Conference: Macaulay2 Workshop and Mini-School

This grant provides support for a two-day mini-school for graduate students the weekend of June 3-4, 2023, followed by a five-day software development workshop for Macaulay2 the week of June 5-9, 2023. The mini-school and workshop will take place at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Macaulay2 is a leading computer algebra system for supporting research in commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. It is open source, and researchers can extend its functionality by contributing their own code in the form of packages. The workshop will be an opportunity for new users to learn from experienced programmers how to develop high quality packages that will be made publicly available to support future research. The first two days, which will be targeted at graduate students and postdocs with limited Macaulay2 experience, will consist of introductory lectures and computational problem sessions to facilitate a smooth onboarding process for less-experienced participants to the projects of the following week. The workshop will also include professional development activities for early career mathematicians, including the opportunity to present on their research, and a panel discussion on jobs. Workshops that support the intensive development of Macaulay2 packages have an immediate impact on the research programs of both package developers and researchers worldwide. A cursory search for "Macaulay2" as a reference in MathSciNet shows 1643 matches, with 123 from the year 2022 alone. This is just one highlight of the importance of computer experimentation to current work in algebraic geometry, commutative algebra, and adjacent research areas, as well as the role of Macaulay2 in advancing the state of knowledge in these subjects. Maintaining this status requires developing new software packages, enhancing the performance and usability of those that already exist, and training new generations of mathematical scientists. Each component of the mini-school and workshop is designed to meet one or more of these goals. More details are available at the conference website: https://www-users.cse.umn.edu/~mahrud/M2Week/. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.