Conference: Western Algebraic Geometry Symposium

This award supports participation at four Western Algebraic Geometry Symposium (WAGS) conferences from 2026-2028. The WAGS conference series is a twice-yearly conference for researchers in algebraic geometry in the western US—and beyond. This grant provides travel support for participants in the next meeting, which will be held at the University of Utah in December 2026, and for additional meetings that will run in spring and fall 2027, and in spring 2028. At its core, algebraic geometry is the study of the shape of solution sets of systems of polynomial equations. Over the last century, algebraic geometry has found deep and surprising connections to fields ranging from topology and number theory to theoretical physics and cryptography. The tools and techniques of algebraic geometry have become ubiquitous across mathematics and related disciplines, providing a bridge between these fields. Each WAGS conference will bring lectures from experts presenting new advances in algebraic geometry and related subjects and will aim to build a regional community among algebraic geometers of all career stages. Activities will be included in each program that are designed to promote interaction between early-career researchers—including graduate students—and more established ones. Poster sessions, lighting talks, and panel discussions will provide additional opportunities for early-career mathematicians. The symposiums will be centered around research talks delivered by leading mathematicians, highlighting exciting recent results in and around algebraic geometry. Invited speakers for the December 2026 meeting will be experts on topics including the birational geometry and the minimal model program, singularities, moduli theory, Hodge theory, and hyperkähler geometry. For the later meetings, topics and appropriate speakers will be decided closer to the date and will be chosen based on current developments in the field. Future topics are likely to include algebraic combinatorics, enumerative geometry and mirror symmetry, applied algebraic geometry (e.g., applications to computer vision), and formalization and Lean in algebraic geometry. More information can be found on the WAGs website: https://sites.google.com/a/wagsymposium.org/current/ 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.