Undergraduate Colloquium

The Mathematics Undergraduate Colloquium is held each Wednesday from 1:00 - 1:45 during the regular academic year in WEB L110. Each week a different speaker will present information on a specific subject area in mathematics. Anyone can come by to listen, socialize, get to know members of the department, and hear some interesting information on the many areas of mathematics.

Fall 2021 Schedule

Introduction to the course

The Mathematics Behind Global Communication and Cyber Security

Lie groups for Everyone

Abstract: Lie groups and representation theory have become a central topic
in mathematics while at the same time remaining a bit esoteric for
non-experts. The goal of this talk is to explain the usefulness of
representation theory and understand its centrality. Time permitting we
will discuss the Peter-Weyl theorem which completely characterizes
representations of compact groups.

Mathematical Outreach

Abstract: Mathematics is a human endeavor, and mathematics is built on the contributions of our entire community. Outreach is the process of providing support and services to underserved communities, and so mathematical outreach aims to encourage and support students to engage with math that otherwise would not. In this talk I’ll survey a number of math outreach opportunities that are out there, with an eye towards opportunities that undergraduate and beginning graduate students can meaningfully take part in; these opportunities include summer math camps, math circles, math festivals, and more!

Minimal Surfaces

Minimal surfaces are mathematical models of soap films. Surfaces which have least area among surfaces that span a given closed boundary curve in three space are called minimal. We shall deduce the partial differential equation of minimal surfaces using the calculus of variations. The PDE can be solved in various special examples using ODE's, such as the catenoid, helicoid and Scherk's Surfaces.

Slides of the lecture are available.

http://www.math.utah.edu/~treiberg/MinimalSurfacesSlides.pdf

A Mathematician’s Journey Through a Financial Services Career

Mckay Hyde, a U of U alumnus, will talk about his experience leaving an academic track for a career at Goldman Sachs, including a survey of some of the problems he has worked on during his career. He will also highlight internship and full-time opportunities for students at Goldman Sachs.

Math 3000 (Receive Credit for Attending)

The Undergraduate Colloquium is open to anyone to attend; however, if students would like to receive credit, you may register for Math 3000.
This is a 1 credit hour CR/NC course. To receive credit:

You may not miss more than 2 of the colloquia
You will need to write a short paper on one of the topics presented during the semester.

Past Colloquia

Course Coordinators

Kevin Wortman	Lisa Penfold
Course Instructor	Administrative Coordinator
	ugrad_services@math.utah.edu

Department of Mathematics

College of Science