{"560271":{"#nid":"560271","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Stelson Lecture: Dr. Gerard Ben Arous","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Gerard Ben Arous is a professor of mathematics and director of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETitle: \u003C\/strong\u003EThe Complexity of Random Functions of Many Variables\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E A function of many variables, when chosen at random, is typically very complex. It has a exponentially large number of local minima or maxima, or critical points. It defines a very complex landscape, the topology of its level lines (for instance their Euler characteristic) is surprisingly complex.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis complex picture is valid even in very simple cases, for for random homogeneous polynomials of degree p larger than 2. This has important consequences. For instance trying to find the minimum value of such a function may thus be very difficult.The mathematical tool suited to understand this complexity is the spectral theory of large random matrices. The classification of the different types of complexity has been understood for a few decades in the statistical physics of disordered media, and in particular spin-glasses, where the random functions may define the energy landscapes. It is also relevant in many other fields, including computer science and Machine learning.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI will review recent work with collaborators in mathematics (A. Auffinger, J. Cerny), statistical physics (C. Cammarota, G. Biroli, Y. Fyodorov, B. Khoruzenko), and computer science (Y. LeCun and his team at Facebook, A. Choromanska, L. Sagun among others), as well as recent work of E. Subag and E.Subag and O.Zeitouni.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the series:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThomas Stelson was a distinguished civil engineer who served as dean of Georgia Tech\u0027s College of Engineering from 1971 to 1974, as vice president for research from 1974 to 1988, and as executive vice president from 1988 to 1990. During the 70\u0027s and 80\u0027s, he oversaw a vast expansion in Tech\u0027s research expenditures during an era when Tech went from being primarily teaching-oriented university to a major research institution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStelson helped the School of Mathematics create the Center for Dynamical Systems and Nonlinear Studies, and he endowed the School\u0027s Stelson lectures in 1988 in honor of his father, Hugh Stelson, who was a mathematician. Hugh Stelson earned his doctorate from the University of Iowa in 1930 and went on to teach at Kent State University and Michigan State University. He worked on problems related to interest rates, annuities, and numerical analysis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome previous Stelson lectures are available to the public from the SMARTech repository, at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/smartech.gatech.edu\/handle\/1853\/31161\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/smartech.gatech.edu\/handle\/1853\/31161\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor of mathematics and director of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Professor of mathematics and director of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University"}],"uid":"27570","created_gmt":"2016-08-08 16:09:20","changed_gmt":"2017-04-13 21:15:10","author":"Will Rusk","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2016-08-31T17:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2016-08-31T18:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2016-08-31T18:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2016-08-31 21:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2016-08-31 22:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2016-08-31 22:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cims.nyu.edu\/~benarous\/","title":"Dr. Gerard Ben Arous"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.math.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech School of Mathematics"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1279","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"},{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}