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• Oct

  23

  Appl Math: Meridith Joyce on "How to Find a Star by Accident, or How Not to Solve the Great Dimming of Betelgeuse"

  McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)

  11:15 AM M416, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Title: How to Find a Star by Accident, or How Not to Solve the "Great Dimming" of Betelgeuse

  Speaker: Meridith Joyce, University of Wyoming

  Abstract: Alpha Orionis, popularly known as Betelgeuse, is a nearby red supergiant star visible to the naked eye. In light of the star's Great Dimming—a sudden, extreme drop in brightness that occurred in early 2020—a recent controversy surrounding Betelgeuse concerned whether it would explode as a supernova within the next few years, centuries, or millennia. Using a series of numerical techniques including one-dimensional stellar evolution models, hydrodynamic simulations, linear oscillation calculations, Fourier analysis, and the methods of a subfield of stellar astrophysics known as asteroseismology, my collaborators and I constrained the timeline for Betelgeuse's demise and revised many of the best estimates for its fundamental properties. In doing so, we discovered not only that Betelgeuse was not likely to undergo an imminent detonation, but that a pulsation signal unexplained by our models was, in fact, the signature of an as-yet-undiscovered binary companion. Its presence was confirmed earlier this year. What we never managed to do was explain the Great Dimming. In this talk, I will use the story of the discovery of Betelgeuse’s hidden, low-mass binary companion, Alpha Orionis B—affectionately nicknamed Betelbuddy—both to highlight the computational and numerical techniques employed in modern stellar astrophysics and to illustrate how the most meaningful discoveries often arise not from confirming what we set out to find, but from venturing down the rabbit holes of unexpected problems that emerge along the way.

  Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/92966602010

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  TIME Thursday, October 23, 2025 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM

  LOCATION M416, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Ted Shaeffer    ted.shaeffer@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)

• Nov

  20

  Appl Math: Ed Lyman on "Elastic and Dynamic Response of Membranes Across Scales"

  McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)

  11:15 AM M416, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Title: Elastic and Dynamic Response of Membranes Across Scales

  Speaker: Ed Lyman, University of Delaware

  Abstract: Cell membranes are quasi-2D soft materials, about 5 nm thick but with hundreds of square microns of surface area. They are a bilayer structure, assembled from amphiphilic molecules (lipids) and proteins. The function of membranes imposes challenging design constraints: impermeable yet fluid, mechanically robust yet deformable. Across the tree of life, cells meet these challenges by synthesizing a diverse array of lipids, whose chemistry and interactions determine the key continuum properties, like stiffness against bending and the viscosity which controls diffusion and encounter of membrane bound signaling partners. In this talk I will present our group's work using simulations to connect lipid chemistry and membrane properties, focusing on two applications. The first project considers the membranes of a family of marine invertebrates called ctenophores, which synthesize a specialized lipid chemistry to maintain membrane deformability at high pressure. The second project focuses on how lipid chemistry is used to control the viscosity of the membrane, and the challenges that come with trying to measure the viscosity of soft, thin, not-quite two dimensional fluids.

  Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/95131921396

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  To subscribe to the Applied Mathematics Colloquia List send a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU with the command:

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  TIME Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM

  LOCATION M416, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Ted Shaeffer    ted.shaeffer@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)

• Dec

  13

  Northwestern Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Recognition Ceremony

  McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  4:00 PM Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

  EVENT DETAILS

  The ceremony will take place on Saturday, December 13 in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive.

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  TIME Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

  LOCATION Pick-Staiger Concert Hall    map it

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  CONTACT Andi Joppie    andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science