Florida State University to host regional American Mathematical Society meeting

This week, mathematicians from throughout the U.S. and the world will visit Florida State University to attend one of the largest gatherings held in their field.

The FSU Department of Mathematics welcomes more than 400 mathematicians March 23-24 for the American Mathematical Society’s 2024 Spring Southeastern Sectional Meeting, a weekend filled with theorems, equations and breakthroughs.

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians that consists of about 30,000 members and is dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship. Since its founding in 1888, AMS has served the national and international community through its publications, meetings, advocacy and other programs.

“The AMS is one of the two main societies for mathematicians; it has four regional sections, and each year, two conferences are held in each section,” said Giray Okten, professor of mathematics and associate chair for math graduate studies. “It is a privilege to host one of these meetings. We are very much looking forward to seeing the resulting collaborations.”

Over two days, invited speakers and presenters will lead more than 30 mini symposia, as well as three keynote addresses in classrooms throughout the Bellamy Building and the HCB Building on FSU’s main campus.

“Hosting the Spring Southeastern Sectional meeting will foster innovative research collaborations among mathematicians from FSU and other universities,” Okten said. “It will also showcase the diversity and strength of our FSU mathematicians who are involved in organizing 13 of the 32 special sessions.”

More than 100 different universities, colleges and research institutions will be represented, and the variety of presentations spans the field, including financial mathematics, data science, biomathematics — such as modeling malaria and other health concerns at different scales — fluid mechanics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning, and more.

“I am most looking forward to the vibrant exchange of knowledge and ideas that the AMS meeting promises,” said Associate Professor of Mathematics Sanghyun Lee, also a co-principal investigator of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Earthshots initiative, who has organized three special sessions on advanced numerical methods for partial differential equations and their applications with his colleagues. “It is an exciting opportunity to connect with colleagues from all over who are at the forefront of research in advanced numerical methods. I am eager to learn about the latest developments in the field, gain insights from diverse perspectives and explore potential avenues for collaboration.”

Lee’s work is crucial in tackling real-world problems, from fluid dynamics to materials science. His research opens avenues to innovative solutions that advance the understanding and capabilities of these methods as applied to various disciplines including physics, engineering and computational science.

While the meeting draws many attendees from the Southeastern U.S., scholars will also travel from countries including Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Canada, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, China and the U.K., among others. A handful of the represented institutions include Vanderbilt University, the University of Notre Dame, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Stanford University, Cornell University and Rice University.

Visit the American Mathematical Society website to learn more about the 2024 AMS Spring Southeastern Sectional meeting. For more information about FSU’s Department of Mathematics, visit math.fsu.edu.