Workshop

The emphasis will be on the interplay of combinatorics, Lie theory and finite group theory. Connections between these areas go back at least to Schur and Weyl: representations of the symmetric group, polynomial representations of general linear group, Weyl’s character formula. In the last 20 years the field has seen great development as the combinatorics of Young tableaux has been generalized to any Lie type via the theory of crystals. Littlemann’s path model approach to crystals makes a strong connection between this theory and the geometry of the ?ag variety and recent activity is exploring the connection between representation theory, the geometry of the loop Grassmannian and affine Hecke algebras. In the modular representation theory of finite groups of Lie type, connections with complex geometry have arisen in the defining characteristic case and with affine Kac-Moody algebras in the non-defining characteristic case. Topics covered by the workshop will include finite groups of Lie type, algebraic groups, quantum groups, affine Lie algebras, Hecke algebras, cluster algebras, W-algebras, and modular Lie algebras. Accommodations: A block of rooms has been reserved at the Rose Garden Inn. Reservations may be made by calling 1-800-992-9005 OR directly on their website. Click on "Groups" on the bottom of the page and enter the appropriate group code CGLIE (this code is not case sensitive) into box labeled: "I am an Attendee" - this will open up a window showing all of the group information. You will proceed from there. The cut-off date for reservations is February 23, 2008.