ICM98-CL7: ICM98 Sections, an Update

TO ALL MATHEMATICIANS WHO HAVE PRELIMINARILY PREREGISTERED FOR
THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MATHEMATICIANS 1998 IN BERLIN

Seventh Circular Letter

Subject: ICM98-CL7: ICM98 Sections, an Update


Dear Colleague:

In the second letter (ICM98-CL2) of the ICM98 circular letter series,
Phillip A. Griffiths, the chairman of the ICM98 International Program
Committee, announced a preliminary description of the sections
planned for the scientific program of ICM98. In response to suggestions   
from many mathematicians, the program committee has now revised the
section descriptions. Please find the new version below.

If you have further comments or suggestions, please contact

Phillip A. Griffiths
Institute for Advanced Study
Olden Lane
Princeton, NJ 08540-0631
Phone:  +1/609/734-8200
Fax:    +1/609/683-7605
E-mail: pg@math.ias.edu



Yours sincerely

Martin Groetschel
President of the 
ICM98 Organizing Committee

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ICM-98 Section Descriptions (8/30/96)

1.  Logic
Model theory.  Set theory and general topology.  Recursion.  Logics.   
 Proof theory.  Applications.
Connections with sections 2, 3, 13, 14

2.  Algebra
Finite and infinite groups.  Rings and algebras.  Representations of   
finite dimensional algebras.  Algebraic K-theory.  Category theory and   
homological algebra.  Computational algebra.  Geometric methods in group   
theory.
Connections with sections 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 13, 14

3.  Number Theory and Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry
Algebraic and analytic number theory.  Zeta and L-functions.  Modular   
functions (except general automorphic theory).  Arithmetic on algebraic   
varieties.  Diophantine equations, Diophantine approximation.   
 Transcendental number theory, geometry of numbers.  p-adic analysis.   
 Computational number theory.  Arakelov theory.  Galois representations.
Connections with sections 1, 2, 4, 7, 13, 14

4.  Algebraic Geometry (joint piece with #11)
Algebraic varieties, their cycles, cohomologies and motives.   
 Singularities and classification.  Includes moduli spaces.  Low   
dimensional varieties.  Abelian varieties.  Vector bundles.  Real   
algebraic and analytic sets.
Connections with sections 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14

5.  Differential Geometry and Global Analysis
Local and global differential geometry.  Applications of PDE to geometric   
problems including harmonic maps and minimal submanifolds.  Geometric   
structures on manifolds.  Symplectic and contact manifolds.  Hamiltonian   
systems, metric geometry.
Connections with sections 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

6.  Topology
Algebraic, differential, geometric and low dimensional topology.   
 4-manifolds and Seiberg-Witten theory.  3-manifolds including knot   
theory.
Connections with sections 2, 4, 5, 7, 11

7.  Lie Groups and Lie Algebras
Algebraic groups, Lie groups and Lie algebras, including infinite   
dimensional ones, e.g. Kac-Moody, representation theory.  Automorphic   
forms over number fields and function fields, including Langlands'   
program.  Quantum groups.  Shimura varieties.  Vertex operator algebras.   
 Enveloping algebras.  Super algebras.
Connections with sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13

8.  Analysis
Classical and Fourier analysis, operator algebras, functional analysis,   
complex analysis.
Connections with sections 5, 7, 9, 10, 11

9.  Ordinary Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems
Topological aspects of dynamics.  Geometric and qualitative theory of ODE   
and smooth dynamical systems, bifurcations, singularities (including   
Lagrangian singularities), one-dimensional and holomorphic dynamics,   
ergodic theory (including sensitive attractors).
Connections with sections 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 17

10.  Partial Differential Equations (includes non-linear functional   
analysis)
Solvability, regularity and stability of equations and systems.   
 Geometric properties (singularities, symmetry).  Variational methods.   
 Spectral theory, scattering, inverse problems.  Relations to continuous   
media and control.
Connections with sections 5, 8, 11, 16

11.  Mathematical Physics (joint piece with #4)
Quantum mechanics.  Operator algebras.  Quantum field theory.  General   
relativity.  Statistical mechanics and random media.  Integrable systems.
Connections with sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

12.  Probability and Statistics
Classical probability theory, limit theorems and large deviations.   
 Combinatorial probability and stochastic geometry.  Stochastic analysis.   
 Random fields and multicomponent systems.  Statistical inference,   
sequential methods and spatial statistics.  Applications.
Connections with sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17

13.  Combinatorics
Interaction of combinatorics with algebra, representation theory,   
topology, etc.  Existence and counting of combinatorial structures.   
 Graph theory.  Finite geometries.  Combinatorial algorithms.   
 Combinatorial geometry.
Connections with sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 12

14.  Mathematical Aspects of Computer Science (joint with IUCSI)
Complexity theory and efficient algorithms.  Parallelism.  Formal   
languages and mathematical machines.  Cryptography.  Semantics and   
verification of programs.  Computer aided conjectures testing and theorem   
proving.  Symbolic computation.  Quantum computing.
Connections with sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 12

15.  Numerical Analysis & Scientific Computing
Difference methods, finite elements.  Approximation theory.   
 Computational applications of analysis.  Optimization theory.  Matrix   
calculations.  Signal processing.  Simulations and applications.
Connections with sections 12, 17

16.  Applications:
 a) applications
applications of mathematics in other sections; topics and speakers to be   
developed in consultation with panels in other sections.
 Connections with sections 10, 12
b) (non-continuum) applied area, (for example mathematics of   
communications & networking or an area of mathematical biology)
 topic and panelists to be determined in consultation with CICIAM
 c) materials/hydrodynamics

17.  Control Theory and Optimization (joint with Mathematical Programming   
Society)
Control, optimization and variational techniques.  Linear, integer and   
non-linear programming, graph, and networks.  Applications.  Robotics.
Connections with sections 9, 12, 15 

18.  Teaching and Popularization of Mathematics

19.  History of Mathematics