Please read the eligibility, expectations, and community agreement sections closely before you apply. We look forward to seeing your application!
eligibility & funding
This workshop is for graduate students and postdocs. We do not expect to accept any tenure track participants (though you are welcome to apply)!
Prior expertise in foliations is not required, but we do expect enthusiasm to learn about them! We do expect that graduate students from their second year onwards can participate, so long as they know some basics about 3-manifolds. The themes of this workshop are related to the topic of the MSRI Spring 2026 program Topological and geometric structures in low dimensions, and we hope that junior researchers who are potentially interested in the themes of that program consider applying to this workshop.
We expect that participants will attend the workshop in-person, and for the duration of the entire week.
We expect to cover the lodging, food, and travel for all participants. We expect to have some funding for participants coming from outside the US, but this funding will be limited.
expectations
This workshop is retreat style: we are renting a home/cabin near St. George, Utah for the event. All participants are expected to positively contribute to the collective community environment. This includes contributing to grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning duties.
Upon being accepted to participate, participants will be sorted into small groups, and each group will give a mini-course on a particular subtopic of foliations. You will have the entire Fall 2024 semester to read papers with your groups, and prepare your mini-course. The organizers will check-in with you periodically throughout the semester. All participants are expected to give a talk.
Our goal is to create a fun, relaxed, and stimulating environment to learn -- we hope that you, too, want to contribute to this atmosphere!
community agreement
Below is a draft of our community agreement. We emphasize the word “draft”, because we’d like input from our future participants! The statement below is simply a starting point, and we are happy to hear modifications and suggestions once the participants for the workshop have been finalized.
We (the organizers and participants alike) are committed to providing a productive, enjoyable, and positive experience for all of participants, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, religion, national origin, or any other aspect of their identity. We expect that all participants will treat their colleagues with kindness and respect, in both mathematical and non-mathematical interactions.
We anticipate having participants from a range of career stages (from early grad student to early postdoc) and with a breadth of areas of expertise. We understand that learning happens best when everyone can participate fully, and we expect all participants to maintain a respectful and professional environment, both during the Fall 2024 semester (when participants will be meeting remotely), and during the in-person workshop in January 2025.
In January 2025, all participants will be occupying the same physical space (a large cabin or rental home) for the duration of the workshop. We (the organizers) want all participants to have a productive and enjoyable experience, and we expect all participants to help create and maintain a convivial environment.
Big picture:
Treat each other as valued colleagues.
Err on the side of professionalism: if you’re not sure if something is appropriate or not, it probably isn’t.
If someone communicates a boundary, please respect it.
We appreciate your contributions to a positive environment. If you have questions about any of the above, please reach out to the organizers! We are happy to answer any questions you may have.
What constitutes inappropriate conduct?
The following list is not intended to be exhaustive. It includes behavior that we have seen at conferences in the past, and we wish to emphasize it is unacceptable at the 2025 Log Cabin Workshop:
Sustained disruption of discussion.
Belittling or undermining peers as you navigate learning together.
Offensive comments related to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, national origin, or religion. This includes comments made in jest.
Deliberate “outing” of any aspect of a person’s identity without their consent.
Pattern of inappropriate social contact, such as assuming inappropriate levels of intimacy with others; unwelcome sexual attention; gratuitous or off-topic sexual images or behavior; unwanted physical touch.
Continued one-on-one communication after requests to cease.
Publication of non-harassing private communication without consent.
Reporting and consequences
If you are being harassed by a participant of the conference, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact the organizers. We will do our best to take care of the situation as quickly as possible. If a participant engages in harassing and/or abusive behavior, we may take any action deemed appropriate, up to and including expulsion from the conference.
We take all reports of harassment by community members, including leadership, seriously. We reserve the right to reject any report believed to have been made in bad faith. We will respect confidentiality requests for the purpose of protecting victims of abuse, and will not name harassment victims without their affirmative consent.
By applying to participate at the 2025 Log Cabin workshop, you are agreeing to abide by all parts of this community agreement in good faith and to the best of your ability, while also acknowledging that this is a draft of an agreement (and there may be minor changes once participants have been accepted). You are also agreeing to afford every participant reasonable respect and dignity, whether or not such behavior is directly dictated by this community agreement.
applications are now closed.