Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics a National Science Foundation Math Institute ANNUAL at the University of California, Los Angeles FALL 2018 PURE NEWSLETTERMATHEMATICIAN GAINS NEW PERSPECTIVES WHILE SERVING ON IPAM’S SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD By any measure, Amie Wilkinson is among ideas they bring to the table and in their In 2011, she accepted an invitation to the leaders in her field. A professor of assessment of these proposals. I always bring her expertise in this area to IPAM’s mathematics at the University of Chicago look forward to the meetings because Science Advisory Board. “At first I was and an expert in ergodic theory and smooth I learn so much. This experience has something of a spectator at the meetings,” dynamical systems, Wilkinson received broadened my perspective on my own Wilkinson recalls. “I was blown away the 2011 Satter Prize in Mathematics — work, and completely changed my view by the breadth of knowledge of the presented biennially by the American of how mathematicians can interact with other board members, and most of the Mathematical Society for outstanding other fields.” contributions to mathematics research by a woman in the previous six years. Wilkinson’s research focuses on the interplay between smooth dynamical But Wilkinson says she is constantly systems and other structures in pure enlightened by her experience on IPAM’s mathematics — geometric, statistical, Science Advisory Board, where she is part topological and algebraic. A dynamical of a group of scientists and mathematicians system is a closed system that evolves from wide-ranging disciplines who meet according to a predetermined set of rules; each year to evaluate and approve IPAM- examples range from the solar system to sponsored scientific programs. “These the stock market and the flow of water are individuals with some of the most from a pipe. Wilkinson was named a astonishing minds of anyone I have met,” fellow of the American Mathematical Wilkinson says. “They think deeply about Society in 2013 for her contributions to Amie Wilkinson problems and are wildly creative in the understanding such systems. University of Chicago (continued on page 7) SECOND LATINX IN MATH CONFERENCE HELD AT IPAM On March 8–10, 2018, over 200 Latinx a high school math activity, networking and students, postdocs, professors, researchers mentoring activities, and a banquet. The in industry and government, and others Mathematical Sciences Institutes Diversity spent three days at UCLA celebrating and Initiative, with a grant from NSF, provided showcasing the contributions of the Latinx significant support for the conference. community to mathematics. Organizers Other sponsors included NSA, Facebook, Tatiana Toro (Univ. of Washington), Mariel UCLA Graduate Division, UCLA Division Vazquez (UC Davis), Federico Ardila of Physical Sciences, UCLA Office of (San Francisco State), and Ricardo Cortez Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Elsevier, (Tulane), along with other volunteers and and University of Washington. Additional the IPAM staff, planned a wide variety of support was provided by UC Davis, UC activities for the conference attendees, Merced, and Purdue University. Videos including seven invited research lectures, a of many of the activities are available on 2018 Latinx in Math Conference panel discussion on Latinx in STEM, career IPAM’s website. n Hosted by IPAM panels, scientific sessions, a poster session, FEATURES REGULARS OTHER IPAM a Major Draw for Professor 2 Director’s Note 2 Upcoming Programs 6 Program Shapes Traffic Engineers 3 News and Recognition 4 Call for Proposals 6 Machine Learning for Physics 8 Frontiers Society 5 Mark Your Calendars 6 NOTE FROM DIRECTOR DIMA SHLYAKHTENKO materials and functional nanostructures. It the highlights of the year was a conference was motivated by previous IPAM programs, showcasing and celebrating mathematical including Chemical Compound Space achievements of the Latinx community. in 2011 and Many Particle Systems and Machine Learning in 2016. Our spring Thanks to a generous gift from Mark Green 2018 long program, Quantitative Linear and his family, we were able to expand the Algebra, focused on connections between Green Family Lecture series to twice a year. quantitative finite-dimensional linearThis past year, we featured Facebook’s Yann algebra questions and a “continuum limit” LeCun and Fields Medalist Vaughan Jones. of these questions described by infinite- Other public events included the Calculus dimensional functional analysis. of Comedy, featuring a panel of math-y Dima Shlyakhtenko Hollywood scriptwriters, and a lecture by IPAM Director In addition to a short workshop on privacy French mathematician Yann Brenier on in biomedical data, IPAM hosted stand- optimal transportation theory. In looking back over my first year as IPAM alone workshops on Zimmer’s conjecture director, I can report that IPAM continues and on mathematics of deep learning. IPAM is grateful to its many donors, whose to be an amazing incubator of innovation, Demand was so high that we had to close combined generosity raised over $200,000 bringing together mathematicians registration to these workshops weeks in for the Director’s Endowment fund (which and other scientists for exciting and advance. This past summer, we offered will be matched 1:1 by the Dean of Physical impactful programs. a Graduate Summer School on mean Sciences at UCLA). Through a special field games, following a workshop on arrangement, the Dean has extended his Our fall 2017 Complex High Dimensional that topic last August. In addition to our matching program for one more year. Energy Landscapes long program focused undergraduate Research in Industrial on mathematical techniques for sampling Projects for Students (RIPS) program in Los I hope that you enjoy this Newsletter and analyzing complicated multivariable Angeles, we offered RIPS in Hong Kong (in and that you will engage with IPAM by functions. Such functions include energy partnership with HKUST), and graduate participating in a program or workshop, and electronic property landscapes of programs in Berlin (MODAL) and, our attending a public lecture, or taking part in inorganic, organic, biomolecular, and hybrid newest, Japan (Tohoku University). One of our fundraising campaign. n IPAM’S ENVIRONMENT AND NETWORK A MAJOR DRAW FOR UCLA MATH PROFESSOR Whether it’s a workshop lasting a few days of variations — specifically, optimization or a long program spanning several months problems in fields such as fluid mechanics, — and he has participated in both — UCLA economics and materials science. Such mathematics professor Wilfrid Gangbo problems are of particular interest when always knows the time he spends at an IPAM they come with a constraint. For example, event will be highly productive. if a bridge is being designed with a certain material, an optimization problem might “IPAM provides an environment where ask what would be the minimal mass you can focus on your research free of of a bridge to ensure stability under a any distractions,” Gangbo says. “During certain load. the time of the program you are not teaching or performing any administrative In recent years, Gangbo has concentrated responsibilities that you would typically have on a specific class of problems known in your daily academic work. And, whereas as optimal mass transportation — in its in your home institution you might have simplest formulation, how, for example, to Wilfrid Gangbo UCLA a few people whose research is in a similar transport a pile of dirt from an excavation area, at an IPAM program there are dozens site while expending the least amount from one location to another — and are of people you can interact with who have of energy. This seemingly rudimentary asked to determine the least expensive form overlapping interests, which makes for a question has generated an enormous amount much different dynamic.” of attention in the field of mathematics. of transport,” Gangbo explains. “We have “In optimal transportation you are given spent a lot of time developing a theory for Gangbo’s work focuses on the calculus a rule — the cost per unit mass of going characterizing best strategies.” (continued on next page) 2 • IPAM Newsletter Fall 2018 IPAM Newsletter Fall 2018 • 3 IPAM PROGRAM SHAPES NEW GENERATION OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERS Raphael Stern is a PhD student at the backgrounds who all study similar problems the transportation landscape. A similar University of Illinois and a Visiting Scholar at in traffic theory. I had unprecedented access transformation is occurring now as vehicle the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, to these researchers, which allowed me to gain automation and pervasive data monitoring Vanderbilt University. insight beyond what would have been possible promise to revolutionize the field, requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Thanks to IPAM, I visited IPAM in 2015 as a PhD student in civil anywhere else. I believe that the format of I have conducted interdisciplinary work that engineering, for the program New Directions a long program, which enables this type of interaction, is one of IPAM’s greatest strengths. extends theory and the application of the in Mathematical Approaches for Traffic Flow mathematics of traffic flow. Next year, I will Management. Transportation was (and still join the faculty at the University of Minnesota. is) at a crucial stage: the emergence of new Through IPAM, I saw the important role that mathematics plays in traffic theory. The joint My desire to pursue an academic career stems technologies such as vehicle connectivity, from my experience at IPAM. automation, and shared mobility promises to work on traffic control using a small number of rapidly change the transportation landscape. autonomous vehicles that I began at IPAM with To watch a video on the Arizona With a sense of urgency, researchers from my advisor Dan Work (Civil/ECE, Vanderbilt), autonomous vehicles experiment, go to mathematics and engineering came to IPAM to Jonathan Sprinkle (ECE, Arizona), Benedetto http://www.ipam.ucla.edu/y4zdm n explore new developments in traffic modeling, Piccoli (Math, Rutgers-Camden), and estimation, and control.