM-4:30PM
Place: 121 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: We will facilitate a discussion of the program led by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to enhance student learning and success in mathematics across Oklahoma. We will discuss the structures of Math Pathways (to Completion) and Corequisite Instruction (at Scale) that are being implemented at all public institutions of higher education across Oklahoma, taking a closer look at these structural changes at OSU. While these structural changes are not easy, they are fairly straightforward and from them we are seeing measurable successes. However, a consequence of these changes and the need to address the Task Force Goals for enhanced student engagement, increased applications of mathematics and support for academic success skills dictate necessary classroom instructional changes that will require a shift in departmental culture and faculty and advisor professional development. The newly funded Mathematics Inquiry Project is a statewide program to address these challenging changes.

William Jaco

Date, Location:
2018-11-09

## Mingquan Zhan

On s-hamiltonian-connected line graphs

Date: 10/25/2018
Time: 3:45PM-4:45PM
Place: 315 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: View

Mingquan Zhan

All are welcome.

Date, Location:
2018-10-25

## Liang Hong

On prediction of future insurance claims when the model is uncertain

Date: 10/19/2018
Time: 3:30PM-4:30PM
Place: 315 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: Predictive modeling is arguably one of the most important tasks actuaries face in their day-to-day work. In practice, actuaries may have a number of reasonable models to consider, all of which will provide different predictions. The most common strategy is to first use some kind of model selection tool to select a best model,'' and then use that model to make predictions. However, there is reason to be concerned about the use of the classical distribution theory to develop predictions because these ignore the selection effect. Since accuracy of predictions is crucial to the insurer's pricing and solvency, care is needed to develop valid prediction methods. In this talk, we undertake an investigation of the effects of model selection on the validity of classical prediction tools and make some recommendations for practitioners.

Liang Hong

Dr. Hong received his PhD in mathematics from Purdue University. He has received grants from the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), Society of Actuaries (SOA), and State Farm Insurance Company; and he has given research talks at several Center for Actuarial Excellence (CAE) schools including Drake University, Georgia State University, Temple University, University of Waterloo, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

All are welcome.

Date, Location:
2018-10-19

## Zhi-Hong Chen

Degree conditions on induced nets for the hamiltonicity of claw-free graphs

Date: 10/11/2018
Time: 3:45PM-4:45PM
Place: 315 Armstrong Hall

Abstract: View

Zhi-Hong Chen

All are welcome.

Date, Location:
2018-10-11

## Xiaofeng Gu

Packing spanning 2-connected subgraphs and spanning trees

Date: 10/05/2018
Time: 3:30PM-4:30PM
Place: 120 Armstrong Hall

Abstract:
Motivated by the well known spanning tree packing theorem by Nash-Williams and Tutte, we discover a suﬃcient partition condition of packing spanning 2-connected subgraphs and spanning trees. As a corollary, it is shown that every (4k+2l)-connected and essentially (6k +2l)-connected graph contains k spanning 2-connected subgraphs and l spanning trees that are pairwise edge-disjoint. Utilizing it, we show that every 6-connected and essentially 8-connected graph G contains a spanning tree T such that G−E(T) is 2-connected.

Xiaofeng Gu

All are welcome.

Date, Location:
2018-10-05