Everett Pitcher Lecture Series

The Pitcher lectures are held in honor of Everett Pitcher, who served in Lehigh's Department of Mathematics from 1938 until 1978, when he retired as Distinguished Professor of Mathematics. He was secretary of the American Mathematical Society from 1967 until 1988.


For more information call 610-758-3731.

      Spring 2008 Everett Pitcher Lectures
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                 Speaker: Persi Diaconis
                        Mary V. Sunseri Professor of Statistics and
                                      Mathematics at Stanford University
                        Member of the National Academy of Science
                
                                    
Lecture For General  Audience
Monday, March 17, 7:30 pm, Lewis Lab Auditorium (Room 270)

   
    The Search for Randomness

Abstract: I will investigate some of our most primitive images of random phenomena: tossing a coin, shuffling cards, and rolling a roulette ball. In each case, a careful look shows that things are not so random. Connections to computer-generated, pseudo-random numbers and the use (and misuse) of statistical models are made.

 
Second Lecture
      What Do We Know about the Metropolis Algorithm?

Abstract: The metropolis algorithm is one of the most used procedures in scientific computing. I will explain the algorithm, illustrate its use in cryptography and biology. Analysis of the algorithm lies mostly in the future.

Date:  Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Place & Time:  4:10 pm, Sinclair Auditorium 

 

Third Lecture
      The Mathematics of Shuffling Cards

Abstract: A few magicians and gamblers can shuffle cards perfectly. I will show that eight perfect shuffles bring a 52-card deck back to order (demonstrations provided). The mathematics illuminates computer algorithms and leads to problems on the edge of what is known in number theory.

Date:  Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Place & Time:  12:10 pm, Neville 1


Persi Diaconis is the Mary V. Sunseri Professor of Statistics and Mathematics at Stanford University and was elected into the National Academy of Science in 1995. He has done outstanding work in probability, statistics, and combinatorics. His pioneering applications of non-commutative Fourier analysis and techniques from algebraic structures have contributed greatly to our understanding of random walks on finite structure models for group valued data, and simulations of probabilities on combinatorial structures.

Past talks are listed below.                                                                               Click here to go back to the Math Department homepage.
 
Month,Year
Speaker
Title of the Talk
April, 1983 R. Bott Some Applications of Equivariant DeRahm Theory
December 1983 J.-P. Serre Rational Points on Algebraic Varieties 
March, 1985  J. Moser Stability of Hamiltonian Systems 
October, 1985 M. Atiyah The Mystery of Four Dimensions 
April, 1987 J. Tate Elliptic Curves and Modular Symbols 
October, 1987 J. Milnor Iterated Polynomial Maps
April, 1989 F. John Non-linear Wave Equations, Formation of Singularities
March, 1990 S. Smale Theory of Computation. On the Problem "P != NP" for the Real and Complex Numbers 
November, 1990 J. Tits Monster and Moonshine: A Survey 
April, 1992 J. Conway Geometry and Numbers 
April, 1993 R. Graham Quasi-randomness and Combinatorics
October, 1993 P. Hall Statistical Estimation of Fractal Dimension
February, 1994 M. Talagrand Isoperimetric Inequalities and Concetration of Measure in Product Spaces 
November, 1994 M. Hopkins Modular Forms and Stable Homotopy 
April, 1996 C. Pomerance Primes: a computational approach 
March, 1997 B. Mandelbrot Fractals in Mathematics and the Sciences
April, 1998 C. Morawetz Revisiting the Wave Equation
April, 1999 H.S. Wilf The Recursive Structure of Combinatorial Families
March, 2001 I. M. Singer Index Theory in Mathematics and Physics
November, 2001 P. Shor  Quantum Information and Computation
July, 2002  J. Birman Recognizing the Unknot
April, 2003 J. Arthur Automorphic Forms and the Trace Formula 
March 2005
 Peter Sarnak
 Arithmetic and analysis on locally symmetric spaces
March 2006
 Sir Roger Penrose
 Before the Big Bang and Twistor Theory
April 2007
 George E. Andrews
 The Indian Genius, Ramanujan: His Life and the Excitement of His Mathematics

Click here to go back to the Math Department homepage.