NSF/CBMS Regional Conference in the Mathematical Sciences-"Structure and Decomposition of Graphs"- June 18-22,2002

East Tennessee State University, Johnson City TN

Investigators

Abstract

The NSF-CBMS Regional Research Conference, Structure and Decompositions of Graphs, to be held during the period August 12--16 2002 at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), will: feature ten keynote lectures by one of the most prominent researchers in structural graph theory; allow mathematicians at ETSU to utilize their past experience with CBMS and other conferences to offer a very high level of organization; bring together a diverse collection of researchers into a communion of learning; and attract a group of scientists with primary interests in a variety of fields. The Principal Lecturer (PL) Robin Thomas of the Georgia Institute of Technology will deliver ten cohesive lectures that build bridges between various fields; expose the audience to dominant themes and trends in graph theory; and lay the foundation for many research partnerships. A dedicated and inspirational researcher, Robin's impact on future generations of mathematical talent is already evident. His dynamic lectures are well known for their organization and easy availability. The conference lectures will survey major ideas and recent results in the area of graph structure and decompositions. Topics to be covered in depth include graph planarity; tree decompositions; the graph minors project; spatial embeddings of graphs; Pfaffian orientations; and a tantalizing set of possibilities for directed graphs. The PL has agreed to deliver to the CBMS a monograph entitled "Structure and Decompositions of Graphs" by June 1, 2003; it will subsequently be published by the AMS. He will give two lectures on each of the five days of the conference. Several leading authorities will be present at the conference, and there will be four invited auxiliary talks that put the keynote lectures in an even wider perspective. Lectures will be held in a multi-media classroom in the D.P. Culp Student Center on the ETSU campus. Three classrooms will be set aside all week for informal discussions between participants. Attendees will stay in single efficiency-style apartments on campus; eat three meals in the Culp Center cafeteria; have full access to the ETSU athletic and library facilities; and have accounts in the Departmental Technology Lab. Several organized social activities will be planned, including sharing the region's beauty on a three hour hike of the Appalachian Trail. A conference website will be created and updated regularly as attendees reap the benefits of Thomas' lectures by starting research projects; publishing papers, etc.