Macaulay 2 is one of the leading computer algebra systems for research and teaching in algebraic geometry and commutative algebra. The ability to perform increasingly complicated computations in more and more areas of these two fields continues to revolutionize both research in algebraic geometry and commutative algebra and the breadth of the applications of these fields to other areas of research. Most of the other related computer algebra systems are based in foreign countries and continued competitiveness of Macaulay 2, a leading United States--based program, depends on both a broad community contributing to its development and the funding to support this community through intensive workgroup meetings.
Two intensive workshops for generating and improving key ``packages'' for Macaulay 2 will be held January 7-13, 2010 and in August, 2010. Approximately 30 researchers will attend each workshop. The main objective is to implement algorithms in the following three rapidly growing areas: algebraic statistics, numerical algebraic geometry and toric geometry. These areas have significant applications in fields as diverse as computational biology, data analysis and statistics. It is the expectation, therefore, that the packages developed through this workshop will advance our knowledge and understanding across multiple disciplines. The participation of both experienced and novice researchers from a variety of institutions is crucial to the work of these workshops. These intensive workshops are also a great opportunity for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to enhance their package-writing skills early in their careers, taking advantage of the experience and research expertise of the more senior researchers as well as sharing their own expertise with the group. A strong presence rom young researchers also helps the base of mathematicians programming for Macaulay 2 to grow over time. Travel and lodging support for these workshops are critical to both the intensive nature of the workshop and to the future development of Macaulay 2.
