Real algebraic (and semi-algebraic) geometry studies subsets of R^n defined by a finite number of polynomial equalities and inequalities. Such sets occur ubiquitously in practice both inside and outside of mathematics. While being easy to define, semi-algebraic sets can be complicated topologically, which restricts the application of many algorithms. In recent years, there has been progress in proving much stronger results – both quantitative and algorithmic -- when the problem under consideration involves the invariance under some group action.

In this workshop, we plan to focus on two situations where this phenomenon happens.

The first one is the statistical study of the topology of random real algebraic varieties as well as semi-algebraic sets, where the polynomials defining these objects are picked from a distribution invariant under the action of a certain group (usually the orthogonal group) acting on the space of variables. The behavior of the set of zeros (or more... (more)

The structure of free resolutions plays an important role in analyzing singularities of varieties of low codimension. Codimension 2 Cohen-Macaulay varieties (resp. codimension 3 Gorenstein varieties) come from rank conditions on an n x (n+1) matrix (resp. a skew-symmetric (2n+1) x (2n+1) matrix).

This workshop seeks to push such results to Cohen-Macaulay varieties of codimension 3 and Gorenstein varieties of codimension 4.

This problem turns out to be related to the classification of semi-simple Lie algebras. These new methods allow one to create a ‘map’ of free resolutions of a given format. The calculations that arise are very demanding and require new computational methods involving both commutative algebra and representation theory.

The organizers have shared two sets of notes for attendees to review before the workshop. These are downloadable here:

• Notes on... (more)

The Women in Algebraic Geometry Collaborative Research Workshop will bring together researchers in algebraic geometry to work in groups of 4-6, each led by one or two senior mathematicians. The goals of this workshop are: to advance the frontiers of modern algebraic geometry, including through explicit computations and experimentation, and to strengthen the community of women and non-binary mathematicians working in algebraic geometry. This workshop capitalizes on momentum from a series of recent events for women in algebraic geometry, starting in 2015 with the IAS Program for Women in Mathematics on algebraic geometry.

Successful applicants will be assigned to a group based on their research interests. The groups will work on open-ended projects in diverse areas of current interest, including moduli spaces and combinatorics, degenerations, and birational geometry. Several of the proposed projects extensively involve experimentation and computation, which will increase the likelihood... (more)

Experimental geometry labs create an environment ripe for students and faculty to treat mathematics as a laboratory science. Visualization and computational pattern discovery help guide research, formulate conjectures and develop ideas in proofs. In addition to research, experimental geometry labs foster community engagement via grassroots outreach activities in local schools, libraries, and museums. These activities spread the wonder and excitement of mathematics to people both within and outside the academy.

This workshop is partially supported by the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the College of Science at George Mason University.

For this workshop, ICERM welcomes applications from undergraduates, graduates, postdocs, and faculty who wish to participate. Undergraduate students and graduate students who apply should ask their advisor to submit a statement of support by July 3. We will ask students to present their work.

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This workshop brings together two distinct streams of mathematics - on the one hand, the classical rigidity theory of bar-joint frameworks in combinatorics and discrete geometry, and on the other the theory of generalized circle packings that arose from the study of 3-manifolds in geometric topology.

Combinatorial and Geometric rigidity theory is concerned with the local and global uniqueness of congruence classes of frameworks as solutions to their underlying geometric constraint system.

The focal point of circle packing theory is the Koebe-Andre'ev-Thurston Theorem that gives conditions that guarantee the existence and rigidity of circle packings on closed surfaces in the pattern of a given triangulation of the surface.

A scattering of results in recent years has started to forge connections between these research areas. The main aim of the workshop is to develop a cross-fertilization of such ideas, with particular emphasis on the rigidity of inversive distance packings. As well... (more)

In the last decade, there have been several important breakthroughs in Number Theory, where progress on long-standing open problems has been achieved by utilizing ideas originated in the theory of dynamical systems on homogeneous spaces, and their application to lattice point counting and distribution.

The aim of this workshop is to expose young researchers to these fields and provide them with the necessary background from dynamics, number theory, and geometry to allow them to appreciate some of the recent advancements, and prepare them to make new original contributions.

The workshop will include four mini-courses on the topics

1) Dynamics and lattice point counting 2) Thermodynamic formalism 3) Diophantine approximation 4) Fine-scale statistics in number theory and dynamics

In addition, there will be a number of research and expository talks. The talks will emphasize the role that computation and experiment have thus far played in stating key conjectures and establishing key... (more)

A short history of equilibrium computation. The computation of economic equilibrium is making a spectacular comeback in economics, mathematics and computer science. The availability of massive real-time datasets and the affordability of computing power, including parallel computation, has made it possible to implement and build on an effort that had been stalled since the end of the 1970s. But even more than the new technical possibilities, it is the novel applications to online platforms and market design tools that led to the surge of interest in computation. Pricing engines like Uber’s, matchmakers like OkCupid, allocation mechanisms like those that are used by public school districts – all need to compute an equilibrium problem.

While the problem of equilibrium computation is hard in general, a particular instance of the problem, namely the gross substitutes property, makes it analytically tractable and computable in practice, while able to cover a large number of... (more)

Liquid crystals (LCs) are classic examples of partially ordered materials that combine the fluidity of liquids with the long-range order of solids, and have great potential to enable new materials and technological devices. A variety of LC phases exist, e.g. nematics, smectics, cholesterics, with a rich range of behavior when subjected to external fields, curved boundaries, mechanical strain, etc. Recently, new systems came into focus, such as bent-core LC phases, twist-bend-modulated nematics, chromonics and polymer-stabilized blue phases, with more to be discovered.

Best known for applications in displays, LCs have recently been proposed for new applications in biology, nanoscience and beyond, such as biosensors, actuators, drug delivery, and bacterial control (related to active matter). Indeed, it is believed that the LC nature of DNA once enabled the mother of all applications, namely life itself. New numerical methods and scientific computation is needed to guide new theory and... (more)

Mathematical modelers face a variety of challenges, including summarizing large data sets to understand and explore a system of interest, inferring the model parameters most accurate for describing a given data set, and assessing the goodness-of-fit between data sets. Computational topology provides a lens through which these challenges may be addressed. At the same time, just as topological techniques provide opportunities for modelers, the challenges that modelers face give rise to opportunities for applied topologists. For instance, topologists may develop techniques that make model predictions based on the topology of experimental or simulation data, that analyze time-varying data, or that turn model outputs into formats suitable for machine learning.

This workshop brings together the applied mathematical modeling and applied topology communities, aiming to give modelers exposure to topological techniques still not commonly used in their community, and to give topologists exposure... (more)

WiSDM 2019 is a research collaboration workshop targeted toward people working in data science and mathematics. This program will bring together researchers at all stages of their careers, from graduate students to senior researchers, to collaborate on problems in data science.

Data science is typically characterized as work at the intersection of mathematics, computer science, statistics, and an application domain. The scientific focus will be on cutting-edge problems in network analysis for gene detection, group dynamics, graph clustering, novel statistical and topological learning algorithms, tensor product decompositions, reconciliation of assurance of anonymity and privacy with utility measures for data transfer and analytics, as well as efficient and accurate completion, inference and fusion methods for large data and correlations.

Applications are now open. Applicants should rank their top 3 choices of projects in their personal statement. Project descriptions can be found... (more)

The Women in Symplectic and Contact Geometry and Topology workshop (WiSCon) is a Research Collaboration Conference for Women (RCCW) in the fields of contact and symplectic geometry/topology and related areas of low-dimensional topology. The goal of this workshop is to bring together researchers at various career stages in these mathematical areas to collaborate in groups on projects designed and led by leaders in the field.

The mathematical fields of symplectic and contact geometry/topology, rooted in concepts from classical physics, have experienced huge growth in the past few decades. This growth has come in many forms, including multiple flavors of homology theories, symplectic embedding problems, techniques for regularizing spaces of pseudoholomorphic curves, and examples of mirror symmetry, to name a few. This workshop aims to generate research collaborations which build on the growing momentum in these topics, while fostering a network for the traditionally underrepresented... (more)

Dehn surgery has played a central role in the development of low-dimensional topology since it was first introduced by Max Dehn in 1910. Its study has stimulated several fascinating techniques that incorporate ideas from across mathematics: hyperbolic geometry, representation varieties, combinatorics, sutured manifold theory, and Floer homology, to name a few. These tools have led to sensational progress in understanding problems about Dehn surgery and low-dimensional topology at large. Furthermore, they seem well-suited to attack the major open problems in the area, such as the Berge conjecture and the L-space conjecture.

The workshop will function as a graduate summer school. At its core, the school will feature a sequence of mini-courses delivered by a cast of leading experts and distinguished expositors. The courses will unveil Dehn surgery and this suite of techniques to the next generation of researchers in the area. The school will additionally feature guided problem sessions... (more)