Summer CAMP
(Commutative Algebra Market Preparation workshop)
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln hosted a professional development workshop on August 8–10, 2023, in Lincoln, Nebraska, aimed at early-career mathematicians with research interests in commutative algebra and related fields. We discussed careers in both academia and nonacademia, and focused especially on what happens before, during, and after job applications. We invited experts with different kinds of professional experience to talk about these topics; all experts have a background in commutative algebra. We also had dedicated workshop time everyday for the participants to work on their materials, giving them a chance to apply the advice they received in real time and to receive one-on-one feedback from the experts. Here are some of the topics we discussed:
- The job application process (in both academia and outside of academia)
- How to prepare a job talk
- How to prepare for job interviews (in both academia and outside of academia)
- How to negotiate
- Applying to grants
- What the day-to-day of our nonacademic experts is like
Invited experts:
Adam Boocher (Assistant Professor at the University of San Diego) cancelled due to illness
- Haydee Lindo (Assistant Professor at Harvey Mudd College)
- Jonathan Montaño (Assistant Professor at Arizona State University)
- Alexandra Seceleanu (Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
- Branden Stone (Principal Research Scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute)
- Amelia Taylor (Staff Data Scientist at Shopify)
- Judy Walker (Aaron Douglas Professor and Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty and Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
- Mark Walker (Willa Cather Professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
Schedule:
All talks and panels will be held in Avery 115; the afternoon workshops will be held in Avery 13 (basement).
Group picture: 10 am on Thursday
Abstracts:
Branden Stone (Georgia Tech Research Institute)
Life as a defense contractor and the math used
Abstract: DoD projects have a wide variety of applications. As such, the technology needed is not limited to particular fields. Throughout this talk we will discuss the expectations and work cycle of a defense contractor at GTRI. Furthermore, we will highlight some engineering tools and mathematical principles utilized.
Jonathan Montaño (Arizona State University)
Multiplicities and Volumes: An interplay among Algebra, Combinatorics, and Geometry
Abstract: The notion of multiplicity in algebra traces back to the work of Samuel in 1951 in connections with intersection theory of algebraic varieties. Since then, multiple generalizations of Samuel's multiplicity have been introduced and a wide-ranging set of applications have been found to other topics in mathematics such as: mixed volumes in discrete geometry and degrees in algebraic geometry. Multiplicities are closely related to the theory of convex bodies, and this relation is an active research topic lying in the interaction of Commutative Algebra, Combinatorics, and Algebraic Geometry. In this talk we will discuss some of the history of this topic and its applications. We also report on recent results in joint work with Federico Castillo, Yairon Cid-Ruiz, Binglin Li, Fatemeh Mohammadi, and Naizhen Zhang. In one of these results, we show that mixed volumes of arbitrary convex bodies can be interpreted algebraically as mixed multiplicities of graded families of monomial ideals. In another result, we present a complete characterization of the positivity of multidegrees of multiprojective algebraic varieties and establish a combinatorial description using convex geometry. We also use our methods to prove that double Schubert polynomials have Saturated Newton Polytopes, which settles a conjecture by Monical, Tokcan and Yong.
This is the same job talk Jonathan used during his most recent job search.
There's a Hilbert Function in this Talk
Abstract: I'll tell a story about Magic Squares and a theorem of Stanley. Along the way, I'll discuss how parts of this story appeared in job talks of various sorts.
cancelled due to illness
Participants
Here is the participant list.
Travel information:
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is located in Lincoln, Nebraska. If you live within driving distance, we strongly encourage you to drive to Lincoln. If you need to fly, there is an airport in Lincoln, and the Omaha airport is about an hour away by car. The Oma-Link shuttle provides transportation between the Omaha airport and Lincoln, but it is unfortunately quite expensive. An one way uber costs typically around $100; we might be able to cover a few uber rides to and from the Omaha airport, but only if there is a group of participants sharing it. We strongly encourage participants to fly to Lincoln instead.
CHAMPS:
CHAMPS gives graduate students and other early career researchers on the academic job market a platform to showcase their research. You can see elevator pitch videos introducing the research of former CHAMPS on the CHAMPS YouTube Channel.
Coffee will be provided by the UNL Math Department.