CCNY Math Club
The math club will primarily be running events with the AWM this coming year. See the AWM page for up-to-date information.
Announcements
The math club and AWM moved to MR 210.
See below for upcoming math club events.
How to Become a Math Club Member
Please join the Google Group and follow the Math Club Instagram(@ccnymathclub).
For any inquiries, please feel free to email us at mathclubccny@gtest.ccny.cuny.edu. Or, email me personally at ekimbro000@citymail.cuny.edu.
Club room
The current location of the Math Club (and AWM) is Marshak 210. The club room is always open, so come by and use it for studying/tutoring/relaxing. (The doorknob won't turn, but the door is unlocked--just push. If you have any trouble getting in, email Elliot at ekimbro000@citymail.cuny.edu .)
Welcome to the Math Club page!
Executive Committee, 2023-2024
President: Elliot Kimbrough-Perry
Vice Presidents: Tabitha Ramirez
Treasurer: Victor Pena
Secretary: Veronica Koval
To promote community among math enthusiasts and math majors at CCNY.
To promote diversity in STEM fields, and cultivate an inclusive environment where anyone can feel like they belong.
To keep math related majors apprised of career, research, and scholarship opportunities.
To encourage the appreciation of the beauty and wonders of mathematics.
See here
for more upcoming AWM/Math Club events.
Opportunities and Info:
Recent Opportunities
- NSF funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs): a current list can be found here.
And more!
Many colleges and universities host summer REU programs. Please check here for a detailed list on mathprograms. Applications to most of these programs has to also be done via mathprograms as well.
The department offers an accelerated master program (4+1) for math undergraduates. Please see here for more information.
Please contact Professor Gautam Chinta for more details regarding degree with honors.
If you would like to learn more about the Math Alliance, here is a link.
- Prof. Daugherty's Advice for Applying to PhD Programs. Click here for some very comprehensive guidelines for continuing your education and really great advice for those interested in pursuing a PhD in mathematics.
List of events held in the past
Geometric Group Theory explores group properties by examining the geometric spaces these groups act on. Essentially, when a group G acts on a space X, X's topological and geometric structure significantly reveals G's structure. An example of this with respect to finitely generated groups is the Švarc-Milnor lemma. This proposition states that if a group G acts 'nicely' on a metric space X, then G is finitely generated; it also shares a deep geometric resemblance to X. In my talk, I'll delve into the Švarc-Milnor lemma, both proving and unpacking it, along with introducing the foundational ideas necessary to grasp this great mathematical statement.
BEAM (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics), an organization promoting involvement in math among marginalized students, is hiring college students/graduate students/recent graduates for its summer program.
Come join us for an afternoon of pie, plus an integral competition!
See the following link for registration information: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/events/mina-rees-ny-women-and-math-conference . Please register as soon as possible--it'll help the organizers plan.
Welcome back! Come meet new students, say hi to your returning friends, and learn to crochet!
Finals are here! Come study with us this Tuesday in the club room!
In a standard probability course, the Central Limit Theorem is often discussed. Recall that this theorem (in a certain sense and with adequate hypotheses) implies that certain sums of random variables can be approximated by Gaussian random variables. In number theory, Selberg’s Central Limit Theorem formally establishes how this idea can be used to describe the behavior of the Riemann zeta function along the critical line Re(s) = 1/2 in the complex plane (where all of the nontrivial roots of the Riemann zeta function are conjectured to fall). We discuss Selberg's Central Limit Theorem and explain some results in connection with this theorem.
This talk aims to introduce attendees to the foundational aspects of C*-algebra theory. We will commence with a discussion on Banach algebras and their fundamental properties, setting the stage for the introduction of C*-algebras as a natural extension. Key concepts such as * involution, the Gelfand-Naimark theorem, and spectral theory will be discussed.
A phase transition is a sudden change in the equilibrium of a dynamical system. I will introduce the definition of a phase transition, a shift space, and some related notions such as topological entropy, then sketch the construction of a potential on a one-sided shift that exhibits one phase transition.
Come say hi to your returning friends and meet new students! There'll be (free) snacks and drinks.
- LGBTQ+ in STEM (Friday May 7th, 1:00pm - 3:00pm)
In collaboration with other CCNY STEM clubs, Math Club is hosting an event to feature LGBTQ+ community in academia. We are inviting professors and postdoctoral researchers from different universities to share their experiences in STEM as part of the community. Please RSVP below to get the zoom link!
- Math Internship Panel (Friday April 30th, 12:30pm - 1:30pm)
We will have three interns (one data science intern and two Rich interns) with backgrounds in both research and the industry. We will also hold a Q&A session where you can ask them any questions you may have.
- A Panel Discussion About MATH IN INDUSTRY (Sunday April 25, 2pm-3pm)
We are very excited to host an industry panel this Sunday, April 25th from 2-3pm. We will have four speakers from different industry backgrounds. This will be a great opportunity to hear and learn about life in the industry. There will also be a Q&A session where you can ask the speakers any questions you may have.
- Graduate Panel 2021 Prof. Zajj Daugherty, Karoline Dubin, Abdoulaye Maiga (Friday 03/26/2021 12:30pm - 2:00pm)
On March 26th, we will invite Professor Zajj Daugherty, Karoline Dubin, and Abdoulaye Maiga to a graduate panel to discuss grad school preparation. We will also ask them questions about various aspects of graduate programs. The floor will be open to the audience for more questions towards the end. Join us on Friday!
- Python Workshop For Beginners (Thursday 02/25/2021 @12:30pm - 2:00pm)
Maliha Tabassum will be leading a Python workshop for beginners on Thursday, February 25th. Python is a high-level programming language widely used in industry and academic research. The workshop will focus on basic knowledge of Python and provide additional resources to master the programming language. See you there!
- Cryptography: Introduction to Fully Homomorphic Encryption (11/19/2020 @ 12:30pm to 1:30pm)
The Math Club is hosting an event with Pascal Paillier's cryptography start-up, Zama, to present an introduction to fully Homomorphic Encryption. This'd be a great talk for anyone interested in exploring topics in cryptography! We look forward to seeing you!
The recording of the zoom meeting can be found here:
Introduction to Fully Homomorphic Encryption
- Introduction and Virtual Meeting with Dr. Nancy Kopell (10/08/2020 @ 12:30pm to 1:30pm)
We are excited to announce that our very first event this semester will be held on October 8 from 12:30 pm to 1:30pm. We will hold a discussion session with Dr.Nancy Kopell, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Boston University, who is very well known for her work throughout many mathematical societies. We look forward to seeing everyone at this lively meetup!
- SAGE Programming Workshop: Representation Theory of Groups and Algebras Thursday 11/21/19 12:45pm -2:15pm NAC 1/511A (Artino Lab)
Pavel Javornik will be running a programming workshop in the Artino computer labs in SAGE, an open-source alternative to Mathematica that can be run on a browser. We will introduce the ideas behind representations, motivate the left-regular representation as a tool in the study of modules over group algebras, and use SAGE to bring some of that to life. For those interested in getting a head start, the first few sections of this paper might provide some insight.
- An Introduction to Group Theory Thursday 11/14/19 12:45pm - 1:45pm NAC 6/310
This is an interactive event headed by Jason Redman aimed at math and physics students to introduce the concept of groups and group homomorphisms. We will look at concrete examples of symmetry groups, study group structures through Cayley diagrams, and construct isomorphisms through them.
- REU Awareness Seminar Fall 2019 Tuesday 11/12/19 12:45pm - 1:45pm NAC 6/310
Alice Medvedev and a few undergraduate students will be speaking about REUs (Research Experiences for Undegraduates), and why they matter. They will offer advice about improving your chances of being accepted into an REU, and share their personal experiences with you all.
- 2019 Rich Summer Internship Math Presentations II Tuesday 10/10/19 12:45-1:45 NAC 6/310
Rich Summer Internship participants Ryan Olsen and Abdullah Khan will be giving us 20 minute presentations on their work this summer!
Abdullah Khan
My work with Professor Medvedev involved studying specific parts of a Theorem by Hrushovski in a paper by Hirotaka Kikyo “On Generic Predicates and Automorphisms” in logic. My goal over the summer was to learn the necessary abstract algebra to parse this theorem and understand it. My final report consists of the preliminary mathematics needed to do this and an exposition of the theorem by Hrushovski from the perspective of an introductory student of mathematics.
Ryan Olsen
A theoretical cryptographic scheme based upon sending a string of bits, 0 and 1. This protocol circumvents the computational hardness assumptions found in most cryptosystems used today, although with a slight loss in accuracy. Its implementation and further improvements will be discussed.
There will be pizza and refreshments!
- Welcome Back Party Fall 2019 Thursday 9/26/19 12:45pm - 1:45pm NAC 6/310
We will be meeting this day to discuss what kinds of events you might want to see the Math Club host, as well as various opportunities for undergraduate students like the department's new 4+1 joint Bachelor's/Master's degree program. Come grab some pizza and meet some other math enthusiasts!
- 2019 Rich Summer Internship Math Presentations Tuesday 9/17/19 12:45pm - 1:45pm NAC 6/310
Rich Summer Internship participants Joe Winter and Samuel Young will be giving us 20 minute presentations on their work in two exciting fields.
Joe Winter
My work focuses on the dynamical system known as the perturbed doubling map, a function on the complex plane that maps a complex number z to z-squared + c, where c is a complex number known as the perturbation constant. My talk will detail computational approaches to estimating and visualizing the Julia set of this map. I will also discuss strategies used to estimate periodic points of the map which are then used to explore the relation between c and the maximization of a particular potential.
Samuel Young
Local Subgroup Structures of Abstract Commensurators The abstract commensurator of a group, Comm(G), generalizes the notion of the automorphism group Aut(G). We study a new variation of Comm(F_2), which embeds in Comm(F_2), which we show is not locally residually finite.
There will be pizza and refreshments!
- Special Mathematics Colloquium: Prof. Linda Keen (Lehman College), Thursday 05/09/19 12:30pm - 1:30pm, NAC 6/114
This is a joint even with the CCNY AWM Chapter. Participants are invited to join the tea at noon in the Math Lounge (8th floor), and lunch immediately following the talk. We will show how the basic question of how to lay tiles in a room leads mathematicians to interesting questions and new concepts in geometry.
- Grad Panel 2019 Tai-Danae Bradley, Jozef Dodziuk, Anna Tao, Friday 5/3/19 12:30pm - 2:00pm MR 702
On May 3rd we will be inviting Tai-Danae Bradley and Jozef Dodziuk from the Grad Center, and Anna Tao from CCNY as panelists on the Friday, May 3 Graduate Panel. We will be asking them questions about the most important things you need to know for getting into a graduate program, and then open the floor for any questions you might have.
- Data Science Panel 2019 , Roland Maio, Grant Long, Diana Saafi, Thursday 3/13/19 5:30pm - 7:00pm NAC 1/203
The AWM, Math Club, and Women in Computer Science are hosting a data science panel, where we will have professionals and academics at various levels talking about what it is like to be a data scientist. We invite everyone to come listen and ask questions.
- REU Info Session Alice Medvedev, Thursday 1/31/19 4:00pm - 5:00pm NAC 1/511E
The math club and AWM, alongside with Dr. Alice Medvedev, will be hosting an REU Awareness Event. She will be talking about the kinds of REUs available this summer, where to apply, and how to strengthen your application. REUs typically admit first semester sophomores to first semester seniors and range in difficulty.
- Division of Science Research Opportunities Fair Tuesday 11/20/18 12:15pm Marshak Cafe
The Division of Science will be hosting a [Research Opportunities Fair] in the Marshak cafe. The Math Club and other organizations will be tabling there from 12:15 and on. So feel free to come by!
- Rich Summer Intern Presentations Tuesday 11/13/18 12:30pm - 1:50pm NAC 7/312
We will be having some students presenting the work they did over the summer with the Math department in NAC 7/312 from 12:30 to 1:50. So if anyone wants to come hang out and discuss about the type of research undergraduates get into, feel free to come by. We'll also have food and refreshments.
- Becoming a Math Major Michael Shub, Bianca Santoro, Khalid Bourabee, Christian Wolf, Thursday 11/1/18 12:30pm - 1:50pm NAC 6/114
We will be hosting an event in NAC 6/114, 12:30 - 1:50. We will have the chair, Michael Shub, professors Bourabee, Wolf, and Santoro talking about things they find interesting and what to expect in higher level math courses, as well as what you might do with a math degree. There will be free food, and everyone is welcome to attend!
- Maximal Volume Entropy Rigidity of RCD(-(N-1),N) Presenters, Thursday 10/11/18 12:30-2:00 NAC 6/114
For n-dimensional Riemannian manifolds M with Ricci curvature bounded below by -(n-1), the volume entropy is bounded above by (n-1). If M is compact, it is known that the equality holds if and only if M is hyperbolic. We show the same maximal entropy rigidity result holds for a class of metric measure spaces known as RCD(K,N) spaces. While the upper bound follows quickly, the rigidity case is quite involved due to the lack of a smooth structure on these spaces.
- Seven Bridges of Konnigsberg Jason Redman, Thursday 10/4/18 12:45pm - 2:00pm NAC 4/108
In 1736, Euler was given a problem to which he said there is no solution. This problem laid the foundations of graph theory and prefigured the idea of topology. We will talk about this problem and why it was so significant along with some fun explorations into the world of graph theory!
- Undergraduate Lecture Series:
The Math Department organized a student seminar designed to have faculty present accessible lectures to start conversations on advanced mathematics. Those talks were accessible to undergraduate students and covered a wide range of topics. For more information, please check out the seminar website.
News
Meet the Platonic Solids: Tetrahedron
The Platonic solids have been known since antiquity, and they play a prominent role in Plato's description of the physical world. The planar faces of each solid are identical polygons. Only equilateral triangles, squares and regular pentagons appear.
Although the platonic solids seem to be purely geometric objects, they embody a number of deep algebraic features. Their symmetries, for example, relate to the solution of polynomial equations of low degree.
If you would like to learn more about Platonic solids, you can start here.
