First Women in Mathematics speaker scheduled for Monday

As part of the Women in Mathematics Colloquium, Dr. Catherine Crawford of Elmhurst College will speak at SMU on Monday, Oct. 26.

The title of her presentation — scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Salvi Lecture Hall — is “Stripes, Squares and Oscillons: An introduction to mathematical modeling and pattern formation.”

Patterns appear everywhere in the world — zebra stripes, hexagonal honeycombs, spiral arrangements of sunflower seeds, and the periodic ups and downs of population sizes due to seasonal migration. Dr. Crawford’s presentation will describe how a pattern can be represented mathematically and how basic knowledge of functions and derivates can help determine when and where the patterns will exist.

Analytical and numerical results will be compared with experimental observations. Finally, the connection between the underlying pattern and observation of a single, isolated pulse, called an oscillon, will be described.

A reception for Dr. Crawford will begin at 4 p.m.

This colloquium is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to encourage women to study mathematics.

For more information, contact Dr. Kevin Dennis at kdennis@smumn.edu or Ext. 6650.