As we enter the second half of the term, we’ve got our fifth talk of the year and second pure maths talk, which will be given by Prof. Mark Gross. It will be at the usual time and place of 8:30PM Monday 9 November at Winstanley Lecture Theatre, Trinity College. The topic of the talk is “An Introduction to Tropical Geometry” and promises to examine the lovely connections between combinatorics and algebraic geometry.

Prof. Gross was a full Professor at the University of California, San Diego and is currently a Professor of Pure Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. His research interests are primarily in the two fields of algebraic geometry and differential geometry.

Speaker: Prof. Mark Gross (DPMMS)
Title: An introduction to tropical geometry.
Abstract: Algebraic geometry is the study of solution sets to polynomial equations. Usually, one is interested in solving equations over algebraically closed fields such as the complex numbers, but these solutions sets can be quite hard to visualize. However, a recently discovered type of geometry, which is called “tropical geometry” for rather silly reasons, helps us visualize these solution sets and at the same time solve rather difficult problems in algebraic geometry via purely combinatorial arguments. I will give an introduction to some of the basic ideas of the subject.

As always, there will be complimentary port and juice served before the talk at 8:15PM. This talk is for members only, but there will be a chance to sign-up for TMS membership for £2.50. So, come on down to the Winstanley this Monday if you’d like to sit down with a glass of port in a cushioned seat and find out more about the wonders of pure mathematics!