Dynamical Systems Seminars

Fall 2026

The Dynamical Systems seminar is held on Monday afternoons at 4:00 PM in CCDS 548 . There will be a brief tea in CCDS 548 at 3:45PM.

• September 14th Jie Zang (Brown University)
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• September 21st Greg Handy (U of Minnesota - Twin Cities) - TALK CANCELLED DUE TO BU SNOW DAY, we plan to reschedule later in the semester.
  Title: Glial ensheathment of inhibitory synapses drives hyperactivity and increases correlations
  Abstract: Recent evidence shows that glial cells actively modulate neuronal dynamics. A recent study notably found that during and after anesthesia, microglia ensheath inhibitory synapses, disrupting neurotransmitter flow. In this talk, I will develop computational models that explore how this ensheathment affects neuronal dynamics. Extending a microscale synaptic cleft model, I show that ensheathment accelerates synaptic transmission but reduces its strength. I will then integrate this microscale model into a large network of exponential integrate-and-fire neurons, which introduces heterogeneous synaptic parameters determined by glial proximity, and extend linear response theory to analyze firing rates and noise correlations. I will show that this model reproduces the experimental finding that increased glial ensheathment of inhibitory synapses leads to hyperactivity and predicts significant increases in power spectrum magnitude across task-relevant frequencies, suggesting glial-driven synaptic plasticity is an underappreciated mechanism for modulating cortical dynamics.
  

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• September 28th Weiqi Chu (U. Mass. Amherst)
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• October 5th TBA ()
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• October 12th No Seminar - Indig. People's Day ()
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• October 19th Mark Levi ()
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• October 26th TBA ()
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• November 2nd Saleh Sina (Harvard University)
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• November 9th TBA ()
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• November 16th Binan Gu (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• November 23rd Semyon Dyatlov (MIT)
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• November 30th TBA ()
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

• December 7th TBA ()
  Title: TBA
  Abstract: TBA

  Directions to BU Math Dept.

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  Speakers from previous years

  

  BU Dynamical Systems Home Page
  

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  BU Mathematics Department Home Page