Category: Events

Student Talk Series: Greg Adams, February 11th @ 12 noon in Olin 268

Posted on by Nathan Ryan

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Title:  Monkeying around in South Africa

Abstract:  As part of my sabbatical last year, I spent 5 weeks in South Africa at the Unizulu Science Centre in Richards Bay.  One of the highlights of my stay were the many encounters with vervet monkeys, both in the flesh and abstractly in mathematical problems.  They insist on playing a role in this talk.

The science center serves the some 700 rural schools in the province of Kwazulu-Natal.  The level of mathematics achievement by the students at the rural public schools in South Africa is among the lowest in the world.  The science center was charged by the Department of Education to conduct teacher training in geometry for the school teachers in the province.

During my talk, I will discuss my past and future role in the initiatives of the science center and will talk about some of my experiences

Student Talk Series: Mark Meyer, January 28th @ 12 noon in Olin 268

Posted on by Nathan Ryan

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Title:  I’m all about that Bayes, ’bout that Bayes.

Abstract:  A September 2014 New York Times article titled “The Odds, Continually Updated” discusses the growing popularity of Bayesian statistics both within and outside of the statistical community. This expansion is due in part to the growth of computing power over the last decade and a half. So what is Bayesian statistics? The title of the article, and indeed the article itself, suggest that Bayesian statistics uses, even requires, prior information to inform the analysis. But this is only a small aspect of the Bayesian approach. We can use Bayesian statistics to analyze any data and, as we shall see, it can even provide more informative solutions than the Frequentist, or classical, approach to many problems. This talk will discuss the two philosophies of statistics: Bayesian and Frequentist. In doing so, we will cover some history behind the Bayesian paradigm, introduce the general approach to Bayesian statistics, and discuss several real examples, in each case comparing the Bayesian and Frequentist approaches to each other.

DVP Talk: Sam Ventura, 12/7 @ 4 pm in Olin 264

Posted on by Nathan Ryan

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Title:  Classification and Clustering for Record Linkage in Large Datasets

Abstract: Record linkage, or the process of linking records corresponding to unique entities within and/or across data sources, is an increasingly important problem in today’s data-rich world.  Due to issues like typographical errors, name variation, and repetition of common names, linking records of unique entities within and across large data sources can be a difficult task, in terms of both accuracy and computational feasibility.  We frame record linkage as a clustering problem, where the objects to be clustered are the records in the data source(s), and the clusters are the unique entities to which the records correspond.  We use the following three-step approach for record linkage:  First, records are partitioned into blocks of loosely similar records to reduce the comparison space and ensure computational feasibility.  We propose a sequential blocking approach that iterates through a nested set of decreasingly strict blocking criteria to reduce the comparison space more efficiently.  Second, we adopt an ensemble supervised learning approach to estimate the probability that a pair of records matches.  We propose a new adaptive prediction approach for classifier ensembles (specifically, random forests) that extracts and incorporates summary statistic information from the distribution of estimated probabilities.  Third, after transforming our estimated pairwise probabilities of matching to pairwise dissimilarities, we use hierarchical clustering to link matching records.  We apply these approaches to two labeled record linkage datasets:  a set of labeled inventors from the United States Patent and Trademark Office database and a compilation of lists of death records from the Syrian Civil War conflict.

Student Talk Series: Sam Ventura, December 3 @ 12 noon in Olin 268

Posted on by Nathan Ryan

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Title:  A Crash-Course in Sports Statistics

 

Abstract:  The path to becoming successful in the sporting world is substantially different from that of more traditional fields.  Whether you’re an athlete or an analyst, coursework and university degrees matter much less being able to effectively demonstrate you ability to have a positive impact on a team or organization.  In this talk, I will discuss my path to becoming successful in the world of statistics in sports.  I will give a crash-course in the fundamentals of using statistical analysis in sports, discussing important concepts such as repeatability, replacement, and prediction.  I will also touch on more academic topics that are extremely important in the sporting world, such as programming techniques, data visualization, professional communication (writing and speaking).  Finally, I’ll discuss my personal experiences from working with professional sports teams, coaching ice hockey, and teaching students about statistics.  Although my work is primarily in hockey, I will also discuss the use of statistics and quantitative analysis in football, baseball, and basketball.

MAA Student Event: Thursday 11/12 @ 6 in ACWS 108

Posted on by Nathan Ryan

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Join the MAA for cookie decorating and a viewing of Moneyball, with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

Cookie decorating (and eating!) begins at 6:00 followed by a talk on softball statistics by Coach Courtnay Foster, coach of the Bucknell’s Softball Team.

Coach Foster will talk at 6:30pm, and the movie begins at 6:45pm.

 

Sponsored by the Mathematics Department and the MAA Club

Student Talk Series: Shira Mitchell, October 29 @ 12 noon in Olin 268

Posted on by Nathan Ryan

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Title: Causal inference for the Millennium Villages Project

Speaker: Dr. Shira Mitchell, Columbia University, Columbia Population Research Center

Abstract:  The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) is a ten-year integrated rural development project implemented in ten sub-Saharan African sites. We describe the design for causal inference about the MVP’s effect on a variety of development indicators. Causal inference for the MVP context presents many challenges: a nonrandomized design, limited baseline data for candidate control areas, and the assignment of treatment to only ten sites, limiting effective sample sizes. We develop and carry out a matching procedure tailored to small samples and designed to facilitate communication with subject-matter experts. Following the design, we propose hierarchical Bayesian causal models for multiple outcomes. This work provides a case study of the careful evaluation design of a non-randomized intervention, with clear pre-specification of the procedure and matches before outcome data are available.

Mathematics Alumni Career Panel Discussion on Thursday 10/22/15: reception @ 4, panel @ 4:30

Posted on by Nathan Ryan

The Mathematics Department and Career Development Center invite you to join us for a Mathematics Alumni Career Panel Discussion on Thursday October 22, 2015 in the Center Room of the ELC.

 

Peter Friedman ‘08
Mathematics Teacher at Ridgefield (CT) High School

Sarah (Thalhamer) Friedman‘11Senior associate in the Global Human Resource Solutions group at PricewaterhouseCoopers

Kim Rich ‘14
Consultant for Axtria (a data analytics consulting firm)

 

Dean Wise ‘13

Analyst at Annalect

 

 

Hear advice and perspectives from Bucknell alumni who will examine career paths that utilize the mathematics degree while discussing their work and available opportunities.  The conversation will include a question and answer period and an opportunity to meet (and network with!) the alumni panelists.

Light refreshments will be offered @ 4:00 followed by a panel presentation from 4:30-5:30.

 

 

Student Talk Series: Liz McMahon, October 15 @ 12 noon in Olin 268

Posted on by Nathan Ryan

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Title:  Mathematics in the Game of SET

Abstract:  The card game SET is played with a special deck of 81 cards. There is quite a lot of mathematics that can be explored using the game.  We’ll look at questions in combinatorics, probability, linear algebra, and especially geometry.  The deck is an excellent model for a finite affine geometry and provides an entry to surprisingly beautiful structure theorems for that geometry.  If you’d like some practice before the talk, go to www.setgame.com for the rules and a Daily Puzzle