Join us for our last talk before the new year, given by Justin Martel, a former graduate student at U of T. The talk will be Thursday, December 12th at 5:10pm in BA6180. Pizza will be served in the Graduate Lounge at 4:40pm.

Abstract: Is the distance from Toronto to Moscow today the same as the distance 2000 years ago? To the mathematician, ”Surely not!” when the distance is reckoned at 7500 kilometers ac- cording to the model globe in his office. But ”Distance” as- sumes entirely different dimensions when measured in terms of Energy-variables. A distance changes when the actual transit is taken into account. And how is it possible for the Hominid, capable of sustaining only an average of 75 Watts throughout an eight hour day, to transverse such great dis- tance?

This talk will describe, in simple terms, the principles of Optimal Transportation. We will focus on elementary physical models, energy, and Least Action Principles.