Math Club Talk and Lunch, Wed Feb 23, Exley 139
Feb. 21, 2011 by ccanalia
Undergraduate Mathematics Colloquium
Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 12 pm
Exley Science Center – Room 139
Charles Puelz
Wesleyan Undergraduate
Oil Drilling and Mathematics
Abstract: Have you ever wondered how the gas in your car gets to the pump? First, it has to be found in nature, and to do this the oil industry employs an imaging technique using reflected acoustic waves. This requires solving the following inverse problem: constructing an image of the subsurface (hopefully containing oil) given data collected at receiver microphones.
In this talk we will give a general introduction to the subject of Inverse Theory, a topic of great current interest in applied mathematics. The we will discuss inverse problems in the field of reflection seismology. This will begin with an explanation of the experimental setup and data collection, and will conclude with a derivation of the imaging operators used to find oil in the subsurface.
As for background knowledge, intellectual curiosity is all that’s required; although, a basic understanding of linear algebra and analysis might be helpful.
ALL ARE INVITED.
LUNCH WILL BE SERVED.
The Undergraduate Mathematics Colloquium is a weekly gathering for all those whom are interested in mathematics. All students, irrespective of their mathematical background, are invited to attend and/or give a talk.
For more information, please contact Karen L. Collins ( kcollins@wesleyan.edu )
