Other Mathematics Commons^™

Problem Of The Week: A Student-Led Initiative To Bring Mathematics To A Broader Audience, Jordan M. Sahs, Brad Horner

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Problem of the Week (POW!) is a weekly undergraduate mathematics competition hosted by two graduate students from the UNO Math Department. It started with the goal to showcase variety, creativity, and intrigue in math to those who normally feel math is dry, rote, and formulaic. Problems shine light on both hidden gems and popular recreational math, both math history and contemporary research, both iconic topics and nontraditional ones, both pure abstraction and real-world application. Now POW! aims to increase availability and visibility in Omaha and beyond. Select problems from Fall 2021 to Spring 2023 are highlighted here: these received noteworthy …

Using Graph Theoretical Methods And Traceroute To Visually Represent Hidden Networks, Jordan M. Sahs

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Within the scope of a Wide Area Network (WAN), a large geographical communication network in which a collection of networking devices communicate data to each other, an example being the spanning communication network, known as the Internet, around continents. Within WANs exists a collection of Routers that transfer network packets to other devices. An issue pertinent to WANs is their immeasurable size and density, as we are not sure of the amount, or the scope, of all the devices that exists within the network. By tracing the routes and transits of data that traverses within the WAN, we can identify …

Unomaha Problem Of The Week (2021-2022 Edition), Brad Horner, Jordan M. Sahs

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The University of Omaha math department's Problem of the Week was taken over in Fall 2019 from faculty by the authors. The structure: each semester (Fall and Spring), three problems are given per week for twelve weeks, with each problem worth ten points - mimicking the structure of arguably the most well-regarded university math competition around, the Putnam Competition, with prizes awarded to top-scorers at semester's end. The weekly competition was halted midway through Spring 2020 due to COVID-19, but relaunched again in Fall 2021, with massive changes.

Now there are three difficulty tiers to POW problems, roughly corresponding to …

Optimizing Networking Topologies With Shortest Path Algorithms, Jordan Sahs

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Communication networks tend to contain redundant devices and mediums of transmission, thus the need to locate, document, and optimize networks is increasingly becoming necessary. However, many people do not know where to start the optimization progress. What is network topology? What is this “Shortest Path Problem”, and how can it be used to better my network? These questions are presented, taught, and answered within this paper. To supplement the reader’s understanding there are thirty-eight figures in the paper that are used to help convey and compartmentalize the learning process needed to grasp the materials presented in the ending sections.

In …

Heterogeneous Boolean Networks With Two Totalistic Rules, Katherine Toh

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Boolean Networks are being used to analyze models in biology, economics, social sciences, and many other areas. These models simplify the reality by assuming that each element in the network can take on only two possible values, such as ON and OFF. The node evolution is governed by its interaction with other nodes in its neighborhood, which is described mathematically by a Boolean function or rule. For simplicity reasons, many models assume that all nodes follow the same Boolean rule. However, real networks often use more than one Boolean rule and therefore are heterogeneous networks. Heterogeneous networks have not yet …

Fourier Series Expansion Methods For The Heat And Wave Equations In Two And Three Dimensions On Spherical Domains, Matthew Eller

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Description: The Fourier series expansion method is an invaluable approach to solving partial differential equations, including the heat and wave equations. For homogeneous heat and wave equations, the solution can readily be found through separation of variables and then expansion of the solution in terms of the eigenfunctions. Solutions to inhomogeneous heat and wave equations through Fourier series expansion methods were not readily available in the literature for two- and three-dimensional cases. In my previous paper, I developed an approach for solving inhomogeneous heat and wave equations on cubic domains using Fourier series expansion methods. I shall extend my …

Forensics Analysis For Bone Pair Matching Using Bipartite Graphs In Commingled Remains, Ryan Ernst

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Identification of missing prisoners of war is a complex and time consuming task. There are many missing soldiers whose remains have yet to be returned to their families and loved ones. This nation has a solemn obligation to its soldiers and their families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. There are currently over 82,000 unidentified prisoners of war which are identified at a rate of 100+ per year. At this rate it would take 300+ years to complete the identification process. Previously, anthropologists used excel spreadsheets to sort through skeletal data. This project aims to streamline the …