Institute for Advanced Study Convenes Annual Program for Women and Mathematics
Mathematicians to Study Algebraic Geometry and Group Actions
Fifty-one women mathematicians from throughout the United States will gather at the Institute for Advanced Study this May for the Program for Women and Mathematics. The 11-day residential program, sponsored by the Institute and Princeton University, will be held from May 14 to May 25, marking its 14th year on the Institute campus.
Designed to encourage women to pursue careers in mathematics by providing opportunities for learning and research, and mentoring and peer relations, the program is being organized by Sun-Yung Alice Chang of Princeton University; Antonella Grassi of the University of Pennsylvania; Chuu-Lian Terng of the University of California, Irvine; and Karen Uhlenbeck of The University of Texas at Austin. Women and Mathematics is a joint program of the Institute for Advanced Study and Princeton University.
The research topic for 2007 is Algebraic Geometry and Group Actions. Algebraic geometry is the study of the solution sets of polynomial equations. If there is a group acting, there are symmetries (for example reflections, or rotations) among the solutions. Knowledge of these symmetries makes the study more beautiful and interesting, and also has practical value.
Participants will include undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral scholars and senior researchers. A variety of activities, both formal and informal, will be offered to encourage interaction among participants. In addition to undergraduate and graduate level lecture courses, there are research seminars, problem and review sessions, colloquia and Women-in-Science seminars. A day of activities on the Princeton University campus, including lectures and a dinner, is planned for Friday, May 18.
Faculty members for the program include Frances Kirwan of Oxford University; Amy Ksir of the United States Naval Academy; V. Lakshmibai of Northeastern University; and Jessica Sidman of Mount Holyoke College.
In addition to the organizers, those serving on the Program Committee are Katherine Bold and Ingrid Daubechies of Princeton University; Nancy Hingston of The College of New Jersey; Rhonda Hughes and Lisa Traynor of Bryn Mawr College; Robert MacPherson of the Institute's School of Mathematics; Gail Ratcliff of East Carolina University; Cynthia Diane Rudin of the NYU Center for Neural Science; and Janet Talvacchia of Swarthmore College.
Support for the program has been provided by the National Science Foundation and The Starr Foundation.
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