The 2011 Graduate Student Topology and Geometry Conference

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The ninth annual Graduate Student Topology and Geometry Conference is to be held April 2-3, 2011, at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The conference will take place over two days and involves more than 140 graduate students of all levels from all over the country. The conference will consist of:1) 24-32 graduate student talks on expository and original research topics in geometry and topology; 2) Three plenary speakers who are prominent in their respective fields and excellent expositors: Ralph Cohen (Stanford), John Etnyre (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Karsten Grove (University of Notre Dame); 3) Four talks meant to introduce graduate students to a selection of open problems led by young faculty:Dave Futer (Temple University), Teena Gerhardt (Michigan State University), Matthew Hedden (Michigan State University) and Jean-Francois Lafont (Ohio State University).There will be talks in many subfields of topology and geometry, which may include hyperbolic geometry, three-manifolds, homotopy theory, symplectic geometry, dynamics, knot theory, category theory, Teichmuller theory, four-manifolds, differential topology, geometric group theory, and algebraic K-theory.This conference provides a venue for communication among young mathematicians from different geographic regions. Participants come from dozens of different schools, and include graduate students at all years of study. Although there are many conferences dedicated to topology and geometry, this is the only one (that we are aware of) dedicated to graduate students. The experience of presenting at this conference allows graduate students to refine their speaking skills and grow into more effective communicators. Because of the opportunity to meet other students in related fields, the environment also encourages collaboration now and throughout the participants' careers. Additionally, both geometry and topology are growing mathematical fields with deep connections to many other areas of research, including dynamical systems, physics, computer science and mathematical biology. This conference serves to further communication about research in these areas, and to enable and encourage graduate students in these fields. More information about the conference can be found at http://math.msu.edu/related/gstgc/.