*********************************************************************

************************* Special Date/Time/Venue **********************

 

                                                        Joint Seminar

 

                                                Department of Statistics

                                                               and                  

        Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management,

                                The Chinese University of Hong Kong

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Title: The Brain, the Universe, and Random Processes on Manifolds

Speaker: Prof. Robert J. Adler

               Technion, Israel

Date  :    September 1st, 2006 (Friday)

Time  :   4:00pm -- 5:00pm.

Venue :  Lecture Theatre 3,  Lady Shaw Building

              The Chinese University of Hong Kong

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract:

 

I shall start with the observation that, from a statistical point of

view, mapping the human brain and analyzing the COBE (Cosmic

Background Explorer) data over the entire universe are equivalent

problems. The next step will be to convince you that while handling

the brain involves looking at an eight dimensional Whitney stratified

manifold, the universe is only a five dimensional problem.  Along the

way, I shall explain what a Whitney stratified manifold is. In the

third step I shall give the best solution to date (and perhaps the

best possible) to finding sharp and practical estimates for the

probability that the suprema of Gaussian random fields over such

manifolds exceeds given levels, a problem that has been around, albeit

in simpler forms, for over 70 years. To conclude, we shall see what

this says about brains and the first few moments after the ¡®Big

Bang¡¯ and also look at some open problems.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

************************  ALL ARE WELCOME  **********************

 

Enquiries: Mr. Peixiang Zhao or Prof. Jeffrey Xu Yu,

           Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management

           CUHK

Email:     seg5810@se.cuhk.edu.hk

Website:   http://www.se.cuhk.edu.hk/~seg5810

 

******************************************************************