Past Sessions

Speaker: Dr. Andrew King, Department of Mathematics
Title: Painting yourself into a corner: Graph colouring and optimization 
Speaker: Dr. George Agnes, Department of Chemistry
Title: Mimicry of particulate air pollution in vitro
Date: December 1, 2012
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Room: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Chiaka Drakes, Department of Mathematics
Title: Modelling Thinking
Speaker: Dr. Bernard Crespi, Department of Biology
Title: Where Darwin meets Freud: What is mental illness, and where does it come from?
Date: November 17, 2012
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Room: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Peter Dukes, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Victoria
Title: Finite Geometries and the Set Game
Speaker: Dr. Nancy Forde, Department of Physics
Title: How do our cells (do) work? How Physicists approach Biology.
Date: October 13, 2012
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Room: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Stephen Choi, Department of Mathematics
Title: The music of primes
Speaker: Dr. Sherryl Bisgrove, Department of Biological Sciences
Title: It's a green world - why watching plants grow is really quite exciting
Date: May 12, 2012
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Room: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Daniel Katz, Department of Mathematics
Title: Error-Correcting Codes: From hard drives to cell phones to deep space
Speaker: Dr. Erol Girt, Department of Physics
Title: Magnetic recording
Date: April 14, 2012
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Ladislav Stacho, Department of Mathematics
Title: Wondering in a town, not so much without a reason
Speaker: Dr. Bingyun Sun, Department of Chemistry
Title: How do science and technology help us understand ourselves and shape our future?
Date: March 17, 2012
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Room: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Mark MacLean, Department of Mathematics, UBC
Title: Geometric Phases?
Speaker: Dr. Byron Gates, Department of Chemistry
Title: The Chemistry of Nanoscience
Date: December 3, 2011
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Emily Walsh, Department of Mathematics
Title: Storm Chasing
Speaker: Dr. Norbert Haunerland, Department of Biological Sciences
Title: "The eight plague" - muscle fuel in locusts and other high-performance athletes
Date: October 15, 2011
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Charles Samuels, Department of Mathematics, Oklahoma City University
Title: A new kind of circle and the p-adic numbers
Speaker: Dr. Claire Cupples, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Title: Noisy green bugs: Understanding life at the molecular level
Date: November 12, 2011
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Cynthia Loten, Department of Mathematics, UFV 
Title: Caterpillars and Monstrous Trees
Speaker: Dr. Michel Vetterli, Department of Physics/TRIUMF
Title: What is mass? I bet you thought this was a solved problem? 
Date: May 14, 2011
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Matt Devos, Department of Mathematics 
Title: The remarkable tale of Bill vs. the Fish 
Speaker: Dr. Mario Pinto, Department of Chemistry
Title: Molecular modeling and drug design 
Date: April 9, 2011
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Jessica McDonald, Department of Mathematics 
Title: Connect-the-dots with graph theory
Speaker: Dr. Lynne Quarmby, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Title: Actually, on a cellular level, I am really quite busy 
Date: March 12, 2011
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Karen Yeats, Department of Mathematics 
Title: Unexpected identities 
Date: December 11, 2010
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Roger Donaldson, Department Of Mathematics and PIMS 
Title: It's likely more than software: How probability models make the internet useful
Speaker: Dr. John Clague, School of Earths Sciences 
Title: Science and Politics in the Great Climate Change Debate
Date: November 6, 2010
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Katherine E. Stange, Department Of Mathematics and PIMS
Title: Clocks, Set, Elliptic Curves, and the Secret Math of Spies
Speaker: Dr. Andrew DeBenedictis, Department of Physics
Title: Black holes, wormholes, warp-drives, and time machines: Some extreme features of gravitation
Date: October 16, 2010
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio

Speaker: Dr. Veselin Jungic, Department Of Mathematics
Title: What Makes 42.2 a BIG Number?
Speaker: Dr. Allison Kermode, Department Of Biology
Title: Plants and Human Health
Date: May 15, 2010
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. John Stockie, Department Of Mathematics
Title: Math and the Olympics
Speaker: Dr. Pete Wilson, Department Of Chemistry
Title: Synthesis and Symmetry
Date: April 10, 2010
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Rina Zazkis, Faculty Of Education
Title: Hollywood Perceptions of Mathematics
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Johnson, Department Of Physics
Title: Particle Physics 101
Date: March 13, 2010
Time: 9:00 - 12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Nathalie Sinclair, Faculty Of Education
Title: TBA
Speaker: Dr. Esther Verheyen, Department Of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Title: "What's the big deal about stem cells?"
Date: December 5, 2009
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Randall Pyke, Department Of Mathematics
Title: "Fractals: Drawing them, using them, and playing the Chaos Game"
Speaker: Dr. Jenifer Thewalt, Department of Physics
Title: "The Skin Barrier"
Date: November 14, 2009
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Jonathan Jedwab, Department Of Mathematics
Title: "Games, counting, and curvy lines"
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Blaber, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
Title: "Weightlessness and fainting astronauts"
Date: October 17, 2009
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Jamie Mulholland, Department of Mathematics
Title: Symmetries of Things
Speaker: Dr. Fiona Brinkman, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Title: Modeling Life
Date: May 9th, 2009
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Nilima Nigam, Department of Mathematic
Title: Mathematics, fish and locusts
Speaker: Dr. Tom Loughin, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science
Title: Wanna bet? Best strategies for games of chance
Date: April 4th, 2009
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Matt DeVos, Department of Mathematics
Title: How to draw a line
Speaker: Dr Paul Percival, Department of Chemistry
Title: Using an exotic atom to explore chemistry in a pressure cooker
Date: March 7th, 2009
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Paul Tupper, Department of Mathematics
Title: Zipf's Law and the Size of Cities
Speaker: Dr. Leah Bendell-Young, Department of Biology
Title: A Day at the Beach....from an invertebrates point of view
Date: December 6th, 2008
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Razvan Fetecau, Department of Mathematic
Title: Differential equations and the broken swimming records at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Speaker: Dr. Andrei Frolov, Department of Physics
Title: The Beginning of the Universe
Date: November 15th, 2008
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Greg Martin, Department of Mathematics, UBC
Title: Prime number races
Speaker: Dr. Sophie Lavieri, Department of Chemistry
Title: Chemsitry rocks!
Date: October 18th, 2008
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Malabika Pramanik, Department of Mathematics, UBC
Title: The secret life of numbers
Speaker: Dr. Margaret Kalacska, School of Criminology
Title: Eyes in the sky: satellite and airborne remote sensing
Date: May 3, 2008
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Matt Devos, Department of Mathematics
Title: Game Theory (serious fun)
Speaker: Dr. David Baillie, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Title: Worms in Space.... why bother?
Date: April 5, 2008
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Adam Oberman, Department of Mathematics
Title: Mathematical insights into gambling and the stock market
Speaker: Dr. Simon Watkins, Department of Physics
Title: Some connections between everyday consumer electronics, quantum physics, and Einstein
Date: March 8, 2008
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Veselin Jungic, Department of Mathematics
Title: A story about BIG numbers
Speaker: Dr. Gwen Flowers, Department of Earth Science
Title: Cold calculations: the math and physics of glaciers
Date: December 8, 2007
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Cedric Chauve, Department of Mathematics
Title: Walking around combinatorial trees
Speaker: Dr. Arne Mooers, Department of Biology
Title: How to build the Tree of Life
Date: November 10, 2007
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Jason Bell, Department of Mathematics
Title: How to sum series
Speaker: Dr. Melanie O'Neill, Department of Chemistry
Title: Junk RNA?
Date: October 20, 2007
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Branko Curgus, Department of Mathematics, Western Washington University
Title: Numbers in the Sky(viewing Sculpture)
Speaker: Dr. Derek Bingham, Department of Statistics
Title: Statistical Models for Spectroscopic Redshifts of Galaxies
Date: May 12, 2007
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. David Muraki, Department of Mathematics
Title: What is the Square Root of the Scream?
Speaker: Dr. Felix Breden and Kristen Gorman, Department of Biology
Title: Fishin' for Genes
Date: April 14, 2007
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Marni Mishna, Department of Mathematics
Title: The Mathematical Difference Between a Turnip and a Cabbage
Speaker: Dr. Neil Brenda, Chemistry Department
Title: Nanotechnology, Molecular Machines and How We are Using Them
Date: March 10, 2007
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Matt DeVos
Title:How to Cut Cake!
Speaker: Dr. Carl Schwartz
Title:One fish, two fish, .... How to estimate the size of animal and human populations using mark-recapture methods
Date: December 2, 2006
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. JF Williams
Title: What is Applied Math Good for?
Speaker: Dr. Levon Pogosian
Title: Our Universe: Facts and Speculations
Date: November 4, 2006
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Stephanie Van Willigenburg, UBC
Title: Mathematical Methods behind Stunning Symmetries
Speaker: Dr. Alton Harestad
Title: TBA
Date: October 14, 2006
Time: 9:00 -12:30
Place: IRMACS Presentation Studio
 
Speaker: Dr. Norman Reilly
Title:Algebraic Laws: How Many Suffice?
Speaker: Dr. Tony Williams
Title:What's Blood Got To Do With It? A Physiological Detective Story
Date: May 6, 2006
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: IRMACS Theatre
 
Speaker: Dr. Bob Russell
Title: A Brief History of Computational Mathematics
Speaker: Dr. Glyn Williams-Jones
Title: Things That Go BANG in the Night - What Makes a Volcano Tick
Date: April 8, 2006
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: IRMACS Theatre
 
Speaker: Dr. Matt DeVos
Title: Regular Polyhedra, From Euclid To The 4th Dimension
Speaker: Dr. Dave Boal
Title: The Physics of Early Life Forms
Date: March 11, 2006
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: IRMACS Theatre
 
Speaker: Dr. Rob Scharein
Title: Real, Virtual, and Virtually Real Mathematical Knots
Date: December 3, 2005
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: IRMACS Theatre
 
Speaker: Dr. Pavol Hell
Title: From Graph Colouring to Constraint Satisfaction: There and Back  Again
Date: November 5, 2005
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: IRMACS Theatre
 
Speaker: Dr. Tom Archibald
Title: Conformal Mapping from Mercator to Riemann
Date: October 1, 2005
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: IRMACS Theatre
 
Speaker: Dr. Rados Radoicic
Title: Iterative Processes in the Plane
Date: May 14, 2005
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: SFU room K9509
 
Speaker: Dr. Ralf Wittenberg
Title: Simple Functions, Chaotic Behaviour
Date: April 9, 2005
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: SFU room K9509
 
Speaker: Dr. Ladislav Stacho
Title: Routing Without a Map
Date: March 5, 2005
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: SFU room K9509
 
Speaker: Dr. Petr Lisonek
Title: Combinatorial Designs, Finite Geometries and DNA Screening
Date: December 11, 2004
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: SFU room K9509
 
Speaker: Dr. Chris Budd
Title: Celtic and Other Knots
Date: November 13, 2004
Time: 9:00 -12:00
Place: SFU room K9509
 
Speaker: Dr. Luis Goddyn
Title: atelites, Engine Testing and Strange ways of Counting
Date: Saturday, October 16, 2004
Time: 9:00 - 12:00
Place: SFU room K 9509
 
Speaker: Dr. Adrian Lewis
Title: Maximum Traffic in Networks
Date: Saturday, May 8, 2004
Time: 9:00 - 12:00
Place: SFU room K 9509
 
Speaker: Dr. Nils Bruin
Title: Fermat as Easy as ABC
Date: Saturday, April 3, 2004
Time: 9:00 - 12:00
Place: SFU room K9509
 
Speaker: Dr. Peter Borwein
Title: A VERY LARGE piece of Pi
Date: Saturday, March 13, 2004
Time: 9:00 - 12:00
Place: SFU room K9509