Algebraic geometry has a strong and broad representation at the research institutions of the Northeastern states. AGNES is a series of biannual workshops that intends to further the interaction and collaborations between the algebraic geometers in the area. Each workshop is held over a weekend at one of the participating institutions. The workshops include research talks by renowned experts and junior researchers, both from outside the area and within. Professional development sessions and introductory pre-talks are aimed particularly at graduate students. Every workshop culminates with an open problem session. This gives an opportunity to disseminate recent results and developments, and exchange ideas and views about future directions of algebraic geometry.
Algebraic geometry is the study of spaces defined by polynomial equations. Many of the spaces occurring in nature are of this type, and for this reason algebraic geometry has found diverse applications in the sciences. In particular, there are strong connections with recent work in theoretical physics (string theory). This grant will support a series of algebraic geometry conferences in the Northeastern states. The key aims of the series are to expose graduate students to a broad spectrum of research in the field and to improve communication between the many algebraic geometers in the northeast.
The Algebraic Geometry NorthEastern Series had its 8th biannual meeting April 19-21, 2013 at Yale University. The conference was widely advertised, through email lists, poster mailings, and online postings, and fielded over 150 participants from 40 universities and research institutions. The majority of participants were graduate students and recent PhDs. Universities sending multiple participants included not only those within the AGNES region such as Columbia, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stony Brook, and University of Massachusetts, but also west coast, midwestern, and southern universities such as Stanford, University of Michigan, and University of South Carolina. Primarily undergraduate institutions were also represented, with participants from schools including Burlington County College, College of New Jersey, Fordham University, Mt Holyoke, Providence College, and Rowan University. The program featured seven one hour lectures, by established leading algebraic geometry researchers Anders Buch (Rutgers), Mark de Cataldo (Stony Brook), Angela Gibney (University of Georgia), Bjorn Poonen (MIT), and Jason Starr (Stony Brook), and rising stars Tobias Dyckerhoff (Oxford/Yale) and Dave Anderson (IMPA, Brazil). Gibney, Poonen, and Starr also delivered half hour pre-talks for graduate students. All talks were recorded and are now available for download and streaming through the conference website at: www.agneshome.org/yale-2013. A panel discussion on postdoctoral and tenure-track job applications featured Yair Minsky (Yale), Jessica Sidman (Mt Holyoke), and Jenia Tevelev (University of Massachusetts).
