Fields workshop announcement

[Pieter Hofstra <phofstra@uottawa.ca>]

Workshop Announcement and call for participation: New directions in Inverse  semigroups.

University of Ottawa, June 1-4. Organizers: Philip Scott and Pieter Hofstra

Scientific Background: Inverse semigroups algebraically model partial symmetry, generalizing the way groups model global symmetry. They were introduced in the 1950's as a correct algebraic setting for studying pseudogroups (of partial homeomorphisms between open subsets of a topological space).The influential monograph of J. Renault (1980) highlighted the close connections  between inverse semigroups, \'etale groupoids, and C*-algebras. Later, Kellendonk developed connections of inverse semigroups to aperiodic tilings and C*-algebras, inspired in part by Shechtman's work on quasicrystals in the  1980's. Recently, in joint work of Kudryavtseva, Lawson, Lenz, and Resende, a global understanding of the relationship between inverse semigroups and  \'etale groupoids has been put in the categorical setting of non-commutative Stone duality.
Additionally, work by various researchers has also established important connections between inverse semigroups, toposes, and MV-algebras.

Purpose of the Workshop: the workshop will focus on various themes surrounding inverse semigroups and their applications, with the goal of bringing together researchers from each of the surrounding areas.

Workshop Format: the meeting will consist of roughly three days of invited and contributed talks, both from senior professors and young researchers. The meeting will start with overview talks by experts in their area, aimed at bringing newcomers to the field up to speed with recent developments.

Invited Talks: there will be invited talks by the following researchers: R.  Exel (U. Santa Catarina), J. Funk (CUNY), G. Kudryavtseva (U. Ljubljana), M. Lawson (Heriot-Watt), D. Mundici (U. Florence), J. Renault (U. Orleans),  P. Resende (Instituto Superior Tecnico), C. Starling (U. Ottawa), F. Wehrung (U. Caen).

Contributed Talks: we are soliciting contributed talks. If you wish to give  a (30 minute) talk at the meeting, please send the organizers a title and short abstract before February 15. (In case your decision to attend and/or your access to travel funds depends on the acceptance of your talk, let us know and we will ensure a quick decision.)

Satellite Workshop: Immediately preceding our workshop, the analysis group in our department (Thierry Giordano, Vladimir Pestov and Charles Starling) will host a workshop entitled “Operator Algebras and Dynamical Systems”  (May 30 - June 1, Ottawa). The two workshops will coordinate and have some  invited speakers in common. Hence we strongly encourage participants to attend both workshops.

Webpage: the following page contains essential information about housing options, registration fees and procedures, maps and more:

http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~scpsg/Fields16/Fields16.NewDirections.Semigrps.html

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the organizers:

Philip Scott   -  phil@site.uottawa.ca<mailto:phil@site.uottawa.ca>
Pieter Hofstra -  phofstra@uottawa.ca<mailto:phofstra@uottawa.ca>


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