A series of talks on OR-related topics. For more information see: https://orc.mit.edu/seminars-events/

Speaker: Sourav Chatterjee (Stanford)Title: Neural networks can learn any low complexity patternAbstract:Neural networks have taken over the world, but research on why they work so well is still in its infancy. I will present a baby step in this direction, based on joint work with my student Tim Sudijono. We show, with quantitative bounds, that a certain kind of neural network can quickly learn any pattern that can be expressed as a short program. An example is as follows. Let N be a large number, and suppose we have data consisting of a sample of X’s and Y’s, where each X is a randomly chosen number between 1 and N, and the corresponding Y is 1 if X is a prime and 0 if not. The sample size n is negligible compared to N. If we fit a neural network to this data which is “sparsest” in a suitable sense, it turns out that the network will be able to accurately predict if a newly chosen X is a prime or not, with a sample of size as small as (log N)^2 — even though the network does not know, a priori, that we are asking it to detect primality. The talk will be accessible to those with no background in neural networks; I will define all necessary concepts.*Pre-reception held in 2-290 at 4pm.

Speaker: Jane Shi (MIT)Title: Katz's proof of the Riemann hypothesis for curvesAbstract:Reference: Katz, A Note on Riemann Hypothesis for Curves and Hypersurfaces Over Finite Fields, Sections 1-4.

Speaker: Chi Hong Chow (Virginia Tech)Title: Mirror symmetry and Gamma conjectures for flag varietiesAbstract: Mirror symmetry predicts that the quantum 𝐷-module of a Fano manifold should be isomorphic to the Gauss-Manin system of its mirror Landau-Ginzburg model. Furthermore, the Betti integral structure on the latter should correspond to an explicit integral structure on the former involving the Gamma class. Closely related is Gamma conjecture I proposed by Galkin, Golyshev and Iritani. In this talk, I will discuss this story in the context of flag varieties.

Fireside chat with Tang Tan, OpenAI Chief Hardware Officer, former Apple VP of iPhone Product Design, and MIT Course 2 alum.

Create solutions for a better future! Explore the intersection of art and social entrepreneurship with IDEAS Social Innovation Challenge and the Arts Startup Incubator. Hear from program managers about each one’s offerings—funding, mentorship, workshops, and stakeholder engagement—while you eat snacks and meet other students with creative ideas for positive change.MIT alum Blake Blaze will share about his experience participating in both programs with two different ventures: Front Row Fantasy, an interactive music discovery platform for up-and-coming artists, and SamWise, a personalized education platform for incarcerated students.October 16, 2025 5–6:15pm | E38-579 | iHQ Fifth Floor