Commutative algebra and representation theory are two flourishing areas of research in algebra. For commutative algebra, early on, its roots in algebraic geometry and number theory provided the major influences, while representation theory was partly motivated early on by problems in physics. More recently there has been significant interaction between these two areas. Some of this interaction goes back to the work of Auslander, his students and collaborators in the 1970s, but the last decade or so has seen a striking resurgence of new ideas and research in the overlap, as exemplified by recent work of Avramov, Buchweitz, Burban, Huneke, Iyama, Reiten and Yoshino, to name only a few.
There have been relatively few joint meetings in the U.S. allowing researchers in commutative algebra and representation theory and their students to interact. It is vital to support the continued interactions between the areas by bringing together top researchers to report on their findings and to establish new cross disciplinary collaborations. Equally important is a gathering where recent doctorates, graduate students, and faculty from primarily teaching institutions can learn about recent developments and establish research connections with other workers across the two fields. To address these issues, the investigators plan a three-day conference at Syracuse University. The conference will take place on April 13-15, 2012. Leading researchers from both commutative algebra and representation theory will speak on their findings. Ample time for discussions will also be available to provide an opportunity for the participants, including the speakers, to establish new cross-collaborations. We intend to recruit an audience in which graduate students and recent doctorates are significantly represented. The URL for the conference is www.commalg.org/ROBfest/
" at Syracuse University in April 2012. Even though the connections between Commutative Algebra and Representation Theory had seen a very energetic development in the last ten years, there had been few joint meetings in the United States where researchers in both areas and their students met and interacted. Since interaction with other areas of mathematics has been a central theme of both Commutative Algebra and Representation Theory, it was therefore important to bring together top researchers from these two areas to talk about their findings and help establish new cross disciplinary collaborations. The conference was very succesful. It featured 10 internationally recognized speakers from the United States and from Canada. The talks were all of very high caliber and the attendance was excellent. In addition to established researchers, there was a very strong presence from graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. To be more specific the main speakers were Luchezar Avramov, Andrei Caldararu, David Eisenbud, Ed Green, Craig Huneke, Shiping Liu, Julia Pevtsova, Liana Sega, Bernd Ulrich and Sarah Witherspoon. in addition to the 10 speakers and the 4 organizers, we also had 10 faculty, 9 postdocs, and 27 graduate students come to this meeting.
