Colloquium: Spring 2026

Time & Location:  All talks are on Thursdays in Norman Mayer 200B at 3:30 pm unless otherwise noted.  Refreshments in Gibson 426 after the talk.

Organizer: Tommaso Buvoli and Samuel Punshon-Smith

 

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***Tuesday, January  20,***

Special Colloquium 

Title: Evolution equations in physical and biological systems

Speaker: Selim Sukhtaiev - Auburn University

Abstract: Disorder and pattern formation are central themes in modern science, and both play a fundamental role in the behavior of complex physical and biological systems. In this talk, we will discuss two mathematical models that illustrate these phenomena: the Anderson model of electronic transport in random media and the Keller–Segel model of chemotaxis.

We will first turn to a mathematical treatment of the Anderson model. We will discuss several natural Hamiltonians on metric trees with random branching numbers and show that their transport properties are suppressed by disorder. This phenomenon, known as Anderson localization, is a hallmark of the spectral theory of Schrodinger operators.

We will then consider the Keller–Segel system, a coupled pair of reaction–advection–diffusion equations describing the collective motion of cells in response to chemical signals. We will focus on well-posedness of this system on arbitrary compact networks, as well as the asymptotic stability, instability, and bifurcation of steady states in both the parabolic–parabolic and parabolic–elliptic realizations of the Keller–Segel model.

Location: Dinwiddie 108
Time: 3:30PM

 

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***Thursday, January  22,***

Special Colloquium 

Title: Large Effects in Perturbed Hamiltonian Systems

Speaker: Marian Gidea - Yeshiva University

Abstract: One of the fundamental laws of physics is the conservation of energy, which states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant.
Hamiltonian dynamics provides a natural framework for modeling this law. However, real-life systems are rarely isolated and are subject to external perturbations of various types, such as periodic / quasi-periodic forcing, random perturbations, or dissipation. In this lecture, we will consider several models from celestial mechanics, engineering, and biology, and study the effects of perturbations on these systems. The upshot is that even small perturbations can accumulate over time, giving rise to large effects, such as significant energy growth, and trajectories that wander far from their initial point. In particular, we will address conjectures proposed by Arnold (1964) and Chirikov (1979).

Location: Dinwiddie 108
Time: 3:30PM

 

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***Thursday, January  29,***

Special Colloquium 

Title: Tractability of chaotic dynamics in noisy systems

Speaker: Alex Blumenthal  -  Georgia Tech

Abstract: Many real-world systems exhibit dynamical chaos, characterized by sensitive dependence on initial conditions and intricate, seemingly disordered behavior. While existing abstract tools from smooth ergodic theory provide a rich framework for understanding chaotic dynamics, verifying this framework in concrete systems remains a notoriously difficult problem. Even in low-dimensional toy models, rigorous proofs often lag significantly behind compelling numerical evidence. Remarkably, this problem becomes far more tractable when systems are subjected to external, time-dependent stochastic forcing. In such settings, the scope of systems for which chaotic hallmarks can be rigorously established expands dramatically, offering substantive progress toward the original promise of chaos theory: to explain and quantify dynamical disorder in nature. I will present several applications of these ideas, including towards disordered dynamical behavior exhibited in systems from fluid mechanics. This talk will include joint work with many collaborators, including Lai-Sang Young, Jinxin Xue, Jacob Bedrossian, and Sam Punshon-Smith.

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30PM

 

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Thursday, February  05,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Ayla Gafni - Ole Miss (Host: Olivia)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

 

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Thursday, February  19,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Michael Robinson - American University (Host: Rafal)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

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Thursday, February  26,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Nancy Neudauer - Pacific University (Host: Mahir)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

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Thursday, March  05,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Sergio R. López-Permouth - Ohio University (Host: Mahir)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

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Thursday, March  12,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Bernhard Heim - Universitat Koln (Host: Olivia)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

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Thursday, March  19,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Ivan Corwin - Columbia University (Host: Guido)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

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Thursday, April  09,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Jayadev S. Athreya - University of Washington (Host: Kalina & Edna)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

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Thursday, April  16,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Henry Adams - University of Florida (Host: Rafal)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

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Thursday, April  23,

Colloquium

Title: TBA

Speaker: Nick Andersen - BYU (Host: Olivia)

Abstract: TBA

Location: Norman Mayer 200B
Time: 3:30

 

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