The Quebec-Vermont Number Theory Seminar brings together a diverse group of researchers and students in number theory. Meetings are held every other week for an entire day, with talks presented both by the members of the seminar and by distinguished visitors. The seminar centralizes the research activities of faculty and students from the University of Vermont, Middlebury College, St. Michael's College, Concordia University, McGill University, Laval University and the Centre de Research en Mathematique. This research falls into the general mathematical area of number theory. Number theory has its historical roots in the study of the whole numbers, addressing such questions as those dealing with the divisibility of one whole number by another. It is among the oldest branches of mathematics and was pursued for many centuries for purely aesthetic reasons. However, within the last half century it has become an indispensable tool in diverse applications in areas such as data transmission and processing, and communication systems.
