Moon Duchin (Tufts University)
Title: "Mathematical models in social context"
Abstract: It's really hard to get mathematical modeling right! And when you are modeling social and political phenomena, there are inevitably going to be hidden assumptions in the model design and unexpected impacts of model choices. This is hard—but fundamentally important—to study. I'm a pure mathematician who has ventured into a very political area: electoral redistricting. I'll use examples from gerrymandering to make the broader point about the human interfaces of model-making.
Sam Payne (University of Texas at Austin)
Title: "Graph complexes"
Abstract: TBA
Tatiana Toro (University of Washington)
Title: The world through different mathematical lenses: rough vs smooth.
Abstract: This lecture will introduce some of the tools used in mathematics to distinguish between rough and smooth objects. Then it will explore some of their wide-ranging applications. One of the goals is to illustrate how the development of deep mathematical concepts is often motivated by real life observations.