UWM College of Letters and Science

A few years ago, scientists discovered mysterious objects sending short bursts of radio waves at distinct intervals. Thanks to UWM College of Letters and Science professor David Kaplan and an international cohort of astronomers, we’re finally getting a glimpse of what is producing these energy bursts. Read more at the link in the comments 👇

Join us on Monday, August 17th, at 10:00am in EMS E495 for Menalu Mekcha's MS Thesis Defense!

Title:
On the Combinatorics of Restricted Skew Dyck Paths

Abstract:
This thesis studies the enumerative combinatorics of skew and restricted Dyck path families. Beginning with classical Dyck paths, non-decreasing Dyck paths, and domino tilings, we review their connections to Catalan numbers and odd-indexed Fibonacci numbers. For partial skew Dyck paths, we use Prodinger’s decorated path framework and the kernel method to obtain level-by-level generating functions and a structural bijection explaining the level recurrence.
The main contribution concerns restricted skew Dyck paths whose valley heights form a non-decreasing sequence. By tracking semi-length and peak count, we derive the bivariate generating function S_UD(x,y)=xy(1-2x)/((1-2x)^2-xy(1-x)). Setting y=1 recovers the total enumeration as a Fibonacci binomial sum. Finally, extracting row polynomials from this generating function shows that the double-indexed array s_UD(n,m) gives a combinatorial realization of OEIS triangle A114164.

Event Title: The Galactic Underworld: Finding Invisible Black Holes
Speaker: Kareem El-Badry (Assistant Professor of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology; 2025 MacArthur Fellow)

Sponsor: Leonard E. Parker Center for Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Date & Time:
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Reception at 6:30 PM
Program starts at 7 PM

Location:
UWM Lubar Entrepreneurship Center
2100 E. Kenwood Blvd
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Email for Questions:
[email protected]

Event web page: https://uwm.edu/galacticunderworld

Event registration link: https://forms.gle/hfZtmX1fa9R15dBo6

📢 Attention all UWM grad students! 📢
 
We’re dropping our 2026-27 call for grad-led public humanities programming early this year to maximize percolation time for the ideas you want to bring to life.

We welcome UWM Master’s & Doctoral students across all disciplines to submit proposals for public humanities programming that takes up our 2026–27 theme: Slow Action. 
 
How might the humanities help us enact organizing as a form of care? What does it look like to build actionable pathways that are anchored in shared values, yet open to change? How do attention and pace shape what’s possible as we face the most pressing challenges of our time?
 
We’re looking for programming that: 
    •    is rooted in humanities practices 
    •    is public-facing & accessible 
    •    is achievable by May 28, 2027
    •    can occur, be presented, or be distributed during C21’s Day of Action, a celebration of the Slow Action theme (ED May 2027)

 
The deadline to apply is Nov. 1, 2026. For more information and to apply, check out the link in our bio! College of Letters & Science

Join us next Thursday, August 6th, at 9:30am in EMS E495 for Monica Cabria's MS Thesis Defense!

Title:
Convergences groups and Gromov Hyperbolic Spaces

Abstract:
This thesis investigates the relationship between convergence group actions and hyperbolic spaces. Since the 1990s, this relationship has been a significant theme in geometric group theory, revealing deep connections between geometry and dynamics. The goal of this thesis is to provide a streamlined introduction to these ideas and to clarify the proofs of several foundational results.
In particular, we discuss a theorem of Tukia and Freden showing that properly discontinuous actions on hyperbolic spaces induce convergence group actions on their boundaries, and a theorem of Bowditch characterizing convergence group actions through the induced action on the space of distinct triples. Together, these results illustrate how geometric properties of hyperbolic spaces are reflected in the dynamics of group actions on their boundaries.

Congratulations to our own Thomas Haigh who, along with his RetroLab, is spotlighted in an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today (https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2026/07/20/clunky-computers-vintage-video-games-tech-goes-retro-in-quirky-uwm-lab/90878999007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119553p004450c004450e1164xxv119553d--46--b--46--&gca-ft=242&gca-ds=sophi)

What Can You Do with a Philosophy Major? Every year, graduates from the College of Letters & Science enter the workforce and begin to contribute thousands of dollars to their local, state, and national economies. They bring the skills and knowledge they gained at UW-Milwaukee to their jobs, …