This past semester, we held a department-funded end-of-semester sushi dinner! (May 2024)
Last semester we also went on a (department-funded!) trip to Brown University, to attend a conference for undergraduates! We got to watch lectures given by professors and students from Brown and other universities, and one of our own students presented too! The above is a photo of the Rhode Island capitol we took while there :) (March 2024)
One Halloween, we hosted a table at Spooky Science Day for elementary school kids to make geometric structures from toothpick and marshmallows with SPS and many other undergraduate STEM societies! (October 2021)
Lectures usually happen once a month, and many of them are understandable and interesting whether you've had only a year of calculus or are already in graduate level classes!
Here are samples of past professor talks:
with Professor Soysal (Nov 2021)
Abstract: In this talk, I will explain Gödel's famous incompleteness theorems from 1931 and other incompleteness results proved since then. I will then discuss their mathematical and philosophical consequences, and argue for a way to deal with them.
with Professor Gonek (Mar 2022)
Abstract: This will be a synopsis of the theory connecting prime numbers, the Riemann zeta function, and the zeros of the zeta function, including a discussion of the role of the Riemann hypothesis.
with Professor Herman (Apr 2024)
Abstract: In this talk, we introduce fundamental concepts in supply chain modeling in the presence of varying demand, and discuss techniques in inventory management used extensively by large companies such as Amazon. We discuss the news vendor model in detail and show how pooling can be used to optimize supply chain structures.
Here is a nice photo of the event :)
Every year we celebrate the week surrounding Pi Day with exciting lectures and activities. Some years we host mini math contests, others we have pie eating contests, and every year it's a little different.
SUMS has a few mascots that sometimes make appearances in our events! Get to know them below:
Our resident co-turkey i.e. shark! It lives in the Hylan 9 lounge - if you happen to come across it there, please say hi!
Here is a portrait done by one of our members:
SUMS's darling! She is an algebraist who loves abstraction and rigor. Once a young prodigy, she is now a promising researcher, but is often slowed down by the antics of her twin brother Co. Below is a rendition done by one of our members.
The categorical dual of Coco (i.e. her twin), Co is an analyst who often gets up to no good. He has been spotted dueling Coco at the top of Hylan tower - some onlookers say they overheard debates about random walks on, uh, finite groups...?
He looks identical to Coco, but with inverted colors. Despite their similarities in appearance, don't be fooled! He hates abstraction and loves waving his hands - often in Coco's face, so as to obscure her vision of the diagrams on her office blackboard.
