In this issue of the Newsletter

Milestones and Prizes

Congratulations to John Pardon on winning the New Horizons in Mathematics Prize for important results in geometry and topology, particularly in the field of symplectic geometry and pseudo-holomorphic curves, which are certain types of smooth surfaces in manifolds.

From Billiard Dynamics to Riemann Surfaces

From Billiard Dynamics to Riemann Surfaces. By Samuel Grushevsky Teichmuller Dynamics via Algebraic Geometry

Random Paths and Purpose: A Conversation with Scott Sheffield

Random Paths and Purpose: A Conversation with Scott Sheffield. Interview by Evita Nestoridi

Random Paths to Quantum Field Theory

Random Paths to Quantum Field Theory. By Antti Kupiainen

Simons Postdoctoral Fellows Meeting. April 11-13, 2012.

In 2009 the Simons Foundation initiated a program through which 46 universities have awarded a total of 70 Postdoctoral Fellowships in mathematics, theoretical physics and theoretical computer science. We have been delighted by the outstanding quality of the appointments made. In a three-day meeting beginning April 11, the Simons Foundation will bring together this remarkable … Read more

Claudia Clopath – Modeling cerebellar learning, 03-27-2012

Speaker: Claudia Clopath (Columbia University) Title: Modeling cerebellar learning When: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Time: 11:30AM Where: Simons Center, Lecture Hall 102 Abstract: Purkinje cells (PCs) of the cerebellar cortex have long been considered to perform similarly as perceptrons: Given an input pattern in the granular layer, they should learn to provide an adequate motor … Read more

Call for Proposals & Applications

The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics (SCGP) at Stony Brook University is seeking proposals for scientific programs/workshops/conferences. The Simons Center is a research center devoted to furthering fundamental knowledge in mathematics and theoretical physics, especially knowledge at the interface of these two disciplines. Each year the Simons Center funds about 4 Visiting Programs (ranging … Read more

Topological Phases of Matter: June 10-14, 2013

Organized by Paul Fendley (University of Virginia), Andreas Ludwig (UCSB), Xiao-Liang Qi (Stanford), Nicholas Read (Yale), Steven Simon (Oxford) and Zhenghan Wang (Microsoft Station Q)       A topological phase of matter can be broadly defined as a (quantum-mechanical) phase of matter in which the ground state has a gap for all local excitations. This … Read more

Low Dimensional Topology: May 20-24 2013

Organized by Peter Ozsvath, Olga Plamenevskaya, and Mohammed Abouzaid The conference will explore the connections between low-dimensional topology and symplectic geometry. This workshop is a part of the Spring 2013 program Low Dimensional Topology Organized by Peter Ozsvath                

How Thinks Works Exhibit Closes Today

The How Thinks Works Exhibit curated by Nina Douglas will close in the SCGP Art Gallery on Tuesday, February 28th. This exhibition featured the works of Tatjana Busch, Ji Choi, Helaman Ferguson, Pi (Andrew Logan), Lydia Nestor, Peter Nicks, Robert Michael Smith, Kiki Smith, and the Houdini Collective led by Nina Douglas (works not yet … Read more

Constantin Teleman, “Gauge Theory, Langlands Duality and Mirror Symmetry”

Title: “Gauge Theory, Langlands Duality and Mirror Symmetry” Speaker: Constantin Teleman, Berkeley University of California Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Place: Lecture Hall 102, Simons Center                   Abstract: Kapustin and Witten have explained some landmark results and conjectures relating the geometry and representations of Langlands dual pairs of … Read more