Colloquium Speaker: Mehran Kardar, MIT Title: Life on a Noisy Seascape: Extinction, Growth, and Diversity Abstract: Populations and communities rarely evolve in static environments; their fitness landscapes fluctuate across space and time, forming what may be called a noisy seascape. This talk examines how such variability modifies classical models of population dynamics and community stability. Beginning from the […]
Member Seminar Speaker: Lorenzo Riva, CMSA Title: Un-extending extended TQFTs Abstract: An ordinary topological quantum field theory (TQFT) assigns invariants to manifolds of dimensions n in a way that is compatible with cutting-and-gluing along submanifolds of dimension n-1. An extended TQFT assigns invariants that are also compatible with cutting along submanifolds of all codimensions. One way to […]
Geometry and Mathematical Physics Seminar Speaker: Chuck Doran, CMSA & University of Alberta Title: Why do Feynman integrals know Calabi-Yau geometry? Abstract: Feynman integrals provide a rich source of Calabi-Yau geometry, but the geometric origin of these structures is often obscure. I will describe a simple point of view that begins with two-dimensional examples and […]
AI for the Working Mathematician Speaker: Akhil Mathew, University of Chicago Title: Finite locally free group schemes Abstract: The notion of a finite locally free group scheme is a natural generalization of the usual notion of a finite group. Lagrange's theorem states that all nth powers vanish in a group of order n. However, this need […]
Mathematical Economics Seminar: Algorithmic Decision-Making Speaker: Ashesh Rambachan, MIT Title: Human Decisions and Machine Predictions in Multistage Systems Abstract: Many high-stakes decisions go through successive stages of human review before a final decision is made, complicating efforts to evaluate both the human decision-makers and algorithmic counterfactuals. We develop a framework for evaluating both humans and algorithms […]
CMSA Special Seminar Speaker: Thanasis Fokas, University of Cambridge Title: Deformations to the Complex Plane, Novel Asymptotic Techniques, and the Large t- Asymptotics of the Riemann Zeta Function Abstract: The Unified Transform (also known as the Fokas method) is a powerful new method for solving boundary value problems for linear and for integrable nonlinear PDEs. For […]
https://youtu.be/p_tb0IHjo74 CMSA/Tsinghua Math-Science Literature Lecture Date: September 16, 2026 Time: 9:00 - 10:30 am ET Location: CMSA G10, 20 Garden Street & via Zoom Webinar Speaker: Robert E. Gompf, University of Texas, Austin Title: On classifying smoothings of R^4–from the beginning to the present Abstract: The field of 4-manifold topology was born around 1981 with two […]
CMSA Special Lecture Time: 2:30 pm ET Date: Friday, Sep. 11, 2026 Location: Harvard Science Center Hall A & via Zoom Webinar Lecture Video https://youtu.be/TcEefrWrddA With the announcement this week that AI has finished off a solution to one of the Millennium Prize Problems, the Harvard CMSA will host this special lecture to […]
Member Seminar Speaker: Elena Kim Title: A beginner's guide to quantum unique ergodicity Abstract: The Quantum Unique Ergodicity conjecture is one of the main open questions in quantum chaos. I will explain the conjecture and the progress towards its resolution.
Geometry and Mathematical Physics Seminar Speaker: Brian Williams, Boston University Title: Higher Virasoro algebras Abstract: I will introduce and classify central extensions of the dg Lie algebra of derived global sections of the tangent sheaf on the punctured d-disk for d > 1. Then, I will formulate and sketch the proof of a formal and […]
https://youtu.be/0wL8NlhxXcU AI for the Working Mathematician Speaker: Daniel Litt, University of Toronto Title: Working with LLMs to do high quality math Abstract: Much hay has been made of the capabilities of LLMs to do math autonomously, and indeed frontier models have resolved some long-standing, interesting open questions. But our goal is not to produce papers, but […]
Big Data Conference 2026 Dates: Sep. 3–4, 2026 Location: Harvard University CMSA, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge MA & via Zoom The Big Data Conference features speakers from the Harvard community as well as scholars from across the globe, with talks focusing on computer science, statistics, math and physics, and economics. Confirmed Speakers SueYeon Chung, Harvard […]