Launch of New Research Program in Topology
TAU mathematicians are connecting with leading experts around the world in a new research initiative to study the science of shapes.
From your iPhone, GPS and new computer to cancer therapies and nuclear physics, basic principles of topology play a fundamental role in almost all the technologies surrounding us. Topology is the mathematical study of shapes, or more specifically, when shapes are stretched, twisted and squeezed. The field interacts with a broad spectrum of interrelated disciplines – such as geometry, mathematical physics, quantum mechanics and chaos theory – and has been gaining increasing attention in recent years, with popular television shows like "The Big Bang Theory" promoting its centrality.
In response to the theoretical significance and scope of practical applications of topology, Tel Aviv University’s Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Mathematical Sciences is launching a new endeavor: the Topology in Dynamics and Physics Program (TIDY).
The program will consist of a distinguished lecture series, mini-workshops and a competitive post-doctoral fellowship program. Foreign experts in the field will come to TAU to lecture at specialized seminars and take part in discussions. According to TAU head of the program, Prof. Leonid Polterovich, “this important initiative will foster an exchange of ideas, which could eventually lead to fruitful collaborations and substantial scientific progress. The program offers an exciting opportunity for mathematicians around the world to engage in groundbreaking research.”
Dr. Lev Buhovsky, a new young faculty member and expert in topology, will significantly contribute to the new initiative. Recruited from the University of Chicago, Buhovsky won the prestigious 2011 Haim Nessyahu Prize in Mathematics, which was awarded as part of a national competition of excellent PhD dissertations. Canadian post-doctoral fellow Francois Charette from the University of Montreal will also be joining the program.
Prof. Michael Bialy, Dr. Yaron Ostrover and Prof. Leonid Polterovich at the Beverly and Raymond Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences organized the program – in close collaboration with Prof. David Steinberg, head of the School of Mathematics. Three outstanding mathematicians from top institutions, Prof. Paul Biran (ETH-Zurich), Prof. Yael Karshon (University of Toronto) and Prof. Shmuel Weinberger (University of Chicago), will serve on the international advisory board.
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