The Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) was delighted to welcome Professor Caucher Birkar to Loughborough University last week.
Based at the University of Cambridge, Professor Birkar was awarded a Fields Medal last year for his dedication to algebraic geometry.
Algebraic geometry is an exciting area of research in mathematics which studies geometric objects defined by algebraic relations. With applications ranging from theoretical physics to robotics, algebraic geometry remains an influential force in modern mathematics.
The Fields Medal is recognised as one of the highest honours in mathematics, and is awarded every four years to a recipient under the age of 40 who has provided an outstanding contribution in their area.
Professor Birkar visited the University on Friday 15 March to present a lecture titled ‘Log Calabi-Yau fibrations’, as part of the Kodaira weekend workshop in Algebraic Geometry hosted by the IAS.
In his lecture, Professor Birkar introduced the notion of log calabi-yau fibrations and discussed how it unifies various concepts of birational geometry.
The Kodaira weekend workshop formed part of the IAS Geometry Theme, led by Dr Hamid Ahmadinezhad from the School of Science. The workshop was named after pioneer algebraic geometer Kunihiko Kodaira – also a Fields Medallist - and coincided with his birthday.
The event also welcomed visiting fellows from a number of higher education institutes from across the UK and Europe, including Professor Ivan Cheltsov, Dr Soheyla Feyzbakhsh, Professor Alexander Kuznetsov, Professor Miles Reid FRS, Dr Evgeny Shinder, Dr Konstantin Shramov, Dr Hendrik Suess and Professor Gerad van der Geer.
Director of the IAS, Professor Marsha Meskimmon, commented: “We were delighted to welcome Professor Birkar to Loughborough as an IAS Fellow and to be supporting the Kodaira workshop as part of this year’s annual Theme, Geometry.
“The scholars that came to Loughborough for the workshop are a truly stellar group and we look forward to developing on-going research relationships with them in future.”
For more information about the Kodaira workshop, including information on how to register, please visit the dedicated webpage.
The IAS aims to promote an outstanding, interdisciplinary research environment at Loughborough by supporting collaborations with leading international scholars from other institutions.