Participant Support Costs for SP0033316

OVERVIEW: This proposal is a request for funding for three events to be held during the Emphasis Year in Probability at Northwestern, 2015-2016. The first is a 'Special day on Nodal sets of random functions', to be held in February 12th, 2016. This short conference will feature 4 speakers in a very active and emerging area in the intersection of geometry, probability and mathematical physics. The second is a two and half-day conference, 'Workshop on percolation, spin glasses and random media', to be held May 27th-29th, 2016. This will feature 12 speakers on various topics within probability, sharing the common theme of random media and disordered systems. The third is a two week Summer School in Probability, to be held July 11th-22nd, 2016. The summer school will feature four main courses and selected talks on a wide range of topics in probability, aimed at graduate students, and other junior researchers. We expect that these events will attract a large and diverse spectrum of participants. Both the conference and the summer school will be widely advertised, using email announcements and posters which will encourage the participation of early career mathematicians, women and underrepresented minorities. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: Probability theory is a major branch of modern mathematics. It aims at a rigorous mathematical investigation of collective behavior of random phenomena and is one of the most applicable branches of science. The workshop on percolation, spin glasses and random media will bring together experts in different but overlapping fields to encourage the development of new ideas and collaborations linked by the central concept of disordered media. The Summer School in Probability will feature mini-courses on many of the most important topics and tools within probability theory. BROADER IMPACTS: A major goal of this proposal is to train and support the next generation of mathematicians in the field of probability. The workshop will help to educate graduate students and recent PhDs on the latest developments in the field. The summer school will introduce junior mathematicians to various topics in probability and help to bring them up to the forefront of research. The majority of the funding requested for the two events will go to support junior participants and minorities. The organizing committee will encourage and support broad and diverse participation. In particular, women mathematicians and members of other under-represented groups will be especially encouraged to apply for support. In addition, the list of invited speakers and lecturers includes several women and recent PhDs.