A Graduate Student Summer Workshop in Algebraic Geometry will be held at the University of Washington during July 18-22, 2005. It is anticipated that roughly 130 students will attend this workshop, along with 16 mentors who will lead small groups of students studying various aspects of algebraic geometry. Each morning there will be two lectures introducing different areas of the field. The goal of the lectures will be to communicate the fundamental motivating questions in each area, the tools used to address them, and the important results currently known. In the afternoon, the participants will break up into small groups, and work with a mentor on problems that will give them a hands-on feel for the methods of the field. The afternoon groups will be loosely tied to the morning lectures, which will aim to give a survey of algebraic geometry as much as possible.
The intention is to help prepare the next generation of leaders in the subject. There will be students participating from many universities in an intensive week of activities, including lectures, problem sessions, and informal discussions among themselves and with mentors. This will deepen their understanding and widen their horizons. It will also give graduate students an opportunity to meet senior researchers in a more relaxed setting, and to begin to establish working relationships with their fellow graduate students -- their future colleagues. The sort of bonding which occurs naturally in such settings is also an important component of professional growth. Last, but not least, the Workshop will expose graduate students to ideas and problems from other parts of this large field, far from their particular research area, and prepare them for the once-in-a-decade AMS Summer Institute in Algebraic Geometry that immediately follows the Workshop, also being held at the University of Washington.
