Mathematics

Applications of Protein Folding Models in Immunotherapeutic Research

Speaker: 
Puneet Velidi
Date: 
Wed, Jan 14, 2026
Location: 
PIMS, University of British Columbia
Conference: 
UBC Math Biology Seminar Series
Abstract: 

Advances in protein folding and structure prediction models have enabled new computational approaches to immunotherapeutic research by providing access to high-quality structural information at scale. In this talk, we present three core application areas. (1) Antigen structure prediction, where folding models are used to characterize the three-dimensional structure of viral, tumor-associated, and neoantigen targets in the absence of experimental data. (2) Antibody–antigen complex prediction, where multimeric and joint modeling approaches are leveraged to infer binding modes, paratope–epitope interactions, and structural determinants of specificity. (3) Immunogenicity prediction, where predicted structures are analyzed to assess surface accessibility, conformational stability, and geometric features that influence immune recognition. Together, these applications illustrate how protein folding models function not only as structure predictors, but as foundational components in quantitative pipelines for immunotherapeutic discovery and design.

Class: 

Introduction to Geometry of Differential Equations and its Applications

Speaker: 
Kostya Druzhkov
Date: 
Wed, Jan 14, 2026
Location: 
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
Emergent Research: The PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow Seminar
Abstract: 

Differential equations can be studied from a purely geometric point of view, translating many constructions from finite-dimensional differential geometry into their language. This approach helps to clarify such notions as symmetries, conservation laws, presymplectic structures, and others. However, a number of questions arise in this framework whose answers are either incomplete or currently unknown. In particular, the problem of defining the cotangent equation in terms of the intrinsic geometry of PDEs remains open. This problem is directly related to the Hamiltonian formalism for differential equations.

From an applied perspective, methods for constructing exact solutions of differential equations are of particular interest. One of the most powerful approaches is based on the study of solutions invariant under certain symmetries of the given equation. A question of practical importance in this context is how the systems describing such invariant solutions inherit geometric structures from the original system.

In this talk, I will explain how these two topics are brought together within a reduction mechanism, which in particular clarifies how Hamiltonian operators are inherited by systems describing solutions of a given equation that are invariant under some of its symmetries. To fully implement this mechanism, an interpretation of cotangent equations in intrinsic geometric terms is also required. This can be achieved in the case where the reduced system turns out to be finite-dimensional.

Class: 
Subject: 

Lattices and Cryptography: A Match Made in Heaven

Speaker: 
Vinod Vaikuntanathan
Date: 
Thu, Jan 22, 2026
Location: 
PIMS, University of British Columbia
Conference: 
PIMS Network Wide Colloquium
Abstract: 

Integer lattices play a central role in mathematics and computer science, with applications ranging from number theory and coding theory to combinatorial optimization. Over the past three decades, they have also become a cornerstone of modern cryptography.

In this talk, I will describe the evolution of lattices in cryptography: from the early use of lattices to break classical cryptosystems; to their application in designing new encryption and digital signature schemes with (conjectured) post-quantum security; and to their role in achieving long-standing cryptographic goals such as fully homomorphic encryption that allow us to compute directly on encrypted data.

The talk will not assume any prior background in cryptography.

Class: 
Subject: 

Model categories in a grid

Speaker: 
Valentina Zapata Castro
Date: 
Tue, Jan 13, 2026
Location: 
PIMS, University of British Columbia
Abstract: 

Model categories provide a powerful framework for abstract homotopy theory, but their complexity often makes them difficult to classify. By focusing on finite categories, especially grids, we gain a combinatorial setting where the problem becomes explicit. In this talk, we explore model structures through weak factorization systems (WFS) on posets, which are in one-to-one correspondence with transfer systems and their duals, both introduced here. This perspective leads to a method for constructing model structures and a characterization theorem for finding weak equivalence sets in posets. Our approach offers a pathway towards classifying model structures in a controlled setting.

This is joint work with Kristen Mazur, Angélica Osorno, Constanze Roitzheim, Rekha Santhanam and Danika Van Niel.

Class: 
Subject: 

Simplifying the Halting Problem with Quantum Physics

Speaker: 
Jin-Cheng Guu
Date: 
Wed, Dec 17, 2025
Location: 
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
Emergent Research: The PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow Seminar
Abstract: 

This presentation will introduce a strategy to simplify certain undecidable problems. We will then demonstrate how quantum physics has been utilized to tackle potentially undecidable problems, specifically within the realm of low-dimensional topology. This intersection is known as quantum topology, a field in which I have been actively working, and should time allow, I will present some of my recent results in this area.

Class: 
Subject: 

Regular Simplices in Higher Dimensions

Speaker: 
Felix Christian Clemen
Date: 
Wed, Dec 3, 2025
Location: 
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
Emergent Research: The PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow Seminar
Abstract: 

A classical problem in combinatorial geometry, posed by Erdös in 1946, asks to determine the maximum number of unit segments in a set of n points in the plane. Since then a great variety of extremal problems in finite point sets have been studied. Here, we look at generalizations of this question concerning regular simplices. Among others we answer the following question asked by Erdös: Given n points in R6, how many triangles can be equilateral triangles? For our proofs we use hypergraph Turán theory. This is joint work with Dumitrescu and Liu.

Class: 
Subject: 

Point counting without points (again)

Speaker: 
Antoine Leudière
Date: 
Wed, Nov 26, 2025
Location: 
PIMS, University of Lethbridge
Conference: 
Lethbridge Number Theory and Combinatorics Seminar
Abstract: 

Drinfeld modules are the analogues of elliptic curves in positive characteristic. They are essential objects in number theory for studying function fields. They do not have points, in the traditional sense—we're going to count them anyway! The first methods achieving this were inspired by classical elliptic curve results; we will instead explore an algorithm based on so-called Anderson motives that achieves greater generality. Joint work with Xavier Caruso.

Class: 

Math at Scale: Real industrial problems and the mathematics behind them

Speaker: 
Michael Lamoureux
Date: 
Wed, Nov 26, 2025
Location: 
Online
Conference: 
M2PI Case Studies Virtual Seminar Series
Abstract: 

As an academic mathematician with a few decades of experience working with industry, the speaker has encountered many challenging problems that required the knowledge and development of a diverse collection of mathematical tools to effectively meet these challenges. This talk will present the mathematics arising in these collaborations, discussing both some technical details and why these skills might be useful to you as a young mathematician interested in an industrial career.

The talk will include work in the oil and gas sector (mathematics of imaging, partial differential equations, inverse problems, numerical methods), psychology and acoustics (Fourier transforms, digital signal processing), smart buildings (mathematical modeling and data science) and K-12 math education (mathematical visualizations and more data science).

There will be a few videos and animations to lighten up the gory technical details!

Class: 
Subject: 

Tree decompositions: representing a graph by a tree

Speaker: 
Maria Chudnovsky
Date: 
Thu, Nov 20, 2025
Location: 
Zoom
Online
Conference: 
PIMS Network Wide Colloquium
Abstract: 

How does one describe the structure of a graph? What is a good way to measure how complicated a given graph is? Tree decompositions are a powerful tool in structural graph theory, designed to address these questions. To obtain a tree decomposition of a graph G, we break G into parts that interact with each other in a simple ("tree-like") manner. But what properties do the parts need to have in order for the decomposition to be meaningful? Traditionally a parameter called the "width" of a decomposition was considered, that is simply the maximum size of a part. In recent years other ways of measuring the complexity of tree decompositions have been proposed, and their properties are being studied. In this talk we will discuss recent progress in this area, touching on the classical notion of bounded tree-width, concepts of more structural flavor, and the interactions between them.

Class: 

Additive Sums of Shifted Ternary Divisor Function

Speaker: 
Do Nhat Tan Vo
Date: 
Wed, Nov 19, 2025
Location: 
PIMS, University of Lethbridge
Online
Zoom
Conference: 
Lethbridge Number Theory and Combinatorics Seminar
Abstract: 

Fix a positive integer $X$ and multi-sets of complex numbers $\mathcal{I}$ and $\mathcal{J}$. We study the shifted convolution sum \[ D_{\mathcal{I},\mathcal{J}}(X,1) = \sum_{n\leq X} \tau_{\mathcal{I}}(n)\tau_{\mathcal{J}}(n+1), \] where $\tau_{\mathcal{I}}$ and $\tau_{\mathcal{J}}$ are shifted divisor functions. These sums naturally appear in the study of higher moments of the Riemann zeta function and additive problems in number theory. We review known results on $2k$-th moment of the Riemann zeta function and correlation sums associated with generalized divisor function. Assuming a conjectural bound on the averaged level of distribution of $\tau_{\mathcal{J}}(n)$ in arithmetic progressions, we present an asymptotic formula for $D_{\mathcal{I},\mathcal{J}}(X,1)$ with explicit main terms and power-saving error estimates.

Class: 

Pages