The local organizers at the University of Colorado at Boulder and at the University of Denver request funding for two Special Meetings/Special Years in the area of operator theory/operator algebras and their applications. These Special Meetings continue the tradition of the annual Great Plains Operator Theory Symposia series (GPOTS) spanning three decades. The GPOTS Symposia have become a premier conference series in the fields of operator theory/operator algebras that host anywhere from 100 to 150 participants each year. They have consistently focused on important new developments and on exciting open problems to stimulate the operator community, especially new researchers in the early part of their careers. During 2009 at CU Boulder and 2010 at the University of Denver, the PI?s will run the Symposia as cornerstones of consecutive ?Special Years?, during which they will run focused ?GPOTS Seminars? and bring in ?GPOTS Colloquia? speakers and researchers from the main institutions who have sponsored GPOTS through the past decades. They will also sponsor training opportunities for graduate students of their own and of sister institutions. This proposal is requesting financial support, to be mostly given towards participant support for the symposia activities, with support also going towards Special Year Colloquium visitors and support for graduate students to attend workshops. The two GPOTS Special Meetings/Special Research Years will enhance activities that are vital for training graduate students and motivating junior faculty of both our own and sister institutions. The Symposia themselves will be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder in June 2009 and at the University of Denver in June 2010.
