User talk:Ben G. Fitzpatrick: Difference between revisions

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Hello Dr. Fitzpatrick! I was wondering what was your hardest math class as an undergrad?
*What is the UBM Spider Project? [[User:Lauren M. Kelly|Lauren M. Kelly]] 16:16, 15 January 2017 (EST)
[[User:Carmen E. Castaneda|Carmen E. Castaneda]] 08:38, 16 January 2011 (EST)
* [[User:Ben G. Fitzpatrick|'''BGF''']] '''1332, 16 January 2011 (EST)'''. Math 520 at Auburn, Real Analysis, like our 321, was the hardest, at least for the first 4 weeks.  The course was taught by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_E._Moise Professor Ed Moise] in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore_method R. L. Moore style], so that the teacher provided definitions, problems, and theorem statements ONLY.  Students had to work out the proofs, detect incorrect theorems and provide counterexamples, and solve the problems.  The library was off-limits.  I had taken a year of modern algebra before this course, so I have some sense of proof (we didn't have a 248 equivalent).  It took me a while to get the hang of it, but after taking two years of (undergrad and grad) real analysis this way, I found it very helpful in my future work. 


Hi Dr. Fitzpatrick! I was wondering how many women were studying Math when you were an undergrad and/or in grad school?[[User:Alondra Vega|Alondra Vega]] 12:01, 16 January 2011 (EST)
Lauren:  Dr. Martina Ramirez, Aimee Cruz, Bethy Woubeshet, Farah Srichandra, and I worked on detecting environmental stress in spiders by examining their webs.  We photographed webs and processed the resulting images to see how uniform (or non-uniform) the webs were, looking at variability in web silk spacing. We did find that webs from Hahn Park (a relatively clean environment) were more uniform that those from Ballona (a relatively dirty environment).
* [[User:Ben G. Fitzpatrick|'''BGF''']] '''1332, 16 January 2011 (EST)'''. My undergraduate class was about 25% women, and the grad program at Auburn (where I got my master's) was about the same. The strongest student in that program (by far) was a woman who was hired onto the Auburn faculty after getting her PhD. It's pretty unusual for a department to hire one of its own grads.  In my PhD studies we had very few women, probably around 10% of the students. In my previous faculty positions, there were not so many women.  At UT Knoxville, I worked a lot with [http://www.math.utk.edu/~lenhart/ Suzanne Lenhart], who was pretty much my mentor when I was starting out as a fresh assistant professor.  She's a great mathematician, a great person, and a super role model for anyone in the profession.  If you were to change your mind about nursing and get interested in biomath grad programs, I'd have you get in touch with her.
 
[[User:Ben G. Fitzpatrick|Ben G. Fitzpatrick]] 12:56, 17 January 2017 (EST)
 
*Russia recently unveiled images of its new intercontinental ballistic missile nicknamed "Satan 2." It's range exceeds 11,000km and it is claimed that it capable of wiping out a landmass the size of Texas. Russia claims this new missile has been designed to outmaneuver current anti-missile defense systems. My question is two-fold: 1) What are the characteristics of a missile like the "Satan 2" that would allow it to outmaneuver missile defense systems? (Is it undetectable? Too fast?...) and 2) What branch of mathematics is most commonly used by mathematicians when developing new missile defense technologies? [[User:Conor Keith|Conor Keith]] 21:53, 16 January 2017 (EST)
Conor:
 
From my limited experience in missile defense work, I'd say making missiles smaller is the number one best protection: makes them harder to hit. Shrinking electronics and more efficient chemistry allow that to happen. A more subtle defense against directed energy (laser, e.g.) is to spin the missile so the laser cannot maintain a fixed aimpoint to kill the missile.
 
Missile defense depends on a number of mathematical technologies.  Time series analysis is very important, as dynamic tracking and prediction of trajectories is required to target and defeat a missile. Decision theory and optimization come into play when we have to sort out best approaches to defense.
 
[[User:Ben G. Fitzpatrick|Ben G. Fitzpatrick]] 13:04, 17 January 2017 (EST)
 
*Does statistical analysis show that there is a large difference between biological systems under stress and biological systems not under stress? *'''[[User:Cameron M. Rehmani Seraji|Cameron M. Rehmani Seraji]] 00:00, 17 January 2017 (EST)''':
 
Cameron:
 
That's a big question, and sadly the real answer is "it depends."  The nature and magnitude of the stressor is key. For the most part, the answer is "yes," biological systems do tend to respond to stresses.  Think of your own heartrate at rest as opposed to sprinting or your physiological response to standing in a walk-in freezer without a coat.
 
[[User:Ben G. Fitzpatrick|Ben G. Fitzpatrick]] 13:09, 17 January 2017 (EST)
 
*What was the most interesting or intriguing finding from looking into college drinking? And is there another field of social science that you would be interested in researching? [[User:Margaret J. Oneil|Margaret J. Oneil]] 00:31, 19 January 2017 (EST)
 
*While the course seems to focus on how mathematics can enhance studies in biology, do you think there are any ways that biology enhances mathematics? *'''[[User:Nika Vafadari|Nika Vafadari]] 02:37, 19 January 2017 (EST)''':

Revision as of 00:37, 19 January 2017

  • What is the UBM Spider Project? Lauren M. Kelly 16:16, 15 January 2017 (EST)

Lauren: Dr. Martina Ramirez, Aimee Cruz, Bethy Woubeshet, Farah Srichandra, and I worked on detecting environmental stress in spiders by examining their webs. We photographed webs and processed the resulting images to see how uniform (or non-uniform) the webs were, looking at variability in web silk spacing. We did find that webs from Hahn Park (a relatively clean environment) were more uniform that those from Ballona (a relatively dirty environment).

Ben G. Fitzpatrick 12:56, 17 January 2017 (EST)

  • Russia recently unveiled images of its new intercontinental ballistic missile nicknamed "Satan 2." It's range exceeds 11,000km and it is claimed that it capable of wiping out a landmass the size of Texas. Russia claims this new missile has been designed to outmaneuver current anti-missile defense systems. My question is two-fold: 1) What are the characteristics of a missile like the "Satan 2" that would allow it to outmaneuver missile defense systems? (Is it undetectable? Too fast?...) and 2) What branch of mathematics is most commonly used by mathematicians when developing new missile defense technologies? Conor Keith 21:53, 16 January 2017 (EST)

Conor:

From my limited experience in missile defense work, I'd say making missiles smaller is the number one best protection: makes them harder to hit. Shrinking electronics and more efficient chemistry allow that to happen. A more subtle defense against directed energy (laser, e.g.) is to spin the missile so the laser cannot maintain a fixed aimpoint to kill the missile.

Missile defense depends on a number of mathematical technologies. Time series analysis is very important, as dynamic tracking and prediction of trajectories is required to target and defeat a missile. Decision theory and optimization come into play when we have to sort out best approaches to defense.

Ben G. Fitzpatrick 13:04, 17 January 2017 (EST)

  • Does statistical analysis show that there is a large difference between biological systems under stress and biological systems not under stress? *Cameron M. Rehmani Seraji 00:00, 17 January 2017 (EST):

Cameron:

That's a big question, and sadly the real answer is "it depends." The nature and magnitude of the stressor is key. For the most part, the answer is "yes," biological systems do tend to respond to stresses. Think of your own heartrate at rest as opposed to sprinting or your physiological response to standing in a walk-in freezer without a coat.

Ben G. Fitzpatrick 13:09, 17 January 2017 (EST)

  • What was the most interesting or intriguing finding from looking into college drinking? And is there another field of social science that you would be interested in researching? Margaret J. Oneil 00:31, 19 January 2017 (EST)
  • While the course seems to focus on how mathematics can enhance studies in biology, do you think there are any ways that biology enhances mathematics? *Nika Vafadari 02:37, 19 January 2017 (EST):
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