Seminars

Upcoming Seminars / Seminars This Week



Fri 03/17/23 11:10 am	Rosenstiel 118
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
First Year BCBP PhD Students
First-Year Biochemistry & Biophysics Doctoral Student Rotation Talks
Sponsored by: Biochemistry and Biophysics PhD Program
Fri 03/17/23 12:45 pm	Gerstenzang 123/Online
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Natasha Baas-Thomas (Katz Lab)
Emma McGuirk (Goode Lab)
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95416202145 Please contact bioevents@brandeis.edu for zoom password.
Sponsored by: Biology Department, Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Fri 03/17/23 2 pm	Goldsmith 317/Online
Thesis Seminar: Molecular and Cell Biology PhD Program
Felix Zhou (Haber Lab)
Cell Cycle Arrest and Homology Search During Double-Strand Break Repair in S. Cerevisiae
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/99453495004?pwd=YTlFMlFKQW9DNzFQb0syVGJiODNvZz09
Sponsored by: Molecular and Cell Biology PhD Program
Mon 03/20/23 11:15 am	Gerstenzang 124/Online
Neurobiology Journal Club (IPRC Speaker)
Lydia Djenoune, PhD (Yuan Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School)
Lux ad cilium: investigating the role of intraciliary calcium and fluid flow in left-right development
Speaker Bio: Dr. Lydia Djenoune is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Yuan lab. After completing her Master of Genetics from Paris Diderot University, she received her PhD from the French National Museum of Natural History under the mentorships of Dr. Claire Wyart and Prof. Hervé Tostivint studying the molecular and morphological heterogeneity of the cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons and the role of the polycystin channel Pkd2l1 in zebrafish spinal cord. For her postdoctoral training, she first joined the group of Prof. Iain Drummond at The Massachusetts General Hospital to probe the role of calcium signaling in kidney glomerular morphogenesis. In the Yuan lab, Lydia is investigating the role of intra-ciliary calcium and mechanosensation in cardiac left-right development.
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/92707996384
Sponsored by: Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Mon 03/20/23 12:15 pm	Volen 101/Online
Computer Science Seminar
Manling Li (PhD Candidate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Toward Factuality in Information Access: Event-Centric Multimodal Knowledge Acquisition
Abstract: Traditionally, multimodal factual knowledge extraction has been entity-centric with a focus on concrete concepts, but lacks ability to understand abstract semantics. However, such event-centric semantics are the core knowledge communicated, regardless whether in the form of text, images, videos, or other data modalities. At the core of my research in Multimodal Information Extraction (IE) is to bring such deep semantic understanding ability to the multimodal world. My work opens up a new research direction Event-Centric Multimodal Knowledge Acquisition to transform traditional entity-centric single-modal knowledge into event-centric multi-modal knowledge. Such a transformation poses two significant challenges: (1) understanding multimodal semantic structures that are abstract: I will present my solution of zero-shot cross-modal transfer, which supports zero-shot multimodal event extraction for the first time; (2) understanding long-horizon temporal dynamics: I will introduce Event Graph Model, which empowers machines to capture complex timelines with multiple alternative outcomes. I will also show its positive results on long-standing open problems, such as timeline generation, meeting summarization, and question answering. I will then lay out how I plan to promote factuality and truthfulness in information access, through a factual knowledge graph view that is easily explainable, highly compositional, and capable of long-horizon reasoning. Speaker Bio: Manling Li is a CS Ph.D. candidate at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her work on multimodal knowledge extraction won the ACL'20 Best Demo Paper Award, and the work on scientific information extraction from COVID literature won NAACL'21 Best Demo Paper Award. She was a recipient of Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship in 2021. She was selected as a DARPA Riser in 2022, an EE CS Rising Star in 2022, and a Mavis Future Faculty Fellow in 2021. She led 19 students to develop the UIUC information extraction system and ranked first in DARPA AIDA TA1 evaluations. Additional information is available at https://limanling.github.io.
https://brandeis.zoom.us/s/95283599609
Sponsored by: Computer Science Department
Mon 03/20/23 4:10 pm	Gerstenzang 124
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Phil Milner (Cornell University)
Simplifying Synthesis at the Interface of Organic and Materials Chemistry
Hosted by Grace Han
Tue 03/21/23 11:10 am	Abelson 333
Quantum/Gravity Seminar
Evita Verheijden (Harvard)
Tue 03/21/23 11:10 am	Rosenstiel 118
Chemistry Seminar
Kayla Cerri (Krauss Lab)
Enzymatic Methods of Peptide Cyclization
Sponsored by: Chemistry Department
Tue 03/21/23 12:45 pm	Gerstenzang 123/Online
Joint Biology/Neuroscience Colloquium
Janine Kwapis (Department of Biology, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Eberly College of Science, Pennsylvania State University)
Time to learn: Diurnal regulation of memory via the clock gene perl
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/99382723853 For more information or the zoom password, please contact Cathy Lauinger at clauinger@brandeis.edu
Sponsored by: Biology Department, Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Tue 03/21/23 1 pm	Virtual/Online
Combinatorics Seminar
Matthieu Josuat-Vergès (CNRS, Universite Paris Cite)
TBA
TBA
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/94622483750
Hosted by Oliver Bernardi, Te Cao, Shizhe Liang
Tue 03/21/23 2:15 pm	Goldsmith 317
Topology Seminar
Sally Collins (Georgia Tech)
TBA
TBA
Hosted by Carolyn Abbott, Ruth Charney, Kiyoshi Igusa, Ian Montague, Danny Ruberman
Tue 03/21/23 4 pm	Abelson 333
Quantum/Gravity Seminar
César A. Agón (Centro Atomico Bariloche)
Is the extensive mutual information model a QFT?
I will introduce the so-called extensive mutual information model (EMI), which is the unique solution to the known axioms of the ground state mutual information of a CFT, when one imposes extensivity on its arguments. Using various results concerning the mutual information of largely separated regions, I will then show that the EMI cannot describe the ground state mutual information of a CFT in dimensions greater than two. This result suggests that the set of known axioms of the mutual information might be incomplete.
Wed 03/22/23 11:15 am	Gerstenzang 124
Molecular Genetics Journal Club
Tatevik Sarkissian (Garrity Lab)
Melda Buyukozturk (Birren Lab)
Sponsored by: Biology Department
Wed 03/22/23 12:10 pm	Virtual/Online
Mathematical BIology Seminar
Laurent MacKay (The University of British Columbia)
TBA
TBA
https://brandeis.zoom.us/s/91873884898
Hosted by Thomas Fai, Jonathon Touboul, Kana Ishimatsu
Wed 03/22/23 3 pm	Gerstenzang 122/Online
Thesis Seminar: Chemistry PhD Program
Xiang Li (Han Lab)
Fundamental Study of Molecular Photoswitches and Their Applications in Energy Storage and Self-Assembly
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/8680553019
Sponsored by: Chemistry PhD Program
Thu 03/23/23 11:15 am	Volen 201
Computational/Systems Neuroscience Journal Club
Lisandro Martin (Van Hooser Lab)
Sponsored by: Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Thu 03/23/23 12:20 pm	/Online
Psychology Department Colloquium
Rachael D. Seidler, Ph.D.
The Effects of Spaceflight on the Human Brain and Behavior
Emerging plans for travel to Mars and other deep space destinations make it critical for us to understand how spaceflight affects the human brain and behavior. Moreover, studying adaptation to the microgravity environment provides insight into how the central nervous system responds to an environment for which it has not evolved. I will share findings from my work indicating that the spaceflight environment induces adverse effects on the brain, including intracranial fluid shifts, gray matter changes, and white matter declines. I will also present evidence that adaptive processes co-occur with these brain position and intracranial fluid shifts. I will close with recommendations for future research
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/99798396811?pwd=SU9iM1lsazE0SDc4SDB6eFFTVnVEQT09
Thu 03/23/23 3 pm	Virtual/Online
SciComm Lab Workshop
3MT Speed Review Session
Are you competing in the 2023 Brandeis 3MT (3-Minute Thesis) Competition and want feedback on your talk? Join the Brandeis Communication Lab Fellows for a speed reviewing session. Participants will get to practice their talk and receive feedback from multiple Comm Lab Fellows and leave ready to present their 3MT! RSVP for Zoom info: https://bit.ly/sclspeedreview
https://bit.ly/sclspeedreview
Thu 03/23/23 4:30 pm	Volen 106/Online
Joint Mathematics Colloquium
Barak Weiss (Tel Aviv University)
Horocycle flow on the moduli space of translation surfaces
I will discuss the dynamics of the horocycle slow on a stratum of translation surfaces (which is an invariant subvariety of the bundle Omega M_g of holomorphic one forms over the moduli space of genus g Riemann surfaces). This flow can be defined as the action of upper triangular matrices with eigenvalue 1, acting linearly on flat charts. Work of Ratner on unipotent flows on homogeneous spaces leads to the question of whether the orbit-closures and invariant measures for this action can be meaningfully classified. I will quickly survey both positive and negative results in this direction. The talk will be based on joint work with Bainbridge, Chaika, Smillie, and Ygouf (in various combinations).
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/92822943902?pwd=dXZqeXJpcVVpUVgrdHhxcjY4cHdCdz09
Hosted by Dmitry Kleinbock
Fri 03/24/23 11:10 am	Rosenstiel 118
Biochemistry-Biophysics Friday Lunchtime Pizza Talks
Joshua Goldford (Physics of Living Systems, MIT, Geological and Planetary Sciences, Caltech)
The Emergence and Evolution of Metabolic Networks
Hosted by Niels Bradshaw
Sponsored by: Biochemistry and Biophysics PhD Program
Fri 03/24/23 12:30 pm	Goldsmith 300
Math Faculty Undergraduate Research Talks
Prof. An Huang (Brandeis University)
Are certain arithmetic questions optimization problems in disguise?
Given a natural number, how many divisors does it have? This is an example of an arithmetic function. In this talk, we shall discuss a conjectural characterization of a class of arithmetic functions, in terms of solutions to certain explicit optimization problems. We shall focus on the case when the arithmetic function is the so-called L-function coefficients of an elliptic curve over the rational numbers -- the involved terms shall be explained. But wait a moment, how could arithmetic and optimization have anything to do with each other? Joint works in progress with Henry Cohen, Bogdan Stoica, Alexandru Zaharescu, Xiao Zhong.
Prof. Tyler Maunu (Brandeis University)
Recovering Structured Matrices
A fundamental paradigm in data science involves the recovery of a structured object from certain types of observations of it. This is an example of what is known as an inverse problem. In this talk, we will consider the problem of recovering a matrix from low-dimensional projections. We will motivate the problem by discussing applications in matrix completion, graph learning, phase retrieval, and covariance sketching. We will then discuss how we can take advantage of matrix structure to yield efficient algorithms for the problem.
Pizza will be served.
Hosted by Math UDRs Lucca Raabe and Nicole Meng
Fri 03/24/23 12:45 pm	Gerstenzang 123/Online
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Sam Bates (Sengupta Lab)
Kelsey Clements (Griffith Labs)
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95416202145 Please contact bioevents@brandeis.edu for zoom password.
Sponsored by: Biology Department, Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Mon 03/27/23 11:15 am	Gerstenzang 124/Online
Neurobiology Journal Club
Tim Holy (Department of Neuroscience, Washington University Science of Medicine St. Louis)
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/92707996384
Sponsored by: Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Tue 03/28/23 11:10 am	Abelson 333
Quantum/Gravity Seminar
Alejandro Vilar López (Brussels U., PTM)
Tue 03/28/23 12:45 pm	Gerstenzang 123/Online
Joint Biology/Neuroscience Colloquium
Tim Holy (Department of Neuroscience, Washington University Science of Medicine St. Louis)
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/99382723853 For more information or the zoom password, please contact Cathy Lauinger at clauinger@brandeis.edu
Hosted by Sacha B. Nelson
Sponsored by: Biology Department, Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Tue 03/28/23 1 pm	Goldsmith 300
Combinatorics Seminar
Vasu Tewari (University of Hawaii)
Combinatorics of forest polynomials
I will introduce a new basis for the ring of polynomials that we call forest polynomials. This basis is particularly friendly toward reduction modulo the ideal of quasisymmetric polynomials, and as such allows us to describe the cohomology class of the permutahedral variety in terms of Schubert classes via a parking procedure. I will also use this perspective to motivate a multivariate analogue of mixed Eulerian numbers. Joint work with Philippe Nadeau (CNRS & Univ. Lyon 1).
Hosted by Oliver Bernardi, Te Cao, Shizhe Liang
Tue 03/28/23 2:15 pm	Goldsmith 317
Topology Seminar
Francesco Lin (Columbia)
Homology cobordism and the geometry of hyperbolic three-manifolds
A major challenge in the study of the structure of the three-dimensional homology cobordism group is to understand the interaction between hyperbolic geometry and homology cobordism. In this talk, I will discuss how monopole Floer homology can be used to study some basic properties of certain subgroups of the homology cobordism group generated by hyperbolic homology spheres satisfying some natural geometric constraints.
Hosted by Carolyn Abbott, Ruth Charney, Kiyoshi Igusa, Ian Montague, Danny Ruberman
Tue 03/28/23 4 pm	Abelson 131/Online
Eisenbud Lecture Series in Mathematics and Physics
Eva M. Silverstein (Stanford University)
The accelerating universe and rigid Einstein manifolds
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95927678121?pwd=cU5WRWE5MnhZWjNhNHNHbVM5aG55dz09
Hosted by Albion Lawrence, Bong Lian
Sponsored by: Leonard and Ruth-Jean Eisenbud
Wed 03/29/23 11 am	Abelson 333/Online
Eisenbud Lecture Series in Mathematics and Physics
Eva Silverstein (Stanford University)
The accelerating universe and integrable deformations of quantum field theories
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95927678121?pwd=cU5WRWE5MnhZWjNhNHNHbVM5aG55dz09
Hosted by Albion Lawrence, Bong Lian
Sponsored by: Leonard and Ruth-Jean Eisenbud
Wed 03/29/23 11:15 am	Gerstenzang 124
Molecular Genetics Journal Club
Alexis Ryan (Bradshaw Lab)
Suhaily Penix (Bradshaw Lab)
Sponsored by: Biology Department
Thu 03/30/23 10 am	Abelson 333/Online
Eisenbud Lecture Series in Mathematics and Physics
Eva Silverstein (Stanford University)
Optimization and sampling from energy-conserving Hamiltonian dynamical systems
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95927678121?pwd=cU5WRWE5MnhZWjNhNHNHbVM5aG55dz09
Hosted by Albion Lawrence, Bong Lian
Sponsored by: Leonard and Ruth-Jean Eisenbud
Thu 03/30/23 11:15 am	Volen 201
Computational/Systems Neuroscience Journal Club
Sponsored by: Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Fri 03/31/23 12:45 pm	Gerstenzang 123/Online
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Zach Pranske (Paradis Lab)
Thomas Gray (Katz Lab)
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95416202145 Please contact bioevents@brandeis.edu for zoom password.
Sponsored by: Biology Department, Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Fri 03/31/23 12:45 pm	Virtual/Online
Mathematics Undergraduate Curriculum and Orientation Event
Hosted by Olivier Bernardi (Brandeis University)
Mathematics Undergradute Curriculum and Orientation Event
Review the class schedule for Fall 2023Introduce our new classes to be rolled out this Fall (Math 125a)Review the major requirements.We will be ready to answer your questions about the math curriculum, and any other questions.We will review the opportunities and resources in the Math Department
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/91879320303?pwd=SHRwYm04Z0dlbVZ4NXk3QlVPSEdRZz09
Hosted by Olivier Bernardi, Mathematics Faculty
Sun 04/02/23 4:10 pm	Virtual
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Anastassia Alexandrova (UCLA)
Hosted by Rebecca Gieseking
Mon 04/03/23 11:15 am	Gerstenzang 124/Online
Neurobiology Journal Club
Susannah Adel (Paradis Lab)
Naziru Awal, Ph.D. (Marder Lab)
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/92707996384
Sponsored by: Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Mon 04/03/23 1 pm	Abelson 131
Thesis Seminar: Chemistry PhD Program
Gary Marqus (Hedstrom Lab)
Target Deconvolution of a Mechanistically Distinct Mtb Inhibitor
Sponsored by: Chemistry PhD Program
Tue 04/04/23 12:45 pm	Gerstenzang 123/Online
Joint Biology/Neuroscience Colloquium
Indira M. Raman (Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences PhD Program, Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience PhD Program (NUIN)
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/99382723853 For more information or the zoom password, please contact Cathy Lauinger at clauinger@brandeis.edu
Hosted by Eve Marder
Sponsored by: Biology Department, Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Wed 04/05/23 11:15 am	Gerstenzang 124
Molecular Genetics Journal Club
Sponsored by: Biology Department
Fri 04/14/23 12:45 pm	Gerstenzang 123/Online
Molecular and Cell Biology & Neuroscience Student Seminars
Norelis Diaz-Rodriguez (Turrigiano Lab)
Anne Silveira (Rodal Lab)
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95416202145 Please contact bioevents@brandeis.edu for zoom password.
Sponsored by: Biology Department, Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Mon 04/17/23 4:10 pm	Gerstenzang 124
Chemistry Department Colloquium
Leonard MacGillivray (University of Iowa)
Building Molecules in Crystals with Light: Green Chemistry to Sustainability
Hosted by Grace Han
Wed 04/19/23 11:15 am	Gerstenzang 124
Molecular Genetics Journal Club
Sponsored by: Biology Department
Thu 04/20/23 11:15 am	Volen 201
Computational/Systems Neuroscience Journal Club
Sponsored by: Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Wed 04/26/23 11:15 am	Gerstenzang 124
Molecular Genetics Journal Club
Sponsored by: Biology Department
Thu 04/27/23 11:15 am	Volen 201
Computational/Systems Neuroscience Journal Club
Hannah Germaine (Miller & Katz Labs)
The Germaine Spike Sorting Algorithm
Sponsored by: Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program
Thu 04/27/23 4 pm	Abelson 229/Online
MRSEC Seminar
Michael Moshe (Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
A General Theory of Mechanical Screening: From Granular Matter to tissue mechanics
Holes in elastic metamaterials, defects in 2D curved crystals, localized plastic deformations in amorphous matter and T1 transitions in epithelial tissue, are typical realizations of stress-relaxation mechanisms in different solid-like structures, interpreted as mechanical screening. Correspondingly, understanding the emergent hole patterns, defects structure, and mechanical response in these systems remains a formidable task. While screening theories are well established in other fields of physics, e.g. electrostatics, a unifying theory of mechanical screening applicable to crystalline, amorphous, and living-cellular matter, is still lacking. In this talk I will present a general mechanical screening theory that generalizes classical theories of solids, and introduces new moduli that are missing from the classical theories. Contrary to its electrostatic analog, the screening theory in solids is richer even in the linear case, with multiple screening regimes, predicting qualitatively new mechanical responses. Specifically, we predict a regime of screening that is mechanically similar to the celebrated Hexatic phase, in disordered matter. The theory is tested in different physical systems, among which are disordered granular solids and models of epithelial tissue. Experiments and numeric simulations in granular, glass, and tissue models uncover a mechanical response that strictly deviate from classical elasticity, and is in full agreement with the theory. Finally I will discuss the relevance of the theory to other systems such as wrinkled sheets, disordered metamaterials, and most importantly to 3D solids and the potential for a new Hexatic-like state in three-dimensional matter.
https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/97035170339