This episode, Breaking Math does a deep dive of “Towards equilibrium molecular conformation generation with GFlowNets” by Volokova et al in Digital Discovery Journal by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Hosts Autumn and Gabriel explore the intersection of molecular conformations and machine learning. They discuss traditional methods like molecular dynamics and cheminformatics, and introduce generative flow networks (GFlowNets) as a revolutionary approach to molecular confirmation generation. The conversation highlights empirical results demonstrating the effectiveness of GFlowNets, their scalability, and the importance of energy estimators in computational chemistry and drug discovery.

Keywords: molecular conformations, machine learning, GFlowNets, computational chemistry, drug discovery, molecular dynamics, cheminformatics, energy estimators, empirical results, scalability, math, mathematics, physics, AI

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You can find the paper “Towards equilibrium molecular conformation generation with GFlowNets” by Volokova et al in Digital Discovery Journal by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

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In this episode of Breaking Math, host Autumn sits down with authors Christophe Gole and Nancy Pick to explore the fascinating world of mathematical patterns in plants, inspired by their new book Do Plants Know Math?. Dive into the intersection of mathematics and biology, as they discuss the historical context of plant mathematics and how concepts like the Fibonacci sequence, the golden ratio, and spiral formations reveal nature's inherent mathematical beauty. The conversation uncovers the optimization of plant structures, the significance of women in mathematics, and includes insightful recommendations for further reading.

Tune in to learn how math in nature plays a pivotal role in shaping the world around us, from phyllotaxis to fractals, and the broader implications for AI, physics, and topology.

Keywords: mathematics, biology, plant math, Fibonacci, phylotaxis, spirals, golden ratio, fractals, nature, science, women in math,topology, ai, physics, math, plants, gardening

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You can connect with Christophe Gole and Nancy Pick on LinkedIn, and find their Book “Do Plants Know Math?” on Amazon.

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email: breakingmathpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Autumn chats with Dr. Paula Rowinska and discuss her journey from a PhD in mathematics to writing about math and cartography. They explore the intersection of these fields, addressing common misconceptions about map-making, the historical context of map projections, and the implications of mathematical concepts like the coastline paradox and gerrymandering. The discussion also highlights the contributions of underrepresented women in mathematics and emphasizes the importance of understanding math in everyday life.

Keywords: mathematics, cartography, map projections, coastline paradox, gerrymandering, women in math, traveling salesman problem, crime analysis, topology, metric map, ai, physics, math

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Follow Dr. Paula Rowinska at paulinarowinska.com and @PaulaRowinska on Twitter. You can also find her book Mapmatics on Amazon.

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email: breakingmathpodcast@gmail.com