Organizers:
● Timothy Budd (Radboud University)
● Frank Ferrari (Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and International Solvay Institutes)
● Scott Sheffield (MIT)
● Herman Verlinde (Princeton University)
● Yilin Wang (IHES / ETH Zürich)
● Zhenbin Yang (Tsinghua University)
The study of low dimensional models for quantum gravity, in particular Liouville and JT gravity, is at the heart of a very rich interaction between physics and mathematics. On the physics side, the aim is to address profound questions in 2d and 3d quantum gravity, in relation with the information paradox, quantum black holes and holography. On the mathematics side, the probabilistic and combinatorial interpretations of the models have opened new avenues of research at the interface with other mathematical research areas, including complex analysis, Teichmüller theory, and the study of conformally invariant processes in statistical physics. The aim of the program is to boost this interplay by bringing together physicists and mathematicians around the theme of random geometry. Some key problems of interest will be the construction of JT theory at finite cut-off, the study of applications in supersymmetric set-ups, the study of 3d random manifolds in relation with the 
This program will also have a workshop associated with it: Workshop: Random Geometry in Math and Physics: April 13-17, 2026
Thursday 3/26/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Diego Liska
Title: A universal sum over topologies in 3d gravity
Friday 3/27/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Soumyadeep Chaudhuri
Title: Semiclassical analysis of finite cut-off JT gravity on a disk
Friday 3/27/26 2:00PM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Wayne W. Weng
Title: A single geometry from an all-genus expansion in quantum gravity
Monday 3/30/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Herman Verlinde
Title: Mini Course: Holography for Mathematicians Part 1
Monday 3/30/26 2:00PM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Herman Verlinde
Title: Mini Course: Holography for Mathematicians Part 2
Tuesday 3/31/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Herman Verlinde
Title: Mini Course: Holography for Mathematicians Part 3
Wednesday 4/1/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Alicia Castro
Title: Random geometries in various quantum gravity approaches
Thursday 4/2/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Zhenbin Yang,
Title: Mini Course: Review of JT Gravity Part 1
Thursday 4/2/26 2:00PM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Zhenbin Yang,
Title: Mini Course: Review of JT Gravity Part 2
Friday 4/3/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Frank Ferrari
Title: On Finite Cut-Off Holography and JT Gravity Part 1
Friday 4/3/26 2:00PM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Zhenbin Yang,
Title: Mini Course: Review of JT Gravity Part 3
Monday 4/6/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Frank Ferrari
Title: On Finite Cut-Off Holography and JT Gravity Part 2
Monday 4/6/26 2:00PM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Jean-Marc Schlenker
Title: Mini Course: The geometry and renormalized volume of hyperbolic 3-manifolds Part 1
Tuesday 4/7/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Jean-Marc Schlenker
Title: Mini Course: The geometry and renormalized volume of hyperbolic 3-manifolds Part 2
Wednesday 4/8/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Jean-Marc Schlenker
Title: Mini Course: The geometry and renormalized volume of hyperbolic 3-manifolds Part 3
Thursday 4/9/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Yilin Wang
Title: Mini Course: Action of SLE and its holographic expression as a renormalized volume Part 1
Thursday 4/9/26 2:00PM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Yilin Wang
Title: Mini Course: Action of SLE and its holographic expression as a renormalized volume Part 2
Friday 4/10/26 11:15AM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Fredrik Viklund
Title: Mini-lecture series: SLE and Random Geometry Part 1
Friday 4/10/26 2:00PM – Seminar Room – 313
Speaker: Fredrik Viklund
Title: Mini-lecture series: SLE and Random Geometry Part 1
