UIUC Department of Mathematics
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Current News

WISH-LIST

This is a new file in Joann Hower's office, for suggestions of a person or persons the Department would have an exceptional interest in hiring, and which the Department should make an exceptional effort to invite to apply for a position next Fall. This is not a request for nominations of Swanlund Chair candidates, since the next chairs are to be reserved for the Humanities.

POSTDOCTORAL SELECTION PROCESS

The Chair will appoint after consultation a separate POSTDOCTORAL SEARCH COMMITTEE, satisfying the following criteria: (1) it should be drawn from active researchers; (2) it should represent a broad range of research areas; (3) it should represent a mix of junior and senior members of the department.

This committee will select a number of candidates, get into a discussion of this selection with the EC, and finally present a ranked list. No visits to the campus are planned as part of the process. The EC and the Chair will then be responsible for the final choices, phone interviews and appointments.

Please send me your nominations to this committee. Faculty members are welcome to nominate themselves.

Philippe Tondeur, Chair

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NEW COURSE

MATH 491. Literature Seminar in Mathematics. Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor. Section ZJR will be organized by Prof. Zhong-Jin Ruan and will emphasize quantum groups.

STUDENT EMPLOYEES

Brian Waak and Becky Boehner will return again this year to work in the mail room. They will be joined by Melissa Jablokski, an incoming freshman in LAS.
Quionnes (Kim) Scott will return to the main office to work afternoons this fall.
A new student will be hired to do the daily coffee hours which will resume after classes begin.

ID CARDS

All faculty, staff and students must exchange their old ID card for the new I-Card on or before September 13. Old ID cards will not be valid after that date. You may exchange your card at the Arcade Building, 715 S. Wright St. during the hours listed below:

August 26, 27		9 AM - 5 PM
August 28, 29, 30		9 AM - 8 PM
September 1		10 AM - 5 PM
September 2		10 AM - 9 PM
September 3-6		9 AM - 8 PM
September 9-13		9 AM - 5 PM

JEWISH HOLIDAYS

Please avoid scheduling exams on these dates:

Rosh Hashana		Begins Friday , September 13
Yom Kippur		Monday, September 23
Sukkot		Begins Friday, September 27

IMPORTANT DATES

09/13	Last day for undergraduate students to add a semester course
10/11	Last day for graduate students to add a semester course
10/23	Probable date mid-semester grades for freshmen are due in 273 AH (Pat)
10/25	Last day for undergraduate students to drop a semester course or to arrange for the credit/no credit option
11/02	Registration for the Spring semester begins
11/22	Last day for graduate students to drop a semester course
11/28-12/1	Thanksgiving Holiday - All University offices are closed
12/13	Last day of instruction
12/14	Reading Day
12/16-21	Final Exams

Coming Events

Tuesday - September 10, 1996.
4:00 PM-5:00 PM - 314 Altgeld Hall

MATHEMATICS IN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY LECTURE. "Randomness and Pseudo-Randomness in Discrete Mathematics", Noga Alan, Baumritter Professor of Mathematics, Tel Aviv University.

Wednesday - September 11, 1996.
4:00 PM-5:00 PM - 314 Altgeld Hall

FACULTY FORUM. This new series will meet weekly, mostly on Wednesdays to discuss various issues of interest to the department in an open-ended format. Topics such as finances, course structure, university mandated changes in programs, etc. will be treated as they arise. First meeting: "Welcome by the new Chair of the Department", Philippe Tondeur.

Thursday - September 19, 1996.
4:00 PM - 314 Altgeld Hall

MATHEMATICS IN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY LECTURE. "Energy Integral", Cathleen Morawetz, President of the AMS.

5:30 PM-7:00 PM - Room A, Illini Union

Math/AMS reception for Cathleen Morawetz.

Friday - September 27, 1996.
11:30 AM-12:30 PM - 143 Mech. Eng. Bldg.

MATHEMATICS IN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY LECTURE. "How I became a mathematician", Ingrid Daubechies

4:30 PM-5:30PM - 314 Altgeld Hall

MATHEMATICS IN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY LECTURE. "Surfing with Wavelets", Ingrid Daubechies

Weekly Calendar

Saturday & Sunday, August 31-September 1, 1996

Saturday - August 31, 1996
9:00 AM-12:00 PM - 165 Everitt Lab

Comprehensive exam in Analysis

2:00 PM - 1952A Orchard St. (John Murray's home)

Party for Incoming Foreign Math Grad Students and their Families.

An informal gathering at which new foreign grad students can meet each other and discuss their transition to the United States. Spouses and children are especially welcome.

Monday, September 2, 1996 (Labor Day)

ALL CAMPUS HOLIDAY. Offices and buildings are closed.

6:00 PM - 1st Floor of house at 411 W. Green St., Urbana

Party for All Math Grad Students.

All grads please come out and welcome the new students! Chips, drinks, and buns will be provided. Barbeque grills will be set up so bring something to grill! If you want, bring a main course or dessert to share (optional)!

Tuesday, September 3, 1996

FIRST DAY OF INSTRUCTION.

11:00 AM - 245 Altgeld Hall

GEOMETRIC POTPOURRI SEMINAR. No meeting this week.

1:00 PM - 247 Altgeld Hall

ANALYTIC NUMBER THEORY SEMINAR. No meeting today.

2:00 PM - 245 Altgeld Hall

GROUP THEORY SEMINAR. Organizational meeting.

Talks are solicited in all branches of group theory and related subjects. Graduate students are encouraged to attend.

2:00 PM - 243 Altgeld Hall

STOCHASTIC ANALYSIS SEMINAR.

Prof. Rodrigo Banuelos, Purdue University; Extremal problems arising from exit times of Brownian motion.

3:00 PM - 245 Altgeld Hall

REPRESENTATION THEORY SEMINAR. Organizational meeting.

Wednesday, September 4, 1996

Thursday, September 5, 1996

1:00 PM - 247 Altgeld Hall

ANALYTIC NUMBER THEORY.

Prof.Bruce Berndt; Survey of the Rogers-Ramanujan continued fraction.

2:00 PM - 247 Altgeld Hall

ALGEBRAIC NUMBER THEORY SEMINAR.

Prof. Eric Liverance of Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan; Root Numbers of Elliptic Curves.

   The L-function of an elliptic curve is conjecturally connected via the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture to the arithmetical invariants of an elliptic curve. For example, the L-function conjecturally extends analytically to the whole complex plane and the order of vanishing at s=1 should be the rank of the Mordell-Weil group. The L-function should satisfy a functional equation similar to the Riemann zeta function, but in this case there is a +/-1 arising in the functional equation. Thus this +/-1 or root number should give the parity of the Mordell-Weil group. We discuss how to compute the root number arithmetically.

2:00 PM - 245 Altgeld Hall

ANALYSIS SEMINAR. No meeting this week.

Friday, September 6, 1996

4:00 PM - 449 Altgeld Hall

THESIS DEFENSE by Mr. Glenn Chappell. Optimization on Products of Combinatorial Structures. Director of Research: Douglas West