In the beginning, the discipline of finite geometry was motivated by questions in geometry and recreational mathematics. From the earliest questions that were asked, it was clear that the natural setting for the emerging discipline was group theory. The discipline was enriched and invigorated by the needs of statisticians in the design of experiments, but the foundational questions and the relationship with group theory continued to dominate the subject throughout the first half of the twentieth century. The most recent enrichment of the discipline has come from the applied problems which gave rise to algebraic coding theory. The achievement most visible to those outside the field was the computer proof of the non-existence of a projective plane of order ten, a result that rested heavily on the contributions of algebraic coding theory. This result has spurred the interest in the interaction of algebraic coding theory and finite geometry and there is currently a renewed interest in nets and the classification problems involving finite projective planes. On the other hand, the classification of finite simple groups has given rise to a renewed interest by group theorists in finite geometry and the language of diagrams has provided a framework for the discussion of the relationship of groups to geometry. Finally, traditional classification problems (e.g., difference sets, generalized quadrangles and translation planes) continue to be of interest. This project will support the Conference on Finite Geometry to be held April 11-14, 1992 at Lehigh University. This meeting will overlap the Eastern Regional Meeting of the American Mathematical Society at which there will be a Special Session on finite geometry. The format of this conference is expected to be similar to the Oberwolfach model.
