AMS Hosts Congressional Briefing
James A. Yorke, Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Maryland presented "Chaos and Avalanches in Science and Socio-Political Systems" at an AMS sponsored Congressional briefing on December 4, 2012 in Washington, DC.
Professor Yorke talked about the science of chaos and how it has completely changed the understanding of physical processes in the last 30 years. From astronomy to weather prediction, chaos has become a way to understand physical systems. Avalanches are a particularly sudden type of chaos. This presentation demonstrated how political upheavals have much in common with avalanches and earthquakes.
The AMS holds annual congressional briefings as a means to communicate information to policymakers. Speakers discuss the importance of mathematics research and present their work in layman's terms to Congressional staff as a way to inform Members of Congress of how mathematics impacts today's important issues.
Other Congressional Briefings:
Beginning in 2017, the AMS is partnering with MSRI to organize and host bi-annual briefings; prior to 2017, the AMS hosted annual briefings.
- December 2019, "Cryptography in the Quantum Era" presented by Jill Pipher, Brown University.
- June 2019, "Addressing Threats and Vulnerabilities in Critical Interconnected Systems: Common Principles in Disease Outbreaks, Internet Malware, and Bank Failures" presented by Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University.
- December 2018, "From the Color of Birds to Nanomaterials and New Technology" presented by Rodolfo Torres, University of Kansas.
- May 2018, "Origami Meets Math, Science, and Engineering" presented by Erik Demaine, MIT.
- December 2017, "Cryptography: How to Enable Privacy in a Data-Driven World" presented by Dr. Shafi Goldwasser, MIT.
- June 2017, "Blackboard to bedside: How high-dimensional geometry is transforming the MRI industry" presented by David Donoho, Stanford University.
- December 2016, "How Mathematical Models Predict Emerging Epidemics," presented by Mac Hyman, Tulane University.
- December 2015, "From right triangles to modern cryptography" presented by Ken Ribet, University of California-Berkeley.
- December 2014, "The Future of Mathematics: Education & Innovation" presented by Robert Ghrist, Andrea Mitchell University Professor of Mathematics and Electrical/Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
- December 2013, "How Math Fuels the Knowledge Economy" presented by Mark L. Green, professor emeritus at the University of California-Los Angeles.
- December 2012, "Chaos and Avalanches in Science and Socio-Political Systems" presented by James A. Yorke, professor of mathematics and physics at the University of Maryland.
- December 2011, "Mathematics: Leading the Way for New Options in the Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease" presented by Suncica Canic, professor of mathematics at the University of Houston.
- October 2010, "The Gulf Oil Spill: How Can We Protect our Beaches in the Future?" presented by Andrea Bertozzi, professor of mathematics at UCLA.
- October 2009, "The Movies, the Markets and Mathematics", presented by Stuart Geman, professor of applied mathematics at Brown University.
- September 2008, "Can Mathematics Cure Leukemia?" presented by Doron Levy, associate professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, College Park.
- September 2007, "Mathematics of Ice to Aid Global Warming Forecasts", presented by Ken Golden, professor of mathematics at the University of Utah.
- November 2006, "The Necessity of Mathematics: From Google to Counterterrorism to Sudoku", presented by Amy Langville, professor of mathematics at the College of Charleston.
- November 2005, "From Katrina Forward: How Mathematics Helps Predict Storm Surges", presented by Clint Dawson, professor at the University of Texas and a member of the Center for Subsurface Modeling in the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences; and James Westerink, associate professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame.
- September 2004, "Homeland Security: What Can Mathematics Do?" presented by Fred Roberts, professor of mathematics and director of the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS) at Rutgers University.
- July 2003, "Mathematics is Biology's Next Microscope, Only Better; Biology is Mathematics' Next Physics, Only Better" presented by Joel E. Cohen, Laboratory of Populations, Rockefeller and Columbia Universities.
- February 2002, "Mathematics, Patterns and Homeland Security", presented by Ingrid Daubechies, Princeton University.
- July 2001, "Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics", a briefing on this National Research Council Report presented by Deborah Loewenberg Ball and Hyman Bass, University of Michigan and by Roger Howe, Yale University.
- Other previous briefings include:
- What Does Water Know About Mathematics, by Mary Fannett Wheeler, The University of Texas at Austin
- Calculating the Secrets of Life: Mathematics in Medicine by DeWitt Sumners, Florida State University
- Eavesdropping on the Internet: Mathematics and Policy by Carl Pomerance, University of Georgia
- Mathematical Transcriptions of the Real World: Fingerprints, Magnetic Resonance and Video by Ronald Coifman, Yale University