Marlos Viana

Email Address: viana@uic.edu
College: Medicine Department: Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Secondary Department: Pharmacy Practice
Title: Associate Professor
Office: 3.77 EEI M/C Phone: 9968384
Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: Yes

Research Interest:
Symmetry Studies: This research program combines algebraic, statistical, and probabilistic methods applicable to the analysis of experimental data that are subject to symmetry considerations. Applications of the methods include several areas ranging from the study of short symbolic sequences such as DNA frequency counts, to interpretations and decompositions of entropy, the study of preference data, the study of symmetry preferences, space orientation, molecular handedness, and the study of refractive profiles and curvature models for the cornea, among others theoretical applications. The student will have the opportunity to explore several applications of symmetry matching his/her particular interests in physics, biology, chemistry, or mathematics. A sample of some of these applications, at the undergraduate level, is available here http://symmetrystudies.blogspot.com/
The students will also have the opportunity to be introduced to computational tools using specialized symbolic logic software such as Maple or Mathematica and typesetting software such as LaTeX for professional presentation of their research results.

Minimum time commitment in hours per week: 3-

Qualifications of a Student:
Basic sciences major with basic calculus and linear algebra courses, interest in leaning introductory abstract algebra and applying mathematics to explore the role of symmetry in science.

Brief Summary of what is expected from the student:
Students will devote some time to reading the introductory chapters of "Symmetry Studies" (Viana, Cambridge Press, 2008), with the purpose of relating their content to an area of application of interest to the student (e.g., molecular biology, optics, chemistry, game theory). Students will eventually devote some effort to develop computational tools using Maple or Mathematica, and to preparing technical reports of publication quality using typesetting software (LaTeX).

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