Geometry and Topology in a Discrete Setting

BERLIN, 23 May - 3 June 2022, at Zuse Institute Berlin (in-person event)

The summer school will introduce participants to mathematics at the confluence of discrete mathematics, geometry, and topology. The focus will be on recent work that exhibits the hidden geometry and topology of combinatorial problems.

Format

The school covers two weeks. The main format consists of three lecture series, each of which is dominated by 1-hour lectures by international experts. These are accompanied by problem-solving session and more research-focus talks.

The schedule can be downloaded here.

Lecture Series

Pavle Blagojević (FU Berlin/ Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts): Equivariant topology in discrete geometry

Florian Frick (Carnegie Mellon University/ FU Berlin): Intersection results in convex geometry

Shira Zerbib (Iowa State University): Fixed point theorems and their combinatorial applications


Invited Speakers

Ron Aharoni (Technion)

Imre Bárány (Renyi Institute Budapest)

Giulia Codenotti (Universität Frankfurt)

Eran Nevo (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

János Pach (Renyi Institute Budapest/ IST Austria)

Günter M. Ziegler (FU Berlin)

Prerequisites

Participants need to be comfortable with the foundational topics of the usual undergraduate math curriculum. Some knowledge of either combinatorics or discrete geometry is recommended. Additionally, some knowledge of topology is recommended. The lecturers will provide a few video segments with a concise introduction to the necessary topology ahead of the Summer School.


Registration/ Application

The deadline for applications via the BMS application portal expired on 15 February 2022. Funding decisions were taken in early March, and selected students were informed about their funding decisions accordingly.

Information for local students

You may receive pass/ fail credit for this Summer School as an FU Ergänzungsmodul (5 LP). If you would like to receive credit, you will be asked to write a short report after the Summer School as a final project. The two-week period of the Summer School is during the semester; some related classes at FU Berlin will be put on hold to minimize conflicts. Moreover, lecture materials will be made available to participants so that they have the opportunity to review lectures they had to miss due to possible time conflicts.

How to get there 

Berlin has one international airport called BER, which is located southeast of the city (near the town of Schönefeld in the state of Brandenburg) It is easily accessible by public transport, and you can find detailed information for your journey on this website: www.bvg.de/en

A weekly ticket for zones A and B costs 36 €. The ZIB is located in zone B.

The Konrad-Zuse-Institute (ZIB) is located on the campus of the Freie Universität Berlin in Dahlem. It can be reached by U-Bahn U3 (station: Dahlem-Dorf) and bus X83 (station: Arnimallee). The bus X83 leaves at the U/S-Bahn station Rathaus Steglitz (U9, S1).

You can find a map here.  

Places to eat on campus

As part of the FU campus, the ZIB offers various coffee shops, canteens, and restaurants that you can reach in walking distance. You can check out this list of places to eat and a map to spot them properly and not get lost around the leafy campus on the way back to the next lecture! 

Please be aware that Germans still frequently use cash and small stores like local cafés and restaurants may not accept cards. 

 
Questions

Please direct all questions about the school to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.