Fall 2024 – Summer 2025 – Abstracts
Wednesday, September 25, 2023. Math Club Speaker.
Dr. Colin Carroll, Google Research.
Automatic differentiation and machine learning
Neville Hall 208
Talk is 5:00-6:00pm and there will be pizza!
Abstract: Derivatives and gradients are ubiquitous in modern machine learning. We will talk about some of their applications and some of the reasons they are so useful. The main event will be walking through how to implement a computer program that will automatically and efficiently compute derivatives (hint: it is the chain rule all the way down). Some (Python) code will be shown, but no programming background is assumed. Familiarity with single variable calculus, and a lack of fear of multivariable calculus will be helpful.
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Mathematics Colloquium.
Andrew Knightly, University of Maine
Statistical properties of elliptic curves and modular forms
101 Neville Hall
Talk 3:15 – 4:05 pm, refreshments at 3pm
Abstract: If E is an elliptic curve 
for integers 
, then the number of solutions 
over the field 
has interesting statistical behavior as we vary 
and/or E. We will give a leisurely survey of this and related phenomena for families of modular forms. If time allows, we will also give a non-technical overview of the trace formula, which is the main tool for studying such families. No prior familiarity with modular forms or elliptic curves will be assumed.