GAGTA 2018: Geometric and Asymptotic Group Theory with Applications

University Of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville VA

Investigators

Abstract

The funded conference "GAGTA 2018: Geometric and Asymptotic Group Theory with Applications" will take place July 16-20 at Korea Institute for Advanced Study in Seoul, Korea. The conference will bring together leading researchers as well as early career mathematicians and graduate students from all over the world. The primary goal of the conference is to discuss recent developments at the interface of algebra, geometry, and industrial and applied mathematics. The international venue and diverse array of speakers and participants will facilitate the formation of many collaborative relationships, provide ample opportunity for mentorship and career development for early career mathematicians, and foster international cooperation. The broad scope of the conference will encourage interdisciplinary research developments. The inclusion of an applied portion has far-reaching practical applications far beyond theoretical mathematics. The NSF funds awarded will serve to defray the travel costs of US participants. The organizers will give priority to graduate students and early career mathematicians, as well as participants from underrepresented groups. Braid groups sit at the center of a deep web of connections between group theory, algebraic geometry, and applied mathematics. The subfields involved in this web include CAT(0) geometry, geometric group theory, mapping class group theory, low dimensional dynamical systems, knot theory, singularity theory, complex geometry, industrial mixing theory, and cryptography. In recent years, there have been many exciting developments in all of these fields, though many questions persist and a plethora of new avenues of research has been opened. The funded conference will bring together a large variety of researchers, from established leaders to early career mathematicians and graduate students. The purpose of the conference is to expose and train researchers in the many facets of the theory of braid groups, and to forge new and productive collaborative relationships which will promote and develop the theory and applications of braids. All the fields described above will be represented among the research talks. Conference website: http://gagta.cayley.kr This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.