9616895 Mullen This award provides support for a conference, "Finite Fields: Theory, Applications, and Algorithms", to be held at the University of Waterloo in August 1997. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of research in finite fields due to the wide variety of applications of various theoretical aspects of finite fields. Many exciting new theoretical results have been obtained by a growing number of researchers worldwide, and many new applications have been discovered. The purpose of this conference is to encourage interaction among different groups of researchers, both theoretical and applied. The organizing committee of the meeting consists of R. Mullin, I. Blake, S. Cohen, G. Mullen, H. Niederreiter, C. Stewart, and S. Vanstone. Funds from this award will be used to support U.S. graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty members who attend the conference. The theory of finite fields can be traced back to Gauss and Galois. Finite fields have played central roles in research in number theory and algebraic geometry. In the last few decades, it has become an indispensable tool in diverse applications in areas such as coding theory and cryptography. Coding theory enables the error-free transmission of data, and is used, for example, in compact disks and computer drives. Cryptography is essential for the secure transmission of data.
