A summer school, Ninety-Nine Years of General Relativity, will be held at the Erwin Schrödinger Institute (Vienna, Austria), July 28-August 1, 2014. This summer school will examine topics in geometric analysis (differential geometry, partial differential equations) of current interest in mathematical general relativity. The Einstein equation is of fundamental importance in general relativity and Riemannian geometry, and the study of the Einstein equation as a model for gravitational phenomena involves deep relationships between geometric analysis and physics. Spectacular progress has been made in recent years on several fronts, including the study of wave equations on black hole space-times (with the eventual goal of understanding black hole stability), cosmic censorship, dynamical formation of black holes in vacuum, topology of black holes, and a better understanding of the moduli space of solutions to the Einstein constraint equations which govern geometry of initial data for the Cauchy problem. Recent advances in numerical analysis of gravitational phenomena highlight the need to push the theoretical boundaries of the initial value formulation (both in constructing solutions to the constraints and in understanding the evolution of these initial data sets) and to create a bridge between the researchers in these areas. The purpose of the summer school is to introduce graduate students and postdocs to the background needed to approach these results and to frame some outstanding open problems in the field. The program will consist of four mini-courses supplemented by several hours of lectures on both introductory and special topics. Details are available at the summer school webpage: http://homepage.univie.ac.at/piotr.chrusciel/SummerSchool2014/index.html
There exists around the world a vibrant community of mathematicians and physicists who are making progress on mathematical relativity. Astrophysical observations and the search for gravitational waves continue to provide researchers with both theoretical and experimental challenges. The summer school Ninety-Nine Years of General Relativity will introduce graduate students and postdocs to the tools needed to approach these and other outstanding problems in the field. The school will also foster interaction amongst established researchers, graduate students and postdocs, from the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. It is of crucial importance to recruit and support young talent in the field and, in particular, to bring together students and researchers whose interests span the theoretical to the applied, from geometric analysis to astrophysics and numerical analysis. The grant will provide funding for fifteen U.S. graduate students and postdocs to attend the summer school.
