Math Colloquium - "Google’s $25 Billion Eigenvector" by Dr. Paul Pearson, Math Department

Why is Google the most popular search engine?  It uses an algorithm that delivers the most important and relevant results at the top of the list.  What criteria should determine the importance of a web page?  How can these criteria be quantified so that web pages can be ranked by importance?  We will discuss the Google PageRank algorithm, the linear algebra used in its construction and the reasons why it is so successful.