News & EventsDepartment Events
Events
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Oct27
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: Advances in Asymptotic and Computational Methods for Biological Transport
Speaker: Dr. Alan Lindsay, University of Notre Dame
Abstract: Asymptotic analysis remains one of the most powerful analytical tools for extracting interpretable information from mathematical models in science. These methods systematically exploit multiscale structure to reduce complex and often intractable problems to a sequence of tractable sub-problems. When coupled with modern numerical methods, they greatly expand the range and scope of scientific questions that can be addressed.
In this talk I will discuss the insights these tools have yielded into the role that geometry, dynamics and localization play in biological transport. For the diffusive delivery of cargoes to small reactive sites, they give precise information on how the spatial organization of those sites shapes function. This has led to new solutions to the long-standing Berg-Purcell problem and the narrow escape problem. Underpinning these results is a suite of high-order boundary integral solvers which pair with asymptotic methods to resolve multiscale features and massively expand the geometric scope of biological problems that can be investigated. Throughout the talk I will highlight where interactions with experimental science have guided the direction of the mathematics, and I will close with promising directions for future enquiry.
Bio: Alan Lindsay is an Associate Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics at the University of Notre Dame. His research group combines mathematical modeling and analysis with computational tools to uncover the rules governing decision making in cellular systems. Prof Lindsay received his B.Sc. in Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of British Columbia, Canada.Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/98486002568
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TIME Tuesday, October 27, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Natalie Masini natalie.masini@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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Nov3
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: Dynamical Systems Theory of Embodied Perceptual Decision-Making
Speaker: Dr. Anastasia Bizyaeva, Cornell University
Abstract: Decision-making is a fundamental building block of behavior, both in natural settings such as animal movement and in engineered settings such as autonomous robotics. In both of these contexts, decisions are often made on the move through an interplay of continuously changing sensory information and goal-oriented action selection. In this talk, we present a dynamical systems framework for understanding how discrete choices emerge through feedback between neural activity and movement through space. Starting from a stochastic ring-attractor model motivated by biological neural circuits involved in perceptual evidence integration, we will show how reduced representations such as competing neural accumulators and local drift-diffusion descriptions of choice arise at different scales of the same process. Bifurcation analysis of the reduced decision dynamics then reveals how movement reshapes competition among alternatives, and how asymmetries in target geometry and quality bias transitions from compromise to commitment captured through movement. These results link canonical models of perceptual choice and reveal how environmental geometry shapes embodied decisions. We will illustrate how insights from this biologically inspired modeling and analysis translate to novel design principles for autonomous behavior in mobile robots.
Bio: Anastasia Bizyaeva is an assistant professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University, where she leads the Control and Computation for Complex Systems Group. Her research explores mathematical connections between flexible behavior in biological, social, and cognitive systems, and the design of autonomous and artificially intelligent behaviors in engineered teams. She is a member of several graduate fields at Cornell, including Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, and the Center for Applied Mathematics. Prior to joining Cornell she was a Postdoctoral Scholar with the NSF AI Institute in Dynamic Systems at the University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 2022 and her B.A. in physics with a minor in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley from 2016. Her work has received several recognitions, including the 2025 George S. Axelby Outstanding Paper Award from IEEE Control Systems Society, the Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science Award for Excellence, and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Award.
Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/94779802823
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To subscribe to the Applied Mathematics Colloquia List send a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU with the command:
SUBSCRIBE esam-seminar FirstName LastName
TIME Tuesday, November 3, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Natalie Masini natalie.masini@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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Nov16
EVENT DETAILS
lessRegular registration for Winter quarter begins
TIME Monday, November 16, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Nov20
EVENT DETAILS
lessDissertation, PhD Final Exam, and change of grade forms due to TGS for Fall PhD candidates
TIME Friday, November 20, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Nov24
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: Symmetry Breaking, Directed Movement, and Organized Tissue Response from Local Interactions
Speaker: Dr. Calina Copos, Northeastern University
Abstract: Pattern formation and symmetry breaking have long been areas of interest in applied mathematics. In living systems, these questions take on additional complexities: molecular interactions generate dynamic intracellular structures, individual cells develop persistent migratory behaviors, and populations of cells coordinate their dynamics to produce spatiotemporal patterns. A central question is how do biological systems break symmetry, select among competing dynamical states, and coordinate response across scales?
Using cell doublets as the smallest nontrivial collective unit, I will discuss mathematical models, computational methods, and dynamical systems approaches for investigating how local feedback, geometry, and confinement shape these collective dynamical states. We examine how mechanochemical interactions generate directional and coordinated migration, biases, and how nonlinear feedback and spatial coupling give rise to coherent oscillations, traveling waves, and other patterns. Extending these principles to larger cell clusters and tissues reveals emergent organization with implications for development, wound healing, and limb regeneration. These examples illustrate how mathematical models can bridge scales and uncover principles by which local interactions generate global organization.
Bio: Calina Copos is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Biology at Northeastern University. Her research group is broadly interested in mathematical biology and numerical and computational methods for PDEs, with a particular focus on the cell cytoskeleton and cell migration in tissue development, homeostasis, and regeneration. Prof. Copos received her Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at University of California, Davis and did her postdoctoral work at the Courant Institute at New York University.
Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/94290664465
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To subscribe to the Applied Mathematics Colloquia List send a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU with the command:
SUBSCRIBE esam-seminar FirstName LastName
TIME Tuesday, November 24, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Natalie Masini natalie.masini@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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Nov25
EVENT DETAILS
lessThanksgiving Vacation begins at 6:00 PM (No classes, University offices closed)
TIME Wednesday, November 25, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Nov30
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall Classes Resume
TIME Monday, November 30, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec5
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall classes end
TIME Saturday, December 5, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec7
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall Exams begin
TIME Monday, December 7, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec12
EVENT DETAILS
lessFall exams end
TIME Saturday, December 12, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar
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Dec12
EVENT DETAILSmore info
lessThe ceremony will take place on Saturday, December 12 in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive.
TIME Saturday, December 12, 2026 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
LOCATION Pick-Staiger Concert Hall map it
CONTACT Andi Joppie andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
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Dec24
EVENT DETAILS
lessWinter Recess Starts - University Closed Through January 1st, 2027
TIME Thursday, December 24, 2026
CONTACT Office of the Registrar nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR University Academic Calendar