The 2008 Graduate Student Topology Conference, March 2008

在三年一度的中西部拓扑学研讨会成功的基础上，来自中西部几所院校的几何学和拓扑学研究生开始了一年一度的研究生拓扑学会议。今年是该会议举办的第六年，伊利诺斯大学将在2008年主办该会议。全体会议发言人将是来自哈佛大学的迈克·霍普金斯和来自多伦多的雅艾尔·卡森。此外，还将举行27场研究生讲座，以并行的形式进行。赠款主要用于提供与会者和演讲者的旅费。会议将持续两天，并为非正式讨论和新介绍提供充足的机会。从历史上看，这些会议为开始积极支持和富有成果的合作提供了极好的机会。其结果往往是提高学生在学校和完成博士学位后不久的关键过渡时期的成功率。由于这些会议在通常代表性不足的人口中具有传统的高参与率，加上会议在关键过渡时期对学生的帮助，部分支持大约160名参与者是对科学的有效投资。研究生拓扑学会议是一个为期两天的活动，来自全国各地的研究生聚集在一起分享他们的工作，获得在会议上发言的经验，并听取国内一些最杰出的几何和拓扑学教授的意见。今年是该会议举办的第六个年头，吸引了来自美国各地的约160名研究生。伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校将主办2008年的会议，拨款主要用于为与会者提供旅行援助。会议由27个研究生演讲组成，此外还有2个客座教授的全体演讲；今年的全体会议由哈佛大学的Mike Hopkins和多伦多大学的Yael Karshon主持。通过其独特的研究和说明性会谈的结合，研究生拓扑会议创造了一个支持性的环境，以鼓励未来的研究人员，并允许他们在彼此之间建立联系，从而导致未来的合作。此外，在会议上发言的经历可以让演讲者完善他们的演讲技巧，成长为更有效的沟通者。会议还鼓励不同地理区域之间的交流。参与者来自全国各地非常多样化的学校，包括各个年级的研究生，在通常代表性不足的人口统计中，参与率很高。

Building upon the success of the tri-annual MidWest topology seminars, graduate students in Geometry and Topology from several MidWest institutions began an annual Graduate Student Topology Conference. Now in its sixth year, the University of Illinois will be hosting the conference in 2008. The plenary speakers will be Mike Hopkins from Harvard and Yael Karshon from Toronto. In addition, 27 talks by graduate students, run in parallel sessions, will be delivered. The grant is primarily to provide travel assistance for participants and speakers. The conference will run two days and provide ample opportunities for informal discussions and new introductions to occur. Historically, these conferences have provided an excellent opportunity for positive support and fruitful collaborations to begin. The result has often been to increase student's success rate both in school and during the critical transition soon after finishing ones doctorate. Because of the traditionally high participation rate among usually under represented demographics at these conferences combined with the conferences effectiveness as an aid to students during a critical transition period, partially supporting the approximately 160 participants is an effective investment in the science.The Graduate Student Topology Conference is a two-day event in which graduate students from across the country meet to share their work, gain experience presenting at conferences, and hear from some of the most distinguished geometry and topology professors in the nation. Now in its sixth year, the conference draws around 160 graduate students from across the United States. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be hosting the conference in 2008, with grant funds primarily aimed at providing travel assistance for participants. The conference consists of twenty-seven talks given by graduate students, in addition to two plenary talks by visiting professors; this year the plenary talks are given by Mike Hopkins from Harvard University and Yael Karshon from the University of Toronto. Through its unique combination of research and expository talks, the Graduate Student Topology Conference creates a supportive environment to encourage future researchers and to allow them to make contacts amongst one-another that can lead to future collaboration. Additionally, the experience of presenting at a conference allows speakers to refine their speaking skills and grow into more effective communicators. The conference also encourages communication among different geographic regions. Participants come from very diverse schools all across the country and include graduate students at all years of study with a high participation rate among usually under represented demographics.