This project will partially fund a major international conference to be held at Princeton University June 7-11, 2007. The conference will feature distinguished speakers from a broad array of fields representing many of the areas that William Thurston produced major theorems. These fields include 3-dimensional topology, differential geometry, foliations, contact structures, geometric group theory, dynamics, computer science and education. This conference will not only discuss some of the recent dramatic developments in many of these fields but will introduce graduate students and researchers young and old to various new fields of mathematics. In addition to the research lectures there will be an evening public lecture by Jeffrey Weeks titled "Geometry for children of all ages".
There is a long history in mathematics of important breakthroughs occurring as a result of ideas from seemingly disparate areas being combined to provide new insights. Sometimes they arise from the creation of a geometric or physical context in which the similarities become readily apparent. It is this latter process that characterizes the revolutionary work of William Thurston over the last several decades. We expect that this conference will plant seeds for future synergistic efforts.
