The Barrett Lectures in Mathematics are a well known and highly regarded annual lecture series with a distinguished list of speakers over many years. The 2011 Barrett Lectures are entitled "Recent Developments in Mathematical Relativity." The four-day conference is organized by the University of Tennessee's differential geometry group comprised of Professors Fernando Schwartz, Alexandre Freire and Conrad Plaut. During the first three days, distinguished researchers Igor Rodnianski, Richard Schoen and Robert Wald, will each deliver three hour-long survey lectures representing the three main mathematical approaches to the subject. Additionally, there will be two hour-long plenary lectures per day. During the fourth day there will be twelve half-hour talks by early-career researchers.
Mathematical relativity is a vast field, which has experienced major developments over the past 30 years in both its analytical and geometric aspects. These developments have had important implications for both the mathematics and physics communities. Recent PhD recipients and graduate students are a particularly important part of the audience, and every effort will be made to attract a diverse and interdisciplinary audience.
The 41st Annual Barrett Memorial Lectures, "Mathematical Relativity," were held May 11-14, 2011, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The Lectures were partly funded by the National Science Foundation, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee's Department of Mathematics. The conference featured survey series lectures by Igor Rodnianski (Princeton), Richard Schoen (Stanford), and Robert Wald (Chicago). Each of these speakers gave a series of three talks with an in-depth overview of their most recent results. Schoen and Wald (along with several plenary speakers) agreed to allow videotaping of their lectures; these videos are available to the public online. The conference also included plenary lectures by Lydia Bieri (Michigan), Hubert Bray (Duke), Mihalis Dafermos (Cambridge, UK), Gregory Galloway (Miami), James Isenberg (Oregon), and Marcus Khuri (Stony Brook). Nine additional speakers who were within 5 years of the PhD were invited to give shorter talks. A total of 52 people participated in the conference, including undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers from several fields, based at universities across the country. 27 participants received full or partial travel support, with priority given to researchers within 5 years of the PhD. Ample opportunities were available for formal collaboration and informal discussion, including a banquet.
