Programs & Events
Bayesian Nonparametrics
Sep 17 - 21, 2012
Data-rich investigations need advanced tools for allowing data to inform and interact with models. Bayesian Nonparametrics is a rapidly growing subfield of statistics and machine learning that provides a framework for creating complex statistical models that are both expressive and tractable. Recent, successful applications of nonparametric Bayesian models across a variety of domains suggests that these models have the potential for wide use. The challenge of constructing and using models on very high dimensional or even infinite dimensional spaces creates many opportunities for fruitful interactions between mathematicians, statisticians and computer scientists. Areas of interest include prior construction, posterior inference, posterior asymptotics, algorithmic development, and practical applications.
Organizing Committee
- Kassie Fronczyk
- Stuart Geman
- Matthew Harrison
- Michael Jordan
- Peter Mueller
- Erik Sudderth

Uncertainty Quantification
Oct 9 - 13, 2012
Rapid growth in computational resources has heightened the expectation that scientific knowledge can indeed be a driver for societal well-being and betterment. At the same time, our ability to measure the natural and social world around has significantly increased, aided by technological development in sensors, the internet, and other modalities of communication. Science is thus faced, simultaneously, with a complex description of reality at an unprecedented resolution, and the possibility to describe this reality with mathematical models of increasing complexity. Probabilistic formulations of physical problems can be viewed as attempts to adapt rational procedures to this complexity, while tackling the conceptual challenges they inevitably present. As a testament to the significance of this confluence of mathematics, science, and technology, Uncertainty Quantification is arguably one of the fastest growing sub-disciplines in mechanics.
The communities of computational science,... (more)
Organizing Committee
- Roger Ghanem
- George Karniadakis
- Boris Rozovsky
- Marta Sanz-Sole

Monte Carlo Methods in the Physical and Biological Sciences
Oct 29 - Nov 2, 2012
Monte Carlo methods are one of the main tools used to study the properties of complex physical, chemical and biological systems. Since their introduction in the late 1940s, these methods have undergone a remarkable expansion and are now used in many other fields, including statistical inference, engineering, and computer science. However, the design and theoretical understanding of Monte Carlo methods is still a challenging topic, especially for those problems where rare events play the key role in determining algorithm performance. The aim of the workshop is to bring together specialists in the application areas who understand the specific challenges posed by realistic problems and have developed sophisticated tools to tackle these problems, and mathematicians developing methods for algorithm analysis, abstraction, and optimization.
Organizing Committee
- Bruce Berne
- Maria Cameron
- Jimmie Doll
- Paul Dupuis
- Eric Vanden-Eijnden

Public Lecture: A Tale of Two Climates
Nov 8, 2012
The climate in which we live is changing. The scientific community is in agreement on this fact, and that the change is being driven by anthropogenic sources of CO2. We do not, however, know the details: how it will play out regionally? When will the full impact of climate change be felt? Might we be in for sudden changes?
There are reasons to believe that these questions are fundamentally mathematical in nature. But the mathematical community has a culture with its own "climate." Dr. Jones will ask the question whether it will change in rising to the scientific challenges posed by a warming climate.

Blackwell-Tapia Conference 2012
Nov 9 - 10, 2012
This is the seventh in a series of biennial conferences honoring David Blackwell and Richard Tapia, two seminal figures who inspired a generation of African-American, Native American and Latino/Latina students to pursue careers in mathematics. Carrying forward their work, this one and a half day conference will
- Recognize and showcase mathematical excellence by minority researchers
- Recognize and disseminate successful efforts to address under-representation
- Inform students and mathematicians about career opportunities in mathematics, especially outside academia
- Provide networking opportunities for mathematical researchers at all points in the higher education/career trajectory
Organizing Committee
- Alejandro Aceves
- Edray Goins
- Trachette Jackson
- Robert Megginson
- Juan Meza
- Jill Pipher
- Bjorn Sandstede

Public Lecture: Physics in Animation and Visual Effects
Nov 15, 2012
DreamWorks Animation produces family entertainment that is enjoyed by audiences worldwide. It is a major consumer technology, and employs a skilled workforce of scientists and engineers working to advance the state of the art in computer graphics for film production. Their movies use the latest technology for animation, rendering and visual effects, including techniques based on physical simulation.
Many environment and character effects elements, e.g. fire, smoke, water, cloth, hair, use sophisticated numerical models to produce motion that is acceptably close to the "real world" while maintaining a high level of art directability. Coupling between models is often a compromise between these competing requirements. In this talk Dr. Henderson will survey state-of-the-art simulation techniques for visual effects and animation, and discuss some of the challenges in applying these techniques in a creative environment.

Performance Analysis of Monte Carlo Methods
Nov 28 - 30, 2012
Monte Carlo methods have become increasingly important in Engineering and the Sciences. These application areas have posed challenges and opportunities in the analysis of modern Monte Carlo algorithms. The workshop's main focus is on: a) the mathematical techniques and aspects that have been key in the analysis of these algorithms, and b) the identification of techniques that are likely to play a role in future analysis.
Organizing Committee
- Jose Blanchet
- Gersende Fort
- Henrik Hult
- Jingchen Liu

Winter School and Conference on Computational Aspects of Neural Engineering (in Bangalore, India)
Dec 10 - 21, 2012
We are pleased to announce the first joint IMI-ICERM Winter School on Computational Aspects of Neural Engineering. The course is directed at graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and other researchers from the physical sciences (e.g. physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering) and the life sciences (e.g. neuroscience, biology, physiology). The course will offer participants the opportunity to learn about the foundations of neural engineering and brain-computer interfacing, and develop their skills in computational analysis of neural data for the control of external devices. The topics will range from primers on neuroscience, signal processing, and machine learning to brain-computer interfacing based on multi neuronal activity, electrocorticography (ECoG), and electroencephalography (EEG).
The course will consist of 3 hours of lectures each morning, followed by a 3-hour MATLAB-based computer laboratory in the afternoon. Participants will pair up for these laboratories, and... (more)
Organizing Committee
- Jill Pipher
- Govindan Rangarajan
- Rajesh Rao
Reproducibility in Computational and Experimental Mathematics
Dec 10 - 14, 2012
In addition to advancing research and discovery in pure and applied mathematics, computation is pervasive across the sciences and now computational research results are more crucial than ever for public policy, risk management, and national security. Reproducibility of carefully documented experiments is a cornerstone of the scientific method, and yet is often lacking in computational mathematics, science, and engineering. Setting and achieving appropriate standards for reproducibility in computation poses a number of interesting technological and social challenges. The purpose of this workshop is to discuss aspects of reproducibility most relevant to the mathematical sciences among researchers from pure and applied mathematics from academics and other settings, together with interested parties from funding agencies, national laboratories, professional societies, and publishers. This will be a working workshop, with relatively few talks and dedicated time for breakout group discussions... (more)
Organizing Committee
- David Bailey
- Jonathan Borwein
- Randall LeVeque
- Bill Rider
- William Stein
- Victoria Stodden

Workshop and Conference on Limit Theorems in Probability (in Bangalore, India)
Jan 2 - 11, 2013
Ever since Jakob Bernoulli proved the law of large numbers for Bernoulli random variables in 1713, the subject of limit theorems has been a driving force for the development of probability theory as a whole. The elucidation of different flavours of laws of large number, central limit theorems and laws of iterated logarithm, their extensions to Markov chains or sums of weakly dependent or stationary processes, limit theorems for Banach space valued random variables, etc., have given rise to a rich theory as well as the basic tools for tackling any problem involving randomness.
Today, 300 years after the landmark result of Bernoulli, it is fruitful to look back at the way in which search for limit theorems has shaped the subject. It is also fruitful to consider how the emphasis has evolved over time from simple limit theorems to getting bounds on the rates of convergence or obtaining inequalities, which are of more immediate relevance in applications to nite samples. The current... (more)
Organizing Committee
- Manjunath Krishnapur
- Kavita Ramanan
Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013
Jan 5 - Sep 24, 2013
“Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013” (MPE2013), the year-long program created to encourage research on a range of topics related to Planet Earth---was active for the year 2013 and transitioned into âMathematics of Planet Earthâ (MPE) at the beginning of 2014. What was accomplished and what are the plans for MPE?
MPE2013 was conceived to stimulate the mathematics research community to identify fundamental research questions about Planet Earth and to reach out to the general public to highlight the role of mathematics in global studies of the Earth. It has grown into an international effort, received the patronage of UNESCO, and involved more than 140 partners, including professional societies, academic institutions, research institutes, and teacher organisations. The distinctive MPE2013 logo has been featured at many conferences, workshops, and lectures, and MPE2013 has found its way among the public, the media, and schools... (more)

Automorphic Forms, Combinatorial Representation Theory and Multiple Dirichlet Series
Jan 28 - May 3, 2013
L-functionsâvast generalizations of the Riemann zeta functionâ are fundamental objects of study in number theory. In the 1980's the idea emerged that it could be useful to tie together a family of related L-functions in one variable to create a "double Dirichlet series," which could be used to study the average behavior of the original family of L-functions. Double Dirichlet series soon became multiple Dirichlet series. It has gradually emerged that the local structure of these multiple Dirichlet series shows a rich connection to combinatorial representation theory.
This program will explore this interface between automorphic forms and combinatorial representation theory, and will develop computational tools for facilitating investigations. On the automorphic side, Whittaker functions on p-adic groups and their covers are the fundamental objects. Whittaker functions and their relatives are expressible in terms of combinatorial structures on the associated L-group, its flag... (more)
Organizing Committee
- Sara Billey
- Ben Brubaker
- Daniel Bump
- Gautam Chinta
- Solomon Friedberg
- Dorian Goldfeld
- Jeffrey Hoffstein
- Anne Schilling
- Nicolas ThiƩry
