Symbolic dynamics and related areas are currently undergoing dramatic developments. The recent introduction of deep and powerful machinery has solved some of the hardest and most tantalizing open problems. In addition, symbolic dynamics is having a substantial impact in other areas, such as in characterizing the non-zero spectrum of non-negative real matrices, or in constructing codes for data storage and transmission. This grant will partially support a conference on symbolic dynamics and its applications to be held at Yale University in July, 1991. The topics to be emphasized include symbolic dynamical systems, applications to geometric dynamics, information theory, and linear algebra as well as connections with ergodic theory. A significant portion of young researchers will be among the invited speakers, and the conference should advance this active and important area of current research in a meaningful way.
