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Texas A&M University
Mathematics

AMUSE

Fall 2016

 

Date:September 8, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:Blocker 2nd Floo
Speaker:Undergraduate Students, Texas A&M University, Department of Mathematics
Title:Undergraduate Research Expo

Date:September 14, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Dr. Alan Dabney, Texas A&M University, Department of Statistics
Title:Thinking Probabilistically and Statistically
Abstract:We are exposed today to an unprecedented amount of information from a wide variety of sources and of a wide variety of quality. Some claims, such as those made by marketers, may be blatantly biased and misleading. Others are supported by 'published studies' but are nevertheless preliminary and unlikely to be replicated. Others still are supported by carefully-designed studies and experiments that have been replicated and that have consensus support in the scientific community. How should one interact with information today, and how does one know whether or not to believe a particular claim? In this talk, we will explore the principles of both producing and learning from data. Statistical learning principles will be demonstrated using basic probability theory and simulation-based statistical inference in the R statistical software program. Bio: Alan Dabney received a Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of Washington and joined the faculty in the Department of Statistics at A&M in 2006. He is currently an Associate Professor and holder of the Eppright Professorship in Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. Dr. Dabney conducts research in biostatistics, bioinformatics, and statistical education. In addition, he serves as Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Statistics, developing and supporting the brand-new B.S. in Statistics. Given the overlap between the undergraduate majors in Math and Statistics, Dr. Dabney and the Department of Statistics invite current Math majors to consider double-majoring in Statistics. For more information on undergraduate Statistics at A&M, see our webpage: https://www.stat.tamu.edu/academics/undergraduate/

Date:September 21, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:BLOC 150
Speaker:Patrick Laycock, Aon Hewitt
Title:Math related Careers at Aon Hewitt: Pension Administration Consulting
Abstract:Aon Hewitt’s Retirement and Financial Management practice would like to present to you our career opportunities in the Pension Administration Consulting field that focus heavily on math skills. We are always looking for candidates with strong math and analytical skills who are also able to communicate well with clients and their participants as well as works successfully in a team environment. Our Pension Administration Specialist role is responsible for such tasks as pension system design and testing, data analysis/scrubbing, pension calculations, payment instructions and reconciliations, participant interaction and legislative and design consulting. We are looking for candidates for our 2017 summer internships as well as full-time positions on our campus located in The Woodlands, TX (just north of Houston).

Date:October 5, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Lauren Lane, Texas A&M University
Title:Learning What it Means to Serve
Abstract:USAA is primarily a banking and insurance company that serves the military community. This company is unique in that every decision is made with the member in mind. The mission statement and core values set USAA apart from other organizations. USAA’s mission is to facilitate the financial security of its members, associates and their families by providing a full range of highly competitive financial products and services. In so doing, USAA seeks to be the provider of choice for the military community. I was able to experience the culture at USAA this past summer as a Real Estate Product Management Intern in San Antonio, Texas. As an intern, I learned about the mortgage process from beginning to end. I utilized Excel and SAS to perform statistical analysis and generate graphs. Although I was able to use these tools, my analysis would not have been possible without understanding how the mortgage business works. I enjoyed combining my analytical skills with the business world. It was such an honor to work for a company that serves the military community. I look forward to discussing the projects that I worked on and sharing more about the culture at USAA.

Date:October 5, 2016
Time:6:15pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Ronilo Ragodas, Texas A&M University
Title:Percolation Clusters on Products of Fractal Graphs
Abstract:We study bond percolation on products of fractal graphs and compare the resulting behavior with known behavior on lattice graphs. In particular, we compare percolation on graph approximations of the cross product of Sierpinski Gasket fractafolds and the 2 and 3 dimensional square lattice graphs. We obtain estimates of the critical percolation probabilities for several classes of fractal graphs and also investigate the nature of simple random walks on the maximal connected components of the percolated graphs. We compute the spectrum of the probabilistic Laplacian on the maximal component graphs in order to obtain the associated eigenvalue counting functions and Weyl ratios. Finally, we also study the behavior of the heat kernel on the maximal component graphs.

Date:October 5, 2016
Time:6:30pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Eric Cochane, Texas A&M University
Title:Data Analytics in the Age of Big Data
Abstract:Over 90% of all data in existence was created in the past 2 years and the amount of data that industry collects and stores doubles every 1.2 years. Most large businesses are struggling to keep up with the infrastructure, and expertise needed to manage, and analyze their vast data stores, and also how to transform this stored information into valuable business insights and ‘business intelligence’. At VISA service reliability and transaction durations are of the utmost importance from a business standpoint but also from a financial infrastructure perspective (imagine if a credit card transaction took 10 minutes to process). Seasonal variations such as black Friday and Christmas have a dramatic impact on server usage patterns and transaction volume but predicting the exact peak values each season are considered a dark art. Currently VISA’s peak capacity is 56,582 transaction per second! What should we do with all this information? As an Application Performance Management systems analyst I evaluated several sever groups, collected relevant metrics, performed a number of analysis techniques, and innovated new ways to automate capacity planning. I will mostly focus on how to structure analysis, linear regression, and mathematical modeling in Excel.

Date:October 12, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Tatiana Randle, Texas A&M University
Title:My Internship with Mercer
Abstract:This summer, I interned with Mercer as a Retirement Actuarial Intern. I will discuss what I believe is the most important aspect to learning the ins and outs of Retirement from an Actuarial Perspective. I will tell you what I liked the most about Mercer and how to decide what company is best for you.

Date:October 12, 2016
Time:6:12pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Sicheng Wang, Texas A&M University
Title: Recovering the Non-homogeneous Elastic Property via Surface Deformations
Abstract:We demonstrate a novel method which has potential to accurately detect tumors surrounded by healthy tissue from their stiffness contrast. We aim to estimate the elastic material properties using the given boundary data and the surface displacement data. The problem is derived from the applications of quantitative elasticity imaging and posed as a constrained optimization problem. Through the inducement of indentations on the exterior of the simulated “breast”, the “measured” surface displacement fields are created to test the inverse strategy on a problem domain consisting of a stiff inclusion embedded in a homogeneous background. We observe that the reconstructed shear modulus distribution and the reconstructed inclusion appearance improves with an increasing number of surface displacement fields, but the reconstruction result deteriorates with increasing noise level. A series of examples are presented to reveal the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Date:October 12, 2016
Time:6:24pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Madison Smith, Texas A&M University
Title:My 2016 Internship with Willis Towers Watson
Abstract:A overview of the structure of my Actuarial Retirement internship at Willis Towers Watson. I will discuss the work I did and one of the special projects I was assigned as well as my thoughts on the overall experience and the math I used.

Date:October 12, 2016
Time:6:36pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Justin Alger, Texas A&M University
Title:A New Perspective on Shopping
Abstract:Whether you're at the store for a weekly grocery trip or just a late night ice cream run, chances are you're probably not thinking about all of the behind the scenes work that goes into getting products on the shelves. At Customer Marketing Group, the behind the scenes work is where the focus lies. For more than twenty years, CMG has made complex business situations more predictable and practical. Through a team of experienced business leaders and highly trained mathematicians, statisticians, and economists, CMG delivers actionable recommendations to resolve clients' most pressing concerns with their products. As an analyst intern, I primarily conducted different types of analyses and created charts, graphs, and other figures to relate my findings to the clients. Most of my work was done in Excel, with a small portion done is the statistical software, R. I also learned how complicated the process of getting a product onto the shelf in a retail store can be, and why it's important to pay attention to each step in the process. As an applied math major with business and economics minors, this position allowed me a great opportunity to apply my learnings to real-world issues. In summary, through quantitative analysis combined with residing experience and intuition, CMG closes the gap between a client's vision and the reality of the marketplace.

Date:October 19, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Micah Smith, Texas A&M University
Title:An Internship with Lockheed Martin
Abstract:Lockheed Martin MFC produced the AMAS system “[which] provides a low-cost/low-risk, kit-based solution… [offering] Driver Warning/Driver Assist functionality, Leader-Follower convoy operations, Waypoint following capabilities and provides growth to fully autonomous operations.” Working with some of the people who produced this system, I shall outline a brief overview of my internship with Lockheed Martin repurposing this project. I shall explore some of the diverse topics that my team applied in Ground Vehicles, ranging from the application of mathematics for various programs to the Linux induced head-banging of providing IT support.

Date:October 19, 2016
Time:6:12pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Zach Crouch, Texas A&M University
Title:My Internship with National Life Group
Abstract:A discussion of my experience as an actuarial intern with National Life Group this past summer. I will explore a project that I worked on pertaining to the math concepts I learned here at Texas A&M and other aspects of my time as an intern in the actuarial modeling department.

Date:October 19, 2016
Time:6:24pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Evan Feiereisel, Texas A&M University
Title:My Internship with Facebook
Abstract:I will discuss software engineering internships 101, as well as my experience and work I did at Facebook. I will discuss what to do to get an SE internship, and what to expect from one. My work at Facebook included working on internal tools, debugging information exportation, and restricted timing for model updating.

Date:October 19, 2016
Time:6:36pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Tucker Houghton, Texas A&M University
Title:Actuarial Internship at American National Insurance Company
Abstract:I will discuss what an actuary is, and my experience as an intern in the actuary department at American National. I will talk about some of the smaller projects that I was tasked with alongside my main project dealing with a new way of automating reports. After that I will be discuss which courses have helped me for this career path and how you can better prepare yourself if you wish to become an actuary.

Date:November 2, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Morgan McSahn, Texas A&M University
Title:Internship at Torchmark Corporation
Abstract:This summer I got the opportunity to intern with Torchmark Corporation in McKinney Texas. I was interning in the actuarial department, more specifically in the direct response team. I will be discussing what Torchmark is, what my internship consisted of and how I benefited from this learning experience.

Date:November 2, 2016
Time:6:12pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Sarah Sahibzada, Texas A&M University
Title:Relational Algebra and Database Theory
Abstract:In this presentation, I will establish the mathematical basis of SQL. I will discuss the basics of relational algebra and how it is used to construct structured query languages. I will define several of the elementary relational algebra operators and how they can be used to construct SQL queries, and will introduce the join operator. I will also go over basic SQL. I will connect this to my work as an intern at Texas Instruments and discuss the web development stack in order to establish the importance of understanding database theory.

Date:November 2, 2016
Time:6:24pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Amanda Schroeder, Texas A&M University
Title:How to Be a Math Detective
Abstract:Loss reserving is an actuarial estimate of an insurer’s liability for future claims, payments and other expenses. This summer I spent 10 weeks learning that this concept although based in mathematical principles and practices, it is a combination of science and art. There are several methodologies and algorithms that are used but ultimately it comes down to trends, insights and a little bit of a guess. Of course, mathematicians don’t guess at the numbers but the data that is entered into the 3-year financial plan is “massaged” with the other inputs that are included. There are several tools which will be discussed in my presentation that actuaries use to arrive at their estimate. Additionally, I will share a user defined tool that was developed to improve forecast accuracy. This tool looked at the effect of large states on the predicted frequency and severity change on the company’s balance sheet. This project allowed me to utilize my math skills while determining the necessary formulas as well as my coding skills using Exel VBA.

Date:November 2, 2016
Time:6:36pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Shannon Little, Texas A&M University
Title:Pension Administration Internship: Insight to the Role of an Analyst
Abstract:During this past summer, I interned at Aon Hewitt in the Pension Administration section. I began the summer with training, learning different things that goes in to pension knowledge and calculations. First there are different types of benefits, but the two specific plans I worked on this summer include defined benefits and cash balance. I learned the different parts that go into calculating both types of benefits. For example, this could include how to calculate dates based on different requirements such as year and month; year, month, and day inclusive; or year, month, and day exclusive. Once I finished my computer based training and personal training, I began reviewing Requirements Documents which are documents created from the legal document about the retirement plans of the clients I was working on. From the requirements documents and working with project members and project leads, I created excel spreadsheets that could pull data from Microsoft access files that contained all the information about employees and beneficiaries in the company. Then using the different things I learned from my computer training and personal training, I would calculate the accrued benefit of employees, and if they were retiring the options that could be chosen for a monthly benefit upon retirement. Additionally, I would reconcile data from clients including identifying any obscurities between our data and theirs or making updates to data such as inputting retirement benefit payments and inputting death records in our databases. There were additionally some special projects like lump sum windows and program testing.

Date:November 9, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Thomas Mertink, Towers Watson
Title:Actuarial Work at Willis Towers Watson
Abstract:Willis Towers Watson is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. Among the many career opportunities that Willis Towers Watson presents, one of the most common job opportunities for math majors is the role of an Actuary. Actuaries at Willis Towers Watson use data analysis and analysis of market conditions to help clients project, understand, and manage future financial risks to the company. One of the major financial risks companies face is the cost of funding employee benefits, in particular, the cost of funding a pension plan. Companies are promising to pay their employees thousands of dollars in benefits up to 50 years into the future bringing lots of uncertainty to company’s balance sheets. We will provide some information about the role Actuarial Analysts at Willis Towers Watson play in helping our clients manage the financial risks imposed by their pension plans.

Date:November 16, 2016
Time:6:00pm
Location:BLOC 220
Speaker:Dr. Alan Demlow, Texas A&M University, Department of Mathematics
Title:An introduction to the Mathematical Contest in Modeling
Abstract:The COMAP Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) is an international undergraduate contest in which teams of three undergraduates work together over a weekend to solve an interesting real-world problem by constructing a mathematical model and then running simulations to test the model's validity. Past contest problems include figuring out efficient methods of boarding airlines, optimizing the eradication of Ebola, and searching for a lost airplane. This year’s contest will be held January 19-23, 2017; see http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/ for more information. I’ll give a brief overview of the contest and describe what it’s like to participate. All TAMU undergrads with an interest in applied mathematics are encouraged to come and learn more. You can also contact me at demlow@math.tamu.edu with any questions.