The Legacy of Bernhard Riemann After One Hundred and Fifty Years

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

The conference "The Legacy of Bernhard Riemann after One Hundred and Fifty Years" will be held at Tsinghua Sanya International Mathematics Forum with dates December 27-30, 2015. There are only a few mathematicians in history whose work is still intensively studied after 150 years in its original form and continue to provide inspiration to generations to come. Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866) is one such mathematician. In this conference, young mathematicians and students will get both deep insights and gain inspiration from Riemann's work. The event will provide a forum to discuss future directions of development of mathematics and their interaction with physics. The URL for the event website is: http://ymsc.tsinghua.edu.cn/sanya/2015/LBR2015/synopsis_organizers.aspx One only need think of concepts such as Riemann surfaces, Riemannian manifolds, the Riemann integral, and the Riemann zeta function to realize the depth and breadth of Riemann's work. Indeed, Riemann's contributions have set the foundations of entire areas of mathematics which are actively studied. Among these, Riemann's study of the geometry of space has evolved into one of the most important problems in geometry and theoretical physics: what is the geometry of space-time that can simultaneously explain the very small scale physics (quantum physics) and very large scale physics (cosmology as explained by general relativity)? The organizers expect this problem to be a major driving force of geometry and theoretical physics in this century. This conference will feature a number of distinguished speakers, including Professor Edward Witten of the Institute for Advanced Study. The activity will put Riemann's work into proper perspective, while attracting a younger generation of mathematicians to these subjects, and providing a forum to discuss future directions of development of mathematics and their interaction with physics.