The Triangle Lectures in Combinatorics (www.math.ncsu.edu/TLC) conferences are held twice a year in or near the Research Triangle region of North Carolina. This proposal supports the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 meetings.
Combinatorics is a growing and important area of mathematics. The states of North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee have recently seen an influx of research strength in combinatorics and adjacent areas. In particular, there are remarkably many tenure-track researchers, senior researchers and graduate students in combinatorics and related fields at various colleges and universities within about 4--5 hours drive of the Research Triangle region of North Carolina (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill). A relatively large proportion of these researchers are from underrepresented groups. Since the Spring of 2010, we have organized one-day (Saturday) conferences, once a semester, under the name Triangle Lectures in Combinatorics, with the aim of fostering regular contact between researchers in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Each conference has brought four outstanding mathematicians from around the country to give talks about some of the most significant and most exciting developments in combinatorics.
The focus of combinatorics is the structure of discrete (as opposed to continuous) sets of objects. Combinatorics is critical to many areas of mathematics, and plays a key role in computational, scientific, and engineering applications. The Triangle Lectures in Combinatorics workshops play numerous roles: they enhance the national infrastructure for research and education by creating and strengthening a regional network of interacting researchers; facilitate the dissemination of cutting-edge research ideas, methods and results among researchers in the Southeastern United States; promote the teaching and training of graduate students by exposing them to the perspectives of leading researchers; increase awareness and understanding of combinatorics, on the part of faculty and students in the Southeast; support the development of young faculty at various schools and help them build local support and research networks; broaden participation of underrepresented groups, particularly women; and foster research interactions among participants, leading to new research results.
, with the aim of fostering regular contact between researchers in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia. Each conference brought four outstanding mathematicians from around the country to give talks about some of the most significant and most exciting developments in combinatorics. By providing four high-quality talks in one day, the conferences make it practical for researchers who might otherwise be quite isolated to interact with other researchers from across the Southeast. Four conferences were supported by the grant. Details on these conferences are given below. February 22, 2014 at UNC-Chapel Hill Speakers: Shankar Bhamidi (UNC-Chapel Hill), Anders Buch (Rutgers), Pablo Parrilo (MIT), Eva Tardos (Cornell) Organizing committee: Gabor Pataki (UNC-Chapel Hill), Lindsay Piechnik (High Point University), Scott Provan (UNC-Chapel Hill), Richard Rimanyi (UNC-Chapel Hill), Jack Snoeyink (UNC-Chapel Hill) September 21, 2013 at NCSU Speakers: George Andrews (Penn State), Matt Beck (San Francisco State University), Robin Pemantle (University of Pennsylvania), and Victoria Powers (Emory University) Organizing committee: Michael Singer (NCSU), Carla Savage (NCSU), and Seth Sullivant (NCSU) February 9, 2013 at Wake Forest University Speakers: Louis Billera (Cornell), Rod Canfield (University of Georgia), Matthew Kahle (Ohio State University), Michelle Wachs (University of Miami) Organizing committee: Sarah Mason (chair, Wake Forest University), Ed Allen (Wake Forest University), Alex Fink (NCSU), Patricia Hersh (NCSU) September 22, 2012 at NCSU Speakers: Allen Knutson (Cornell), Vin de Silva (Pomona College), Richard Stanley (MIT), Lauren Williams (UC Berkeley). Organizing committee: Alex Fink (NCSU), Patricia Hersh (NCSU), Carla Savage (NCSU). Intellectual Merit: The conferences strengthen and connect the scientific community in combinatorics and related areas. Specifically, they: • Provide "activation energy" to overcome the inertia which otherwise prevents researchers from driving for several hours to interact with colleagues; • Help combinatorialists from across the Southeast learn about some of the most significant and most exciting developments in combinatorics, thereby providing enrichment and appropriate targeting tothe research efforts of the community; • Introduce graduate and postdoctoral students to top research within geographic reach; • Facilitate supportive interaction between the broader research community and tenure-track and recently tenured combinatorialists who may otherwise be isolated. Broader impacts: The conferences: • Enhance the national infrastructure for research and education by creating and strengthening a regional network of interacting researchers; • Facilitate the dissemination of cutting-edge research ideas, methods and results among researchers in the Southeastern United States; • Promote the teaching and training of graduate students by exposing them to the perspectives of leading researchers;• Increase awareness and understanding of combinatorics, on the part of faculty and students in the Southeast; • Support the development of young faculty at various schools and help them build local support and research networks; • Broaden participation of underrepresented groups, particularly women; • Foster research interactions among participants, leading to new research results.
