Thursday Colloquium

THURSDAYS 3:00 pm to 3:50 pm* in MS 6627/Zoom

The UCLA Mathematics Colloquium, also known as the Thursday Colloquium, is a weekly meeting featuring invited talks on diverse subjects of mathematics. The colloquium takes place usually Thursdays at 3pm and sometimes Thursdays at 4:15pm. Talks last usually around 50 minutes and are followed by questions and discussion. Many of the colloquium sessions are broadcasted live via zoom and recorded for posterity. Faculty, students, and all mathematics enthusiasts are welcome to participate in the colloquium and submit nominations of possible speakers. If you are not part of UCLA, you are still welcome to sign up to the mailing list and join the zoom sessions by following the link below. 

Previous recordings can be found below. 

After each talk, tea is served in the Department Lounge (MS 6620) at 4:00 pm. 

The UCLA Mathematics Colloquium is supported in part by the Larry M. Weiner Mathematics Fund.

*Time subject to change based on speaker schedule or if multiple speakers are scheduled.

Weekly Calendar
Zoom Link
Ask to Join Mailing List

Upcoming Talks

April 3rd, 2025

Speaker: Lieven Vandenberghe (UCLA)

Host: Guido Montufar

Title: Primal-dual first-order methods for conic optimization

Abstract. First-order proximal methods are increasingly popular for large-scale conic linear programming, because of their low complexity per iteration compared to interior-point methods. The use of generalized (non-Euclidean) distances, tailored to special problem structure, can further reduce the complexity. We will discuss applications in signal processing and control that are usually handled via semidefinite programming formulations and interior-point methods. We will also discuss implications of self-dual structure for primal-dual first-order methods, motivated by the importance of self-dual embedding in modern interior-point solvers.

April 24th, 2025

Speaker: Maciej Zworski (UC Berkeley)

Host: Michael Hitrik

Title: TBA

Abstract. TBA

May 1st, 2025

Speaker: Fred Diamond (KCL (London))

Host: Chandrashekhar Khare

Title: TBA

Abstract. TBA

May 15th, 2025

Speaker: Ryan Tibshirani (UC Berkeley)

Title: TBA

Abstract. TBA

May 22nd, 2025 (in conjunction with the Distinguished Lecture Series)

Speaker: Robert Lazarsfeld (Stony Brook University)

Host: Terence Tao

Title: Further developments and open problems

Abstract. I will survey some further developments on these matters, and discuss some of the many open problems that present themselves.

May 29th, 2025 

Speaker: Jamie Haddock (Harvey Mudd College)

Host: Guido Montufar

Title: TBA

Abstract. TBA

Past Colloquiums