Emphasis Year in Probability Theory

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports participation in a one-day workshop, a three-day conference, and a two-week summer school held at Northwestern University during the period January through August, 2016. The meetings center on the topic of probability theory and have the goals of training junior mathematicians in the field and stimulating new research. Probability theory is a major branch of modern mathematics. It aims at a rigorous mathematical investigation of collective behavior of random phenomena and is one of the most applicable branches of science. The one-day workshop, to be held in February 2016, will feature four talks on the topic of nodal sets of random functions. The three day conference, to be held in May 2016, will feature twelve talks by experts on the topics of percolation, spin glasses, and random media, three central topics in probability. The Summer School in Probability, to be held in July 2016, will include five introductory mini-courses on various topics within geometric analysis, aimed at graduate students and recent PhD recipients. Award funds will be used primarily for the travel costs of attendees who are graduate students or postdoctoral scholars at US institutions. The organizing committee will seek broad and diverse participation in these activities, and will especially encourage the participation of women mathematicians and members of other under-represented groups. More information on these events, which are part of an Emphasis Year in Probability at Northwestern, can be found on the website: http://www.math.northwestern.edu/~auffing/emphasis.html In the last decades, probability theory has emerged as a central and core branch of mathematics. Part of its importance relies on the connection with several branches of science, including: mathematical physics, chemistry, statistics, economics, and other areas of mathematics. The programmed activities share and promote these connections. Percolation originated from the study of fluid flow on a porous media, spin glasses are disordered magnets that exhibit metastability and large complexity, while random media is a common background to study polymer models. The research on nodal sets of random functions goes back to the work of M. Kac on zeroes of random polynomials and share deep connections with semi-classical analysis and topology. These activities and topics present an excellent opportunity to bring graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to the forefront of research in probability theory.