This research will concentrate on two questions in the theory of matroids and graph theory. The first concerns the relationship between the number of independent k and k-1 partitions of a matroid of size 2k associated to a series parallel graph. The second problem is concerned with obtaining structure theorems for series parallel graphs. This research is in combinatorics, the mathematical subject which explores the relationships between certain special types of subsets of finite sets. This subject has recently flourished as a result of the ever increasing interest in computational problems. The current award, a planning grant, holds much promise of contributing much of interest in this area.
