Midwest Geometry Conference 2019-2021

Iowa State University, Ames IA

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides support for participants for the next three installments of the Midwest Geometry Conference, which will be hosted by Iowa State University in 2019, Wichita State University in 2020, and Kansas State University in 2021. The Midwest Geometry Conference series began in 1991. Each conference is devoted to several topics in the broad area of geometry, which is the mathematical study of shapes and their relative properties. The main goal of this series is to create a focused environment in which graduate students, recent Ph.D.'s, and faculty in the Midwest can benefit from a lively exchange of ideas and from contact with leading geometers and topologists outside the region. The conference will have a mix of longer presentations by experts and shorter presentations by graduate students, with plenty of time for discussion between the talks. In addition, the organizers of the conference are deeply committed to fostering a more inclusive community in mathematics and have made it a goal to ensure the participation of women, underrepresented and minorities groups at all levels (participants, speakers, and organizers). In these conferences, the term geometry is interpreted broadly and includes Riemannian geometry, relativity theory, differential topology, gauge theory, geometric partial differential equations, free boundary problems, phase transitions, nonlocal minimal surfaces and related fields. The subject has many applications in general relativity, image processing, computer science, biology and climatology, for example. Because of the broad variety of topics, each conference will focus on a different aspect and the organizers will spend time at the conference to finalize plans for the next conference, as well as managing the overall series. The structure of the rather large organizing committee allows senior faculty with considerable experience planning conferences to help junior faculty with less experience. The overall expectation is that the Midwest Geometry Conference will be a welcoming setting in which to discuss ideas, share advances in theory and applications, build a strong research network, and start new collaborations and mentoring projects. The conference webpage is at https://stinga.public.iastate.edu/MGC2019.html. 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.