ART could stand for, Arun's Rehearsal Time, or Around Research and Teaching, or
Advanced Representation Theory, or Advice Reactions and Tribulations, or
Art Revelations and Transcendence.
All of these could be suitable titles for this seminar, depending on the week.
Sometimes there will be outside speakers, and sometimes it will a collection
of thoughts and material curated by the organizer or some other speaker.
EVERYONE is welcome to attend and participate.
Please do contact me if you have even the slightest interest
in presenting in this seminar. There are no "rules" for this seminar. Let's
discuss.
Seminars in April 2025
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 29 April 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Hayden Taylor
Title:
Getting into classical music
Abstract:
Let's learn how to tell the difference between a viola, a violin and a cello,
distinguish betwee different pieces and periods. Learn how to listen
with your friends and hence partake in an ancient tradition that
has brought joy, intrigue, sadness, excitement, to many people.
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 1 April 2025
Persenter/Facilitator: Arun Ram,
Title: It's a numberful world (part I: clocks, freedom and addicts)
Abstract:
10 wonderful numberful number systems for children (and adults).
Music intro: Louis Armstrong -- What a wonderful world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaCSuzR4DwM
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 8 April 2025
Persenter/Facilitator: Arun Ram
Title: Getting started with an MSc research project advisor
(focus: Robyn Araujo)
Abstract:
I'm doing a Math Masters and I should organise a
research project advisor. How do I get into this? How do I read a paper?
Music intro: Roby Lakatos -- Two Guitars
https://youtu.be/blU9gmJx1l0?si=JXmWJRbUbVw4SAQ1
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 15 April 2025
Interviewer: Arun Ram
Title:
The Omar Khayyam show with special guest Marco Carfagnini
Abstract:
This session will be modeled on shows like the Johnny Carson Show, or
David Letterman, where special guests come in for a chat.
Music intro: Paolo Conte - Un Gelato al Limon
https://youtu.be/TZeEkXyq6z0?si=O6ggcGVOVDUT9Mir
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 22 April 2025 (NO SEMINAR ON THIS DATE)
Persenter/Facilitator: NO SEMINAR THIS WEEK
Title: NO SEMINAR THIS WEEK
Abstract:
NO SEMINAR THIS WEEK
Seminars in May 2025
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 6 May 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Thorsten Hertl
Title: The crazy zoo of wild topological spaces
Abstract:
The definition of a topological space is a very general one - of
too general to reasonably work with. Inside the category of topological
spaces sits the category of CW complexes, which is reasonably behaved,
and often, topologists restrict their attention to this subcategory.
This makes sense, because constructions can be carried out inductively
over the cells, and all commonly used invariants behave as expected.
This begs the question: What happens if we leave our safe space?
After a brief recollection of CW-complexes, I will present examples
of 'wild' topological space that exhibit peculiar phenomena.
For example, I will explain why the Hawaiian earrings have an even
bigger fundamental group than you would expect, or give an example
of a space that has non-trivial real homology groups in degrees far
beyond its dimension.
The talk is accessible to anyone with mild previous knowledge in
topology (fundamental group and homology suffices).
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 13 May 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Rory Yarr
Title: Tessellating the Plane: from periodic tilings to Hat and Spectre
Abstract:
From periodic frieze groups, lattices and wallpaper groups to the
aperiodic Hat and Spectre!
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 20 May 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Aru Ray
Title: Readings - Poems, paragraphs, excerpts and vignettes
Abstract:
Bring your favourite poem, paragraph, excerpt or vignette to share.
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 27 May 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career Secrets - Shoes and Money
Abstract:
No matter what field you are in, shoes and money
are very useful for career success.
We'll discuss philosophy, motivation and applications of shoes
and money.
The program below is currently under construction. Some ideas are below
but the ordering and timing and topics are, at the moment, only suggestive
and may change. Please give me your suggestions and requests regarding the program.
Please do contact me if you have even the slightest interest
in presenting in this seminar. There are no "rules" for this seminar. Let's
discuss.
Possible future seminars: Tell Arun Ram if
you have an interest in having any of these in the Seminar
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 3 June 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
TBA??Arun Ram??
Title: Triangle tilings and the magic of the Shi arrangement
Abstract:
TBA ??counting regions, minimal triangles, dilated alcoves,
polynomial invariants, Steinberg's theorem on K-theory of flag varieties and
a connection to the Hilbert scheme
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ????? January 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Scenes from the movie Amadeus
Abstract:
This talk will be an analysis of selected music, delivery, content from the
movie and how it relates to a career in mathematics research.
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ????? January 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Readings
Abstract:
Readings from favorites: Feynman, Anne of Green Gables, Solzhenitsyn,
Consuelo, Tolkein, ...
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ????? January 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Some poems
Abstract:
Sunbeams, Queensland, The Mossman Cane cutters, Come let's away to prison,
BeHolding, The tallest of the pines,
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ?????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title:
Compiling and curating 40 years of Calculus teaching
Abstract:
What do we actually teach in Calculus? What are good ways to say this?
to 19 year olds? We'll explore why and how this is the most thrilling and
midblowing activity one can undertake in a lifetime.
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Thinking about discovery model learning
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: A new plan for the undergraduate math curriculum
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Why learn Chapter II of Macdonald' book on symmetric functions?
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Why learn Chapter II of Macdonald' book on symmetric functions?
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to be a mentor
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to be a member of the hiring committee
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to apply for grants
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to write reports
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to write recommendation letters
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to get a job
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to practice effectively
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to procrastinate
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to spend money
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: How to host visitors
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Career Secrets: The inquisition
Abstract:
TBA
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday ???????? 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Career secrets: Shoes
Abstract:
TBA
Seminars in January 2025
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 28 January 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title:
A perspective on the Indian mathematics research community
Abstract:
A review of the Indian mathematical
research community of the last 40 years and a look into the 21st century.
Who are the big players? What are the key insitutions? What are the
mechanisms and avenues for collaboration and stimulation?
Music Intro: Sujaat Khan This Pale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29b_QKhqamo
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 21 January 2025
Interviewer: Arun Ram -- Special guest: Aru Ray
Title: The Omar Khayyam show with special guest Aru Ray
Abstract:
This session will be modeled on shows like the Johnny Carson Show,
or David Letterman, where special guests come in for a chat.
Music Intro: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan -- Daiya Daiya Daiya Re
https://youtu.be/6iAVZr7aAJQ?si=QILyJpWnZhuATurZ
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 14 January 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Formulas for Macdonald polynomials
Abstract:
Which formula is the best?
To 'quote' Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Yes, I know there are other composers in Vienna, but I'm the best.
Music Intro: Pauline Viardot Aimez Moi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8oDcIZeq7A
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 7 January 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title: Vector calculus in 4 pages
Abstract:
Can I write a 4 page vector calculus book?
What should be put on each page?
Music Intro: The Beths -- Expert in a Dying Field
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KACt6YhOyY
Seminars in February 2025
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 4 February 2025
Interviewer: Arun Ram -- Special guest
Jonathan Gruber
Title: The Omar Khayyam show with special guest Jonathan Gruber
Abstract:
This session will be modeled on shows like the Johnny Carson Show,
or David Letterman, where special guests come in for a chat.
Music intro: Rita Payes Tiny Desk Concert
https://youtu.be/ZVEeAxeyAPU?si=GT9UYAPA5SsMUTL8
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 11 February 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Marcy Robertson
Title:
How to categorify Z hat
Abstract:
Problems arise when you want to do algebra with groups, rings, etc that
have some topology. For example, topological abelian groups don't form
an abelian category. Condensed math is a new formalism coming from work
of Clausen and Scholtze which resolves some of these problems. I'll
give a short introduction to condensed math, focused on examples coming
from topological groups, to illustrate the properties of this new topology.
On audience request, I'll also provide some explanation of the set
theoretic issues which make this topology slightly formidable.
Music intro: Norah Jones Austin City Limits Music Festival 2024 -- Staring at the wall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJjwerA5-s&t=2362s
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 18 February 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Will Troiani (Melbourne connectionist)
Title:
Patterns of Thought: A Philosophical Journey Through Mathematics and Music
Abstract:
What connects the precision of mathematics to the expressiveness of music?
In this lecture, inspired by Edward Rothstein’s Emblems of Mind,
I will explore the philosophical underpinnings of these two disciplines
and their shared ability to capture the structure of experience.
Drawing on personal reflections, I will examine how mathematics and
music shape how we think, feel, and interpret the world. Why do they
both resonate so deeply with ideas of harmony, balance, and tension?
What does it mean to create or discover within these fields?
This talk invites you to consider how logic and emotion, abstraction
and immediacy, can converge to illuminate not just the external world,
but the inner workings of our minds.
Music intro: Obdurate Fleet -- Klipso Island (Is a Place in the Sky)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJovdb4vmP8
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 25 February January 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Sofia Carbonara (Melbourne percussionist)
Title:"You Have to Play the Notes!" : Music,
Mathematics, and Lessons from Proof Machine
Abstract:
Proof Machine is an ongoing performance project co-created by
percussionist Sofia Carbonara and mathematician Arun Ram.
Carbonara and Ram explore lessons from mathematics, music, personal history,
and Ram's "proof machine" -- a recipe for logical argumentation --
through contemporary music. What does it mean to "play the notes" in
music and mathematics? How can "assume the ifs, to prove the thens" be
actualized in performance, and what can this mathematical phrase teach
us about practice and creativity? Sofia investigates these questions
through discussion of Proof Machine and their own research in embodied
cognition, phenomenology, and creative music.
Music Intro: THe Australian ART orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLo7lj1lhrA
Seminars in March 2025
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 4 March 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title:
Beautiful gems from Calculus -- Compiling and curating 40 years of calculus teacihng
Abstract:
This semester I'm teaching Calculus 1.
Once again I am blown away by the amazing beautiful gems found here.
What do we actually teach in Calculus? What are good ways to say this?
to 19 year olds? We'll explore why and how this is the most thrilling
and midblowing activity one can undertake in a lifetime.
Music Intro: Beethoven quartet Op. 133 Movement 3 -- Amadeus Quartet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te3j_Gqr1l0
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 11 March 2025
Presenter/facilitator:
Arun Ram
Title:
I'm degenerating
Abstract:
Let's look at some easy examples of degenerations.
In this talk I'll degenerate to the rational Cherednik algebra and its
polynomial representation.
(Continuous functions degenerate to their linear approximations,
varieties degnerate to tropical vareieties, groups degenerate to Lie algebras,
Macdonald polynomials dengerate to Jack polynomials,
K-theory degenerates to cohomology, quantum groups degenerate to Yangians.)
Music Intro: Martin Frost -- The Dollhouse
https://youtu.be/XzlW9MxHmEI?si=pO7Crok2QAHXIFha
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 18 March 2025
Interviewer: Arun Ram -- Special guest Justin Lanier
Title:
The Omar Khayyam show with special guest Justin Lanier
Abstract:
This session will be modeled on Shows like the Johnny Carson Show, or
David Letterman, where special guests come in for a chat.
Music Intro: Michael Hedges -- Because it's there
https://youtu.be/5vKvLYmmMPc?si=FoBi4CAT48J9Fyns
-
Location: Room 162 Peter Hall Building University of Melbourne
Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday 25 March 2025
Presenter/Facilitator: Arun Ram
Title: Getting started with an MSc research project advisor
(focus: Aurore Delaigle)
Abstract:
I'm doing a Math Masters and I should organise a
research project advisor. How do I get into this? How do I read a paper?
Music Intro: La cabane au fond du jardin - Jardin d'hiver
https://youtu.be/7hXEUjL1of8?si=akZxbbJ51UY-QWXJ