Category: News Postings

Sean Sather-Wagstaff has posted some photos from the recent Kent Regional Algebra Weekend. Thanks, Sean!
We learned from Ragnar-Olaf Buchweitz of the existence of a new journal of interest to commutative algebraists: Algebra & Number Theory. According to the web page, “Algebra & Number Theory publishes high-quality original research articles in algebra and number theory, interpreted broadly, for example including algebraic and arithmetic geometry. […] The policies of Algebra & Number Theory are set by the editorial board – a group of working mathematicians – rather than by a profit-oriented company, so they will remain friendly to mathematicians’ interests.” We at commalg.org applaud this effort!

Razvan Veliche has posted some photos from the AMS meeting in Salt Lake City.
Also, Apostolos Thoma has posted some photos from the Workshop on Combinatorics and Commutative Algebra.

Graham Leuschke has posted some photos from the opening ceremony of the ICM, including photos of the awarding of the Fields Medals to Andrei Okounkov, Grisha Perelman (declined), Terence Tao, and Wendelin Werner.

Some colleagues have asked us to post an announcement for the following position:
Professorship in Algebra at the University of Copenhagen. Full information may be found at http://www.math.ku.dk/ma/stillinger.html. Note in particular that the deadline for applications is 1 August 2006 at 12:00 AM.
In other news, we’ve posted some photos from the recent conference on Commutative Algebra and its interactions with Algebraic Geometry at the CIRM in Luminy, France. Go see!

David Eisenbud has written to us of the passing of Irving Kaplansky on 24 June 2006.

Dear Colleagues,
I’m writing to share sad news I received yesterday from Kaplansky’s family: Kap died in his sleep Saturday night.
Kap was enormously influential in many fields of mathematics, through his papers, his books, and perhaps most of all through his students — 55 PhD students and 581 mathematical descendants listed on the genealogy project already put him in the top tier of influence, and the many many students who, like myself, listened raptly to his courses are a still larger group. I remember well his highly entertaining and beautifully polished lectures from my student days in Chicago — whatever he taught, I signed up for the course, it was such a pleasure to listen to him. From being on the first winning team of the Putnam competition to being President of the AMS and National Academy member, his career was truly remarkable — you can find more information starting from the AMS website, http://www.ams.org/ams/48-kaplansky.html.
As second Director of MSRI, Kap served the Institute directly from 1985 through 1992. He greatly developed the reputation and influence of MSRI, building on the start provided by the founders, Chern, Moore and Singer. My own first experiences at MSRI were under Kaplansky’s directorship. As with everything he did, he paid attention to every detail of the operation — he boasted to me once that he personally read and signed every single letter of invitation that the Institute sent out during his eight years in office. He and his wife, Chellie, were also very present and available to the members — literally thousands will remember Kap’s musical performances at the Christmas parties. Among the many marks Kap left on MSRI was the start of fundraising activity. For example Kap formed the “International Board of Friends of MSRI”, and the connections made through this group are still of the utmost importance to us.
Kap’s first paper appeared in 1939. After stepping down as MSRI director, at 80, Kap went back to full-time research mathematics, and returned to number theory, one of his first loves. Some of his most recent work, on integral quadratic forms, was published in 2003, when he was 86.
Mathematically, Kap was my brother: he, the first student of MacLane, I, nearly the last. But he was much more an uncle to me who had been down most of the avenues that I later began to explore. He was always generous in advice, counsel, and in giving credit. I saw him nearly every day in my student days at Chicago, and again, nearly every day, over the first 8 years I was here as Director. Interacting with Kap was always a pleasure, crisp, clear, and somehow uplifting. It is one that I shall deeply miss.
Sadly,
David

Bahman Engheta has posted some of his photos from the recent conference in honor of Paul C. Roberts, Homological Conjectures in Commutative Algebra. Go see!
Mahdi Majidi has also posted photos from the conference.
Several other sets of photos are also available at the conference website.
Marco Fontana has posted some photos from the Workshop on Commutative Rings held in Cortona.

A special conference/workshop announcement: The Texas Algebraic Geometry Seminar (TAGS) will be held May 20-21 2006 at Texas A&M University, along with a three-day preconference workshop on Algebraic Coding Theory, May 17-19. For more details, including information on registration and support, see the TAGS website.
Also, Juan Migliore sent us some photos from the Special Session on Combinatorial Algebraic Geometry, held at the 2006 Spring Central Sectional Meeting of the AMS at the University of Notre Dame. Go see!

The Red Temática de Álgebra Conmutativa y Aplicaciones has posted some photos from the Winter School on Commutative Algebra and Applications that they organized in Barcelona a few weeks ago. Go see!
We also found some photos of the Commutative Algebra, Singularities and Computer Algebra conference in Sinaia from back in 2002. Thanks to Sorin Popescu for posting these. Go see!
There are many many photos from the October AMS meeting in Lincoln NE, including snapshots of Sir Michael Atiyah’s lecture, the Algebra party in the courtroom, and the Special Sessions on Algebraic Geometry and on the Representation Theory of Noetherian Rings. Credit to Brian Harbourne for these great pictures. Go see!
update: The IPM has posted photos taken by Siamak Yassemi at the recent CIMPA school on Commutative Algebra in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Click on his name to view the photos.) Go see!
In other news, we’re as proud as we can be to look back and realize that it’s the 4th birthday of commalg.org! Our thanks to everyone in the commutative algebra community for your support. We hope the site is as useful for you as it is for us. To celebrate, we’ve made a small change in the little icon that appears in the address bar; AC=CA!

MSRI is launching a new series of video productions, called “New Horizons in Undergraduate Mathematics”. As the MSRI site says, “These videos will showcase great lecturers speaking on topics from current research that are both important, accessible and ready to enter the undergraduate curriculum.”
We’re delighted to see that the first of these lecture series is Gröbner Bases with Bernd Sturmfels. It’s always nice to see commutative algebra and commutative algebraists taking the lead in educational projects like this.
update: You can order the DVD through the MSRI site, and a free downloadable version will be available soon.
update: We also recently learned of the passing of Serge Lang on 12 September 2005 at age 78.

On August 29, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. Damage was especially severe in Louisiana; a majority of the New Orleans area is flooded, with some parts under 20 feet of water. Our colleagues in the affected areas, particularly those at Tulane University, could use our help. If you can offer a place to stay temporarily, or need a seminar speaker or two in the next couple of weeks, let us know (email at webmaster@commalg.org) and we’ll put you in touch.
Also, we’d like to collect reports of people who are ok, as well as those who could use a little help. We’re thinking of you.
update 1 Sept: We’ve heard from Tulane colleagues Christine Cumming and Brent Strunk (in Dallas), and Tai Ha and his wife (in Houston). Everyone is OK.
update 12 Sept: Tulane has cancelled classes for the fall semester.