Spring Meeting 2008
The Spring 2008 meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 21, at the University of Maryland at College Park. The lecture part of the meeting will be held at the Mathematics Department Colloquium Room (3206) in the Mathematics Building at 8:30 p.m.
The speaker will be Dr. Eric Vanden-Eijnden, Professor of Mathematics, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University. He will present a lecture entitled "Mathematical Modeling of Rare Events".
See below for directions and parking information for the lecture and dinner.
Lecture
Title: "Mathematical Modeling of Rare Events"
Dr. Eric Vanden-Eijnden
Professor of Mathematics
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
New York University
Abstract: Many processes in nature occur in the form of rare events. Examples include phenomena as diverse as earthquakes, power grid failure, stock market collapse, rogue waves, or chemical reactions. These events do not happen very often, but when they do, their consequences are often dramatic. In this talk, I will discuss what mathematics can do about describing rare events using the so-called theory of large deviations.
A surprising output of the theory is that rare events are often predictable in the way they occur. This is because they typically are the result of an unlikely cascade of events which must occur in a precise sequence for the rare event to take place. We will see how this feature can be used to develop efficient ways to compute the likelihood of rare events and their typical pathways.
Dinner
The pre-lecture dinner will be held at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant at 5240 Paint Branch Parkway and ten minutes walk from the College Park Metro Station. Dinner will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Dinner includes:
- Warm Rolls and Butter
- Choice of Beer Cheese Soup or Fresh Garden Salad
- Choice of Entree
- Choice of Dessert from an Assorted Cakes selection
- Choice of Iced Tea, Hot Tea, Freshly Brewed Coffee or Decaf Coffee
Entree choices are: CHURRASCO STEAK (Marinated skirt steak charbroiled to order and topped with a chimichurri sauce, served with garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables), CHICKEN SCALOPPINI (Sautéed in olive oil, topped with sliced mushrooms and spinach in a rosemary and lemon mustard cream sauce, served with saffron rice and seasonal vegetables), and VEGETARIAN PASTA (Penne pasta, roasted red peppers, roma tomatoes, wild mushrooms, kalamata olives, zucchini and broccoli tossed in a creamy parmesan sauce).
Total all inclusive price of dinner per person is $23.08, with an additional charge of $2.82 for an accompanying soda drink.
To attend the dinner, please send your entree choice along with a check for the appropriate amount (made out to SIAM Washington-Baltimore Section) early enough to be received by Monday, May 19, to our treasurer, Ioannis Konstantinidis, 808 Kennebec Ave #4, Takoma Park, MD 20912. If you cannot mail your check to arrive by the due date and you still want to come to dinner, please call Ioannis by Tuesday, May 20, at 301-405-5158.
Campus Directions and Parking
-- UMD Campus --
The University of Maryland is in College Park just off Route 1.
- From Washington you can just come north on Route 1 until you get to College Park.
- From Greenbelt you can follow Greenbelt Road west (bearing left off Route 193) until it ends at Route 1, and then follow Route 1 south.
- From New Carrollton or Takoma Park you can follow Route 410 (East-West Highway) to Route 1 and go north on Route 1.
- From the Beltway (I-95) you can get off at the Route 1 exit and go south on Route 1.
- From Baltimore come down I-95. When the lanes divide just beyond the Route 212 exit, fork right and follow the signs to Route 1 south (to College Park).
Parking
Once on Route 1 proceed to Campus Drive, the main entrance to the University campus. If you're going north on Route 1, this will be on your left; otherwise it will be on your right. Turn onto Campus Drive. At the traffic circle (decorated with a large "M") take the right branch (Regents Drive) and go two blocks. Make a left turn onto Stadium Drive and then turn left into the parking structure. After 4:00 p.m. all unreserved and unmetered parking spaces on the upper level are free. The metered places require quarters. After parking your car, walk back along Regents Drive toward the traffic circle.
Directions to the UMD-College Park campus can also be found at http://www.cvs.umd.edu/visit/directions.html.
A campus map to the Mathematics Building (Bldg #084) can be found at http://www.parking.umd.edu/themap/ and specific directions are listed at http://www.math.umd.edu/contact/ (near the bottom of the page).
The Mathematics Building is the building with the grey observatory dome on top and "Glenn L. Martin Institute of Technology" carved above the porch. It is on the north side of Campus Drive just before the traffic circle.
Restaurant Directions
-- 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant --
The 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant is located at 5240 Paint Branch Pkwy in College Park (301-699-9400).
From DC:
- Rhode Island Ave. north becomes Route 1 (Baltimore Ave.) inside Maryland; at UMD, turn right onto Paint Branch Parkway; after 1.3 miles, past Tennis Center on left, turn left into parking lot.
- Kenilworth Ave. (Route 201) north; turn left onto Paint Branch Parkway; after 1/4 mile take right into parking lot.
From Washington Beltway (495):
- Exit 23, Kenilworth Ave. (201) go south for 2.2 miles; take right onto Paint Branch Parkway; turn Right 1/4 mile into parking lot.
From Baltimore/Washington Parkway (295):
- Exit for Greenbelt Rd.(Route 193) West; toward UMD; turn left onto Kenilworth Ave. south for 2 miles; right on Paint Branch Pkwy; 1/4 mile on right into parking lot.
From Baltimore:
- I-95 South toward DC; take left fork onto 495/I-95 South; Exit 23 (Kenilworth Ave./201); south 2.2 miles to Paint Branch Pkwy; take right and go 1/4 mile to Right into parking lot.
From Metro:
- Green Line to College Park Station; head east from platform (Kiss & Ride Side); turn left onto River Rd.; turn right onto Paint Branch Pkwy; turn left into Parking lot. (Approx. 10 min. walk)
Local Traffic:
- Good Luck Rd. changes to Paint Branch Parkway at Kenilworth Ave; Campus Dr. changes to Paint Branch Parkway at Route 1 (Baltimore Ave); Paint Branch Parkway was formerly known as Calvert Rd. Many maps and listings are not current.
Directions from Restaurant to Campus
Exit the restaurant parking lot by turning right onto Paint Branch Parkway and travel west toward the entrance to UMD and Campus Drive. Follow directions to campus parking (see above).
