Tuesday, January 13, 2009
4:15 PM -
5:15 PM
Thomas Wolff Memorial Lecture in Mathematics
The Algebra and Geometry of Random Surfaces
Andrei Okounkov,
professor of mathematics,
Princeton University,
Speaker's Bio:
Andrei Okounkov received his doctorate at Moscow State University in 1995 under Alexander Kirillov and Grigori Olshanski. He worked at the University of Chicago and the University of California at Berkeley before joining the faculty of Princeton University in 2002. Okounkov's interests include representation theory, algebraic geometry, combinatorics, and mathematical physics. His results in asymptotic combinatorics include the first proof of the Baik-Deift-Johansson conjecture, which states that the asymptotics of random partitions distributed according to the Plancherel measure coincides with that of the eigenvalues of large Hermitian matrices. The new techniques that he developed for working with random partitions have found applications in ergodic theory, the study of random surfaces, and algebraic geometry. Okounkov won the European Mathematical Society Prize in 2004 and the Fields Medal in 2006.
Andrei Okounkov received his doctorate at Moscow State University in 1995 under Alexander Kirillov and Grigori Olshanski. He worked at the University of Chicago and the University of California at Berkeley before joining the faculty of Princeton University in 2002. Okounkov's interests include representation theory, algebraic geometry, combinatorics, and mathematical physics. His results in asymptotic combinatorics include the first proof of the Baik-Deift-Johansson conjecture, which states that the asymptotics of random partitions distributed according to the Plancherel measure coincides with that of the eigenvalues of large Hermitian matrices. The new techniques that he developed for working with random partitions have found applications in ergodic theory, the study of random surfaces, and algebraic geometry. Okounkov won the European Mathematical Society Prize in 2004 and the Fields Medal in 2006.
"The Algebra and Geometry of Random Surfaces," Andrei Okounkov, professor of mathematics, Princeton University.
Event Sponsors:
For more information, please contact stacey croomes by phone at 626-395-4335 or by email at [email protected] or visit http://www.math.caltech.edu/events/wolff09.html.