Graduate Students, Program in Applied Mathematics
When
Where
Title: Hyperbolic Potatoes and other Varieties of Vegetables
Abstract: The world around us is filled with curly, complex, and crenellated forms: the leaves of lettuce, the petals of flowers, and even the feet of sea slugs! Why do such surfaces arise and how can we model them mathematically? To answer this question, we model the observed surfaces as minimizers of an appropriate energy functional. I will explain the basic process behind this, and the math involved before diving into my current focus: proving that allowing for a certain kind of topological defect leads to surfaces with lower energies. Very minimal mathematical background is assumed. I will explain many of the differential geometry concepts that come up and try to give intuition for the rest. I will also talk about a new hyperbolic vegetable. There will be many visualizations!