Underrepresented Students In Topology and Algebra Research Symposium (USTARS)

University Of San Diego, San Diego CA

Investigators

Abstract

The sixth annual meeting of the Underrepresented Students in Topology and Algebra Research Symposium (USTARS) is to be held at Sam Houston State University on April 15-17, 2016. Speakers will give 30-minute research talks in various subfields of topology and algebra; these subfields include algebraic combinatorics, enumerative geometry, knot theory, and representation theory. Two distinguished graduate students will give hour-long presentations and one invited faculty member, Dr. Abakuse Mbrika of the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, will give a one-hour keynote address. Invited undergraduate researchers will participate in a poster session. USTARS promotes diversity within the mathematical community by providing a platform for collaboration and professional development. Participants are exposed to a variety of current research, ideas, and results, and meet underrepresented professors and students who will become future collaborators or colleagues. The conference also promotes diversity by encouraging women and minorities to attend and give talks. Indeed, the conference organizing committee is diverse in gender, ethnicity, and educational background, and hence is well-positioned to encourage participation from a diverse group of students. The participants of the conference will continue to influence the next generation of students by serving as much needed mentors and encouraging students in the mathematical sciences to advance themselves and participate in research and conference events. The primary goal of the symposium is to showcase the mathematical research being conducted by underrepresented graduate students. This is done by structuring the meeting so that speakers will give 30-minute parallel research talks focusing on research leading to their graduate theses. Graduate students will give at least 75% of these presentations. Topics of prior years' presentations include: combinatorics, braid groups, graph theory, knot theory, representation theory, number theory, and algebraic geometry. In addition to the parallel sessions, two distinguished graduate students and one invited faculty member are chosen to give 1-hour lectures and a poster session featuring invited undergraduates is also planned. Given the high quality and diversity of talks and participants "The Underrepresented Students in Topology and Algebra Research Symposium (USTARS) Invited Volume" was created in 2014. This is a new series aimed specifically at disseminating the research of USTARS participants. The intention of this Invited Volume is to provide graduate students with an opportunity to publish their results in order to further their development as mathematical researchers. In light of this, a yearly online volume will be published at the conclusion of each annual research symposium. http://www.ustars.org