Automorphic Forms is a central subject in contemporary number theory. Traditionally participants of this annual workshop come from a whole range of research domains related to Automorphic Forms such as Maass wave forms, elliptic curves, Siegel and Jacobi modular forms, classical and p-adic theory of modular forms, arithmetic of special values of L-functions, Langlands program, to name a few. Over the years these presentations proved to be of high quality, and the role of the workshop as one of the leading forums in the area was established. This year we intend to put some emphasis on recent developments in the theory of mock modular forms. This area is very actively developing during recent years, many basic papers exist currently only as preprints, basic notions are not yet described systematically. It is already clear that this theory has a considerable amount of connections with various branches of mathematics (such as combinatorics, Artin L-functions, hypergeometric functions, Lie theory, and topology), and even some areas of physics (e.g., conformal field theory). Most of these areas are already known to have strong connection to Automorphic Forms. Disseminating the knowledge about these new developments is among the priorities of this year's workshop.
The Workshop on Automorphic Forms and Related Topics is an internationally recognized conference attended regularly by many leading experts in this wide area of mathematics. Traditionally, this workshop has a unique feature to attract a significant number of junior mathematicians and encourage them to deliver research presentations. About half of the participants are US mathematicians at the early stages of their careers and this workshop is especially beneficial to them. This conference provides junior mathematicians a rare opportunity to interact with a wide range of senior mathematicians whose expertise is related to their research field. Broadening their horizons and adopting different points of view boosts their preparation and allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. Attracting a considerable amount of junior mathematicians, the workshop provides them an excellent opportunity to get to know each other, and to find out about young researchers in related areas. This kind of networking may enhance their careers in various ways: initiate future research collaborations, obtain career advice, set up the links which will help a lot in future exchange of ideas. The workshop will also be attended by undergraduate students from the University of Hawaii. Many of these students belong to the local population, and may never have a chance to travel to other parts of the country. This population is heavily underrepresented in science. Attending lectures of world class mathematicians and getting to know junior mathematicians may highly motivate them, influencing their choices and preferences concerning their future education and careers.
took place at the University of Hawaii, and was partially supported by the NSF. This was an international conference with 50+ participants from the US and other countries such as China, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and the UK. During the conference, there were 35 presentations covering the spectrum of recent developments in the area of automorphic forms. There were also four panel discussions on topics of direct interest for junior participants. More than half (20+) of the participants were junior researchers from the US. Exchange of ideas, exposure to various major research directions in the area, and social networking made this a valuable investment in the development of their further careers in mathematics. Several undergraduate students from the University of Hawaii attended research presentations and took the opportunity to communicate with both junior and senior researchers. This was a valuable experience taking into the account the isolated location of this university. According to the feedback of the participants, the scientific level of this particular conference was significantly higher than usual. A detailed description of the workshop, including the workshop schedule and participant list, is available at www.automorphicformsworkshop.org/pastworkshops/2010/index.html.
