A moduli space parameterizes geometric objects with alike structures and encodes in itself the geometry of all possible families of such objects. This workshop will focus on three aspects of moduli spaces: Cycles, Geometric Invariant Theory, and Dynamics. One of our main goals is to synthesize the recent progress on moduli of abelian differentials on algebraic curves motivated by dynamics and in the GIT constructions of related moduli spaces, with the view towards better understanding of geometric cycles on these moduli spaces.

In many cases, computer programming and experiments are important tools to discover new phenomena, both in dynamics and in the study of cycles on moduli spaces. Hence many talks will emphasize computational and experimental aspects of these fields and the workshop will feature a computational problem session whose goal is to disseminate computational techniques and problems to a wider body of researchers.

An integral part of the workshop is a series of three... (more)

This workshop is concerned with sampling challenges, modeling and simulation for data-rich applications in high dimensions. It brings together mathematicians, statisticians and computational scientists to explore the interplay between computational applied mathematics and data science. On the agenda will be novel developments in the study of complex phenomena based on data-analytic techniques, such as efficient calculation of ergodic (long term) averages and statistical inference under a wide range of geometric, physical and analytical constraints.

In applied mathematics and computational science, in particular in molecular modeling, image analysis and geosciences, among others, many objects of interest are high-dimensional and stochastic, and a wide variety of techniques have been developed for sampling and approximating the quantities of interest. Similar issues arise in the area of data science and statistical modeling, where learning problems in the presence of high-dimensional... (more)

Research and outreach are normally thought to divide mathematics in two. This separation is, however, completely artificial; it is impossible to “find” a mathematical idea without explaining it. Exploration and exposition are two sides of the same coin. One striking example of this is the epochal work of William Thurston; often his theorems were accompanied by pictures, and computer programs, illustrating the underlying ideas.

The goal of this conference is to bring together mathematicians from a range of fields, and practitioners from the digital arts (animation, 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC routing, virtual reality, computer games, etc). The attendees will share their expertise in mathematics and with the procedural tools used to illustrate mathematics. In addition to talks in the traditional style, we plan to hold several workshops to train attendees about a variety of digital media, in particular 3D printing.

Imagine spending eight-weeks on the beautiful Brown University campus in historic Providence, RI, working in a small team setting to solve mathematical research problems developed by faculty experts in their fields.

Imagine creating career-building connections between peers, near peers (graduate students and postdocs), and academic professionals.

Imagine spending your summer in a fun, memorable, and intellectually stimulating environment.

Now, imagine having this experience with support for travel within the U.S., room and board paid, plus a $3,000 stipend*.

The 2016 Summer@ICERM program is designed for a select group of 14-16 undergraduate scholars. Students work in groups of two to four, supervised by faculty advisors and aided by teaching assistants. The faculty... (more)

The goal of this workshop is to bring computer science researchers in security/privacy/cryptography together with researchers in mathematics. We will use information security as a term encompassing security, privacy, and cryptography. Information¬-security researchers employ various branches of mathematics such as number theory, probability theory, optimization, and real analysis. Despite this there is currently very little collaboration between information¬-security researchers and mathematicians. The main focus of this workshop will consist of researchers in information-security presenting the mathematical challenges they face in lattice¬-based cryptography, privacy, and security economics, with an eye towards interesting the mathematicians present, drawing on their expertise, and developing collaborations.

The format of the workshop will be designed to foster such collaborations. Information-¬security researchers will give talks about various topics and indicate interesting... (more)

In the theory of error correcting codes, a sender (Alice) wants to send a message to a receiver (Bob), over a noisy channel. Strategies for Alice and Bob have been studied since the works of Shannon and Hamming from the late 1940's, from many different communities. Coding theory is a fundamental solution to challenges that arise in communication, storage, cryptography, and others; as the world changes, our challenges in these areas change, and the scenario changes for Alice and Bob. Fueled by these new scenarios, coding theory remains a rapidly advancing area of research.

One trend in many of these new scenarios in coding theory is the need for algorithmic solutions. For many problems in coding theory, it is possible to come up with nearly optimal solutions (information-theoretically speaking) which are likely very hard for Alice and Bob to actually implement. The goal of algorithmic coding theory is to design solutions which are not only combinatorially good, but are also... (more)

The recent proof of Thurston's virtual fibering conjecture brought together tools at the forefront of geometric group theory, dynamics, and hyperbolic geometry. We still lack, however, an effective or constructive understanding of three-dimensional hyperbolic geometry, and more generally, 3-manifold topology. For example, a closed hyperbolic 3-manifold admits a finite cover which fibers over the circle, but can one construct such a cover from a presentation of the fundamental group? Can one implement an algorithm -- perhaps with the help of preexisting software such as SnapPea -- to obtain such a cover?

While much work remains, both computation and theory have progressed. Fast algorithms have been developed for running computations in the mapping class group and other finitely generated groups, as well as for recognizing certain types 3-manifolds and knot and link complements up to homeomorphism. These have been supplemented by a new wave of constructive theorems which explicitly... (more)

Numerical computations have always played an important role in the development of the theory of Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems, more and more so as the availability and power of computers has increased dramatically over the last few decades. At the same time, the limitations of computer-assisted numerical calculations have also become increasingly apparent. Notwithstanding their enormous power, the intrinsic finite resolution of computers can lead to significant errors, especially as a result of a large number of calculations through which small errors can accumulate.

An important and growing approach to certain mathematical problems consists of developing rigorous numerical techniques in combination with more classical analytic methods in order to obtain rigorous qualitative and quantitative results. In some cases this leads to the proof of deep mathematical theorems and in other cases to quantitative, and thus more concrete and applicable, versions of abstract... (more)

A surprising discovery of 20th century mathematics is that many deterministic systems exhibit random behavior. One early example of a chaotic system was Lorenz equation used by meteorologist Edward Lorenz as a simplified model of atmospheric convection. One of the most common mechanisms of stochasticity is the Smale horseshoe appearing near a homoclinic intersection.

The Lorentz attractor and Smale horseshoe are typical examples of fractal invariant sets for dynamical systems. Fractal objects are ubiquitous in dynamics, including invariant sets, invariant measures, invariant foliations et cetera.

Thermodynamical formalism is a powerful tool for studying dimensions of fractal objects. It originated in statistical mechanics, but currently it has applications to many areas of mathematics including spectral theory, hyperbolic geometry and probability theory.

The goal of this conference is to bring together experts studying fractal objects in dynamics in order to review recent progress... (more)