Series: Mathematics Colloquium

Date: Thursday, February 28, 2002

Time: 4:30 - 5:30 PM

Place: 102 McAllister Building

Host: Gary Mullen

Refreshments: 4:00 - 4:30 PM, in 212 McAllister

Speaker: Dennis Shasha, Computer Science, Courant Institute, NYU

Title: Mathematical Insight, Science, and Finance

Abstract: 

When mathematicians live with an application for awhile, they often
contribute significantly.  This informal talk will discuss some recent
problems where simple mathematical ideas have had a huge impact on
algorithms and applications: (1) the many body problem in physics, (2)
genomics and the overlap problem, (3) combinatorial design for
biochemical pathways, (4) zero knowledge proofs for fun and profit,
(5) randomized algorithms.