Mathematics Research Communities - 2010
"I have never been to a research conference like this. I feel I accomplished a lot more research and collaboration here than at any other conference I have been to."
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The 2010 Mathematics Research Communities (MRC) summer conferences were held at the Snowbird Resort in Utah, June 12-July 2. The week-long conferences drew 120 early-career mathematicians. These conferences, funded by the National Science Foundation, are part of the AMS program that will include special sessions at the Joint Mathematics Meetings, a longitudinal study, and a continuation of the connections and collaborations via an electronic network.
This year's conferences:
- Birational Geometry and Moduli Spaces, June 12-18 Organizers: Dan Abramovich (Brown University), Izzet Coskun (University of Illinois at Chicago), Tommàso de Fernex (University of Utah), Angela Gibney (University of Georgia) and James McKernan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), assisted by Emanuele Macri (University of Utah)
- Model Theory of Fields, June 19–25 Organizers: Antoine Chambert-Loir (Université de Rennes 1), Françoise Delon (CNRS, Université Diderot-Paris 7), Ehud Hrushovski (Hebrew University), François Loeser (École Normale Supérieure), Thomas Scanlon (University of California, Berkeley) and Carol Wood (Wesleyan University)
- Commutative Algebra, June 26 – July 2 Organizers: David Eisenbud (University of California, Berkeley), Craig Huneke (University of Kansas), Mircea Mustata (University of Michigan) and Claudia Polini (University of Notre Dame)
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"It was a great privilege to spend a week discussing mathematics with so many fantastic, enthusiastic, young mathematicians. I had the pleasure of learning their work, introducing them to problems I deeply care about and seeing them tackle these problems. The mountains and waterfalls provided the perfect setting for the math. Every mathematician should experience this magic at least once in their lives." --- Izzet Coskun (University of Illinois at Chicago), co-organizer, Birational Geometry and Moduli Spaces
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Comments from participants:
"The highlight was working with my group on our write-up of the week's work; this is when we took a step back and realized we'd actually made a fair amount of progress in 4 days."
"The working sessions and informal study times provided the greatest insight into the material and the practice of research mathematics."
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Comments from participants:
"I found the group sessions extremely fun and useful. It was also good to have an opportunity to talk to all the young people in my area. The location, accommodation and food were great."
"It was absolutely fantastic. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
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"Our program was designed to bring together young mathematicians from several research communities, bringing individual expertise to bear on recent work applying model theory to other parts of mathematics. In the working groups, participants helped each other on their areas of expertise, allowing the groups to digest material that would otherwise have been much more difficult to comprehend, and certainly not as much fun." -- Carol Wood (Wesleyan University), co-organizer Model Theory of Fields
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Comments from participants: "My highlight was the night we understood our problem and stayed up late finishing it." "The entire premise of the conference was completely different from most other conferences and workshops." |
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"The enthusiasm and the hard work of all the participants were quite remarkable. I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience." --- Mircea Mustata (University of Michigan), co-organizer Commutative Algebra
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Comments from participants:
"At this conference we met in small groups to work on research projects. This was an excellent experience, particularly for a young researcher like myself trying to establish a professional network."
"The location, format, and agenda allow much more quality interaction with all of the participants, junior and senior."
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Photographs by David Eisenbud:
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Comments from participants:
"Hands down one of the best (most interesting, most productive) conferences I've attended."
"The week was an amazing experience. I learned a lot, discovered interesting results with my group, and really benefited from the quality time the organizers gave me."
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See more photographs by participants Brett Barwick and Kristen Beck, and by Organizer David Eisenbud.
The American Mathematical Society's Mathematics Research Communities program builds social and collaborative networks to inspire and sustain mathematicians who are just beginning their research careers—those who are close to finishing their doctorates or have recently finished. The structured program engages and guides all participants as they start their careers. The program includes:
* One-week summer conference for each topic (participants arrive on Saturday and depart the following Friday; sessions are held Sunday through Thursday)
* Special Sessions at the national meeting
* Discussion networks by research topic
* Longitudinal study of early career mathematicians
Those accepted into this program receive support for the summer conference, and will be partially supported for their participation in the Joint Mathematics Meetings which follow in January 2011. The summer conferences of the MRC are held in the breathtaking mountain setting of the Snowbird Resort, Utah, where participants can enjoy the natural beauty and a collegial atmosphere. This program is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
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Read about the 2009 Mathematics Research Communities and the MRC program.
--- Annette Emerson, AMS Public Awareness Officer