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Computing Research Leadership Council Seminar Series

October 26, 2022 - 1:00pm

The UC Merced SIAM Student chapter is excited to announce that Dr. Jennifer Loe (Senior Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories) will (virtually) present "Linear Algebra and Computing: Behind the Scenes", as part of the Sustainable Horizons Institute's Computing Research Leadership Council (CRLC) series. If you will be attending in person, please join us in Granite Pass 103. If you will otherwise join the event virtually by zoom, please note that registration is required via the registration link. The talk will take place Wednesday, October 26th from 1:00-2:30 pm (Pacific Time), followed by a thirty-minute conversation in which participants will have the opportunity to ask Dr. Loe questions about her professional experiences as a mathematician at a national laboratory. This event will be hosted by the UC Merced SIAM Student Chapter, see the attached flyer for further information.

Abstract

From vectors and matrices to eigenvalues and eigenvectors, linear algebra forms the foundation of many large-scale computing applications. In this talk, we introduce numerical linear algebra by exploring questions about solving linear systems A x = b. How does a computer solve a very large system of linear equations? It isn't by using the Gauss-Jordan elimination technique you learned in pre-calculus! Does a computer always have enough memory to store every number in a matrix? Learn beginning concepts of sparsity and data compression. Do computers always calculate exact answers? Discover the perils of unstable algorithms and ill-conditioned problems. This presentation introduces linear algebra and computing at a student-friendly level. Participants who are familiar with solving small linear systems by hand should find the basic talk accessible. The material can be adapted to incorporate advanced applications for students taking undergraduate or graduate-level courses in linear algebra.

Topical Areas

Applied & Computational Math; Computational Science & Engineering; High Performance Computing

Topic/Methods/Domain

Numerical Linear Algebra, Linear Algebra, Krylov Solver, Sparse Linear Solvers, Iterative Methods, Preconditioning, Numerical Analysis

Presenter Biography

Jennifer Loe is a Senior Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories. She completed her Ph.D. in mathematics at Baylor University in 2019. In January 2020, she became a postdoc in the Scalable Algorithms department at Sandia's Center for Computing Research and converted to full staff in February 2022. Jennifer primarily works in numerical linear algebra, with a focus on Krylov solvers for sparse linear systems. She is a developer of the Belos package for iterative linear solvers in Trilinos and has also contributed to Kokkos Kernels. When not at work, she enjoys visiting the zoo and aquarium, speaking in Toastmasters, and volunteering for Big Brothers, Big Sisters.