Award Abstract # 1855960
Australian-German Workshop on Differential Geometry in the Large

NSF Org: DMS
Division Of Mathematical Sciences
Recipient: SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date: February 5, 2019
Latest Amendment Date: March 19, 2019
Award Number: 1855960
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Joanna Kania-Bartoszynska
jkaniaba@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4881
DMS
 Division Of Mathematical Sciences
MPS
 Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Start Date: February 15, 2019
End Date: January 31, 2020 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $30,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $30,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2019 = $30,000.00
History of Investigator:
  • Lee Kennard (Principal Investigator)
    ltkennar@syr.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Syracuse University
900 S CROUSE AVE
SYRACUSE
NY  US  13244-4407
(315)443-2807
Sponsor Congressional District: 22
Primary Place of Performance: University of Melbourne
MATRIX Mathematics Research Inst
Creswick VIC 3363
 AS
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): C4BXLBC11LC6
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): GEOMETRIC ANALYSIS
Primary Program Source: 01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 7556
Program Element Code(s): 126500
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.049

ABSTRACT

The international workshop "Australian-German Workshop on Differential Geometry in the Large" will take place from February 4-15, 2019, at the MATRIX institute of the University of Melbourne in Creswick, Australia. This workshop has two parts. The first week (February 4-8) will involve an international conference with high-profile speakers who are prominent researchers, mentors, and leaders of professional organizations in Australia, Germany, the U.S., and elsewhere. A research symposium will take place in the second week. Participants will meet in research groups close to their primary research interests. Three goals of this two-part workshop are to highlight recent advances in the geometry, foster communication between experts and early-career researchers, and identify avenues for future work. All three goals will benefit graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and other early-career mathematicians. The award supports participation of US researchers in this event.



The academic focus of the meeting is on recent developments in differential geometry, geometric analysis, and associated topics in differential topology. The plenary speakers were chosen in part with these topics in mind. In addition, the four subjects according to which the participants will be grouped in the second week are as follows:
- Geometric evolution equations and curvature flow
- Structures on manifolds and mathematical physics
- Higher invariants and positive scalar curvature
- Recent developments in non-negative sectional curvature
The results presented in this workshop, as well as a summary of the problem session, is tentatively planned to be published in the London Mathematical Society's Lecture Note Series, as well as in the 2019 MATRIX Annals volume of the MATRIX Book Series. In addition, this information will be made freely available through the arXiv. The webpage for the workshop is below.

https://www.matrix-inst.org.au/events/australian-german-workshop-on-differential-geometry-in-the-large-conference/

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

This award supported the PI and 14 additional U.S.-based researchers to attend the "Australian-German Workshop on Differential Geometry in the Large" conference and workshop that took place February 4 - 15, 2019, at the MATRIX institute in Creswick, Australia. There were a total of 68 participants from all over the world but mostly Australia and Germany. Week 1 consisted of a standard format conference with 13 keynote speakers and 10 additional contributed talks chosen by the organizers. The keynote speakers, in particular, were chosen among the leaders in their respective fields, which included

1. Geometric evolution equations and curvature flow.

2. Structures on manifolds and mathematical physics.

3. Higher invariants and positive scalar curvature.

4. Recent developments in non-negative sectional curvature.

In Week 2, there was one additional plenary talk each morning. In addition, there were four parallel sessions on the topics listed above. This provided everyone who attended to present a talk. After lunch each day, there was time for collaboration. The small, reseach area-focused groups in Week 2 in which the PI participated were interactive and likely especially beneficial to early-career researchers.

Throughout the conference in Week 1 and the workshop in Week 2, there were multiple breaks for discussion, time for collaboration, communal housing, and cafeteria-style meals in which everyone sat together. This promoted an atmosphere in which it is likely that all participants at least met each other and in which most had sufficient time to discuss ideas and collaborate.

The funds were used exclusively to pay for flights, accomodations, and meals, or some subset thereof. Other expenses such as ground transportation were covered by other means.

Intellectual Merit: The conference organizers secured the attendance of an impressive list of internationally recognized plenary speakers. In addition to having very high profiles in their respective research areas, the speakers were chosen, in part, due to their roles as leaders in research organizations and funding programs and to their advising/mentoring experience.

Broader Impacts: The 15 participants supported by this grant included researchers from groups underrepresented in mathematics, including five women and at least two first-generation college graduates. The 15 participants also included several researchers early in their career, including three graduate students, a postdoc, and three assistant professors on the tenure track. Of the seven in the latter group, at least six were only formally invited or bought their flights after being informed of the possibility of funding from this grant, and this suggests that almost no early-career, U.S.-based researchers would have attended the conference were it not for this source of NSF funding. Similarly at least half of the remaining eight participants bought their flight only after confirming that they would recieve funds from this grant. Participants in Week 1 had opportunities to interact with leaders in their fields, attend a large number (23) of talks, and to participate in a problem session at the end of the week. Participants in Week 2 broke into small groups based on research area, to interact closely with those in their area, and to present their own talks. Multiple participants supported by this granted attended both Week 1 and Week 2.


Last Modified: 05/29/2020
Modified by: Lee T Kennard

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