Colloquium and Seminar Schedule
Fall 2012This is the schedule of colloquia and seminars inthe Department of Mathematics and Computer Science for the Fall 2012 semester.
Click here for information about the next scheduled talk.
October 2012
- "Is There a Better Way to Elect a President?"
Professor Steven Brams, New York University
Date: Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Geneva Room, Melly Academic Center
Abstract:
Brams will give a public talk based on his recent work regarding electoral systems. In a recently published article titled "Is There a Better Way to Elect a President?" Brams describes the properties of approval voting in which voters can approve as many candidates as they like in a multicandidate election. This is the system which has been adopted by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), the American Mathematic Society (AMS) and several other professional societies. Brams argues that this system is a much simpler and more practical option than the plurality U.S. voting system. In addition, he will discuss other systems such as ranking systems and grading systems which have been widely discussed in mathematical fields.
Brams will touch on the Electoral College system about which he has written extensively. In fact, Bram's opinions on the system were recently published by the New York Times in the editorial section and elicited an enthusiastic response from readers across the country.
Steven Brams is a professor of Politics at New York University. He is the author, co-author, or co-editor of 17 books and more than 250 articles. His books include "Theory of Moves" (Cambridge, 1994) and, co-authored with Alan D. Taylor, "Fair Division: From Cake-Cutting to Dispute Resolution" (Cambridge, 1996) and "The Win-Win Solution: Guaranteeing Fair Shares to Everybody" (Norton, 1999). His newest books are "Mathematics and Democracy: Designing Better Voting and Fair-Division Procedures" (Princeton, 2008) and "Game Theory and the Humanities: Bridging Two Worlds" (MIT, 2011). Brams holds two patents for fair-division algorithms.
- "The Win-Win Solution: Guaranteeing Fair Shares to Everybody"
Professor Steven Brams, New York University
Date: Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Napier 201
(Refreshments will be served beforehand.)
Abstract:
Cutting up a cake, dividing up the property in an estate, determining the border in an international dispute--such problems of fair division are ubiquitous. Beginning with "I cut, you choose," I will will illustrate how rigorous methods can be applied to the analysis of a variety of procedures for allocating goods (or "bads" like chores), or for deciding who wins on what issues in a dispute. In particular, I will focus on procedures which provide "envy-free" allocations, in which everybody thinks he or she received the largest portion and hence does not envy anybody else.
November 2012
- "Students Discuss Their Summer Internships in Computer Science"
Mark Benya '14, Alex Kittelberger '13, and Nick Schmidt '14
Date: Wednesday, November 14
Time: 4:15 PM
Location: Room 201 Napier Hall
(Refreshments will be served beforehand.)
Abstract:
Three Computer Science majors who did summer internships this year will discuss their experiences and some of the projects that they worked on. Come and hear about what kinds of work are available for Computer Science internships. Get some hints about how to go about looking for an internship. And learn more about what's it really like to be an intern. The discussion should be useful for people interested in other internships, not just computer science, and there will be time for questions from the audience.
Past Colloquia Series
Spring 2012 Fall 2011 Spring 2011 Fall 2010 Spring 2010 Fall 2009 Spring 2008 Fall 2008
If you have interest in giving a talk or know of someone who does,
please contact Kevin Mitchell at mitchell@hws.edu