Dear Colleague,

This is a call for applications to the upcoming Clay Mathematics Institute summer school on "The Resolution of Singular Algebraic Varieties" in Obergurgl (Tyrolean Alps) Austria, from June 3 - June 30, 2012.

Please forward this email to any interested faculty/postdoctoral researchers or graduate students at your institution. The deadline for complete applications is February 1, 2012.

Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are within five years of receipt of their Ph.D. are given preference for financ ial support. Support is decided on a competitive basis and may include accommodation plus funds towards the cost of economy travel.

I have included a brief summary of the school below. Applicants need to apply online by February 1, 2012.

For more information and to apply, please visit: http://www.claymath.org/programs/summer_school/2012/

Kindest regards,

David Alexandre Ellwood
Research Director
Clay Mathematics Institute

One Bow Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617. 995.2600
Fax: 617.995.2660


Summer School Program Description

Scientific Committee: David Alexandre Ellwood (CMI), Herwig Hauser (U. Vienna & Innsbruck), Shigefumi Mori (RIMS, Kyoto), Josef Schicho (RICAM, Linz)

The resolution of singularities is one of the major topics in algebraic geometry. Due to its difficulty and complexity, as well as certain historical reasons, research to date in the field has been pursued by a relatively small group of mathematicians. However the field has begun a renaissance over the last twenty years, boosted by many small conferences and schools, with the discovery of more conceptual proofs of the characteristic zero case, as well as several brilliant attempts at the still unresolved prime characteristic case. This school will consist of three weeks of foundational courses supplemented by exercise and problem sessions, designed to provide graduate students and young mathematicians with a comprehensive framework for research in this field. The fourth week will consist of mini-courses with selected experts, aimed at providing participants with state of the art techniques, as well as a survey of some of the main open problems and the most promising approaches now under investigation. The Obergurgl Center is situated at 2000m above sea level in the Tyrolean Alps, two hours from Innsbruck (by bus) and four hours from Munich (by train and bus), both with international airports. Facilities will be provided for lectures, meals and lodging at the center.

Foundational Courses

Commutative Algebra for Singular Algebraic Varieties - Orlando Villamayor

Resolution of Singularities: Games and Computations - Josef Schicho

Resolution Techniques - Herwig Hauser

Mini-Courses
The fourth week will consist of mini-courses aimed at a much higher level. Possible topics include: Positive characteristic, arithmetic resolution, toric resolution, resolution of vector fields, b irational geometry, arc spaces and applications of resolution.