Conference: Groups, Actions, and Geometries

Tufts University, Medford MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides funding for the conference “Groups, Actions, and Geometries”, which will take place at Tufts University in Medford, MA, from 8/7/2023 to 8/11/2023. The event will bring together graduate students, postdocs, and faculty interested in the study of infinite groups via geometric and topological methods. While the field is relatively recent, it has already delivered major contributions to other areas of mathematics. This event will be an opportunity to make further progress, strengthen the community, and train a new generation of mathematicians. A major feature will be the interaction between early career and more senior researchers via dedicated networking, mentoring, and collaborative activities. Three mini-courses and nine research talks will introduce the next generation of promising mathematicians to the most exciting topics and active researchers in geometric group theory. The tentative topics for the mini-courses are: 1) virtual algebraic fibering of groups, an algebraic analogue to topological fibering of manifolds; 2) Artin groups, a family of groups vastly generalizing braid groups and right-angled Artin groups; 3) locally compact groups, a powerful framework for the study of finitely generated groups acting by isometries on metric spaces. The principal aims of the conference will be to facilitate in-person interactions between participants, attract and maintain new mathematical talent and encourage a diverse group of early career researchers. To this end, the conference will feature problem sessions attached to the mini-courses, poster presentations for early career participants, thematic lunches, and a panel discussion. With more than half of the speakers and organizers of this conference from underrepresented groups in mathematics, the conference organizers are proud to represent the diversity of their field. 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.