October 6th at 11:00 am Eastern Daylight Time

(Recording here)   

(switch to your timezone here, REGISTER HERE!)

Agenda/Schedule

11:00 AM EDT  OPENING REMARKS

11:10 AM  EDT  MATHEMATICS & STORYTELLING

  Prof. Claudio Gómez-Gonzáles, Carleton College

"What Math Matters And Who Gets To Decide? A Reflection On Resolvent Problems Through Time"

(with a break)

Abstract: Solving algebraic equations is among the oldest problems in mathematics. Throughout this pursuit, the questions we choose to elevate—and the tools we build to answer them—have always been rooted in material conditions and needs. 

This talk begins with a concrete, visual introduction to resolvent degree (RD), an invariant that quantifies the intrinsic difficulty of algebraic problems beyond the classical solvable/unsolvable dichotomy. Traversing the origins of topology, Klein’s "hypergalois" program, spurts and stops throughout the 20th century, and modern frameworks (joint with Alexander Sutherland and Jesse Wolfson), we will examine progress and futures in RD, along with the collective labor required to sustain mathematical projects across generations and vast distances. Throughout this overview, we will reflect on the historical forces that determine which mathematics matters, drawing on historical examples to explore how mathematical agendas are politicized, valued, or discarded over time.

In the second part of the talk, we turn to our contemporary landscape. As mathematics, and higher education more broadly, contend with financialization, disinvestment, and top-down transformations accelerated by automation and a speculative "theorem economy," we ask who shapes these changes and who stands to benefit from them. While we investigate these complex issues, we will explore why collective action and worker solidarity are crucial aspects of building and sustaining a global mathematical community.

12:15 PM  EDT  DISCUSSION

Speaker Bio

Dr. Claudio Gómez-Gonzáles is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Carleton College. Claudio studied mathematics at New Mexico Tech before earning their PhD from the University of Chicago in 2020, where they served as an organizer with Graduate Students United and co-founded the UChicago Labor Council. After serving as a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Irvine, Claudio joined Carleton College, where they work in the areas of resolvent problems and arithmetic topology. Claudio is currently supported by an award from the NSF's Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways program, and has received several awards in teaching, including the MAA's Henry L. Alder Award. Their work uses tools from representation theory, algebraic geometry, and topology to ask about obstructions to solving problems. Claudio's interests also include mathematical history and illustration. As a scholar and a teacher, Claudio likes to think about how and why we do math—in relation to global institutions, political conflict, and social movements.

August 28th at 9:00 am Eastern Daylight Time 

(Recording here) 

Agenda/Schedule

9:00 AM EDT  OPENING REMARKS

9:10 AM  EDT  MATHEMATICS & SOCIETY  

Prof.  Michael Barany, University of Edinburgh

"Linking Mathematical Activities to Political and Societal Issues: A Brief History of Boycotting International Congresses of Mathematics"

Abstract: In response to calls to boycott the 2022 International Congress of Mathematicians, the International Mathematical Union Executive Committee issued a statement "oppos[ing] all boycotts of scientific events and all attempts to link scientific activities to political and societal issues." To the contrary, the history of the ICMs and IMU has fundamentally been about the inextricable links between mathematics and politics. I will survey how "attempts to link scientific activities to political and societal issues" have been central to the ICMs and IMU from their origins, with a special focus on the 1950 ICM and the subsequent re-founding of the IMU. I will conclude by considering the legacy of mathematicians entanglement with international and global politics and its implications today.

10:05 AM EDT  MATHEMATICS & STORYTELLING

  Prof.  Federico Ardila, Queen Mary University of London

"Geometry, robots, and society"

Abstract: We arrive to math and science out of curiosity, in search of beauty and understanding. Over time we discover that they are tremendously powerful tools. The potential success and applicability of our scientific project sometimes confronts us with ethical questions that we cannot ignore. In a profoundly unequal society, who has access to the discoveries and technologies that may result? Who benefits and who is harmed? What role do we play in building a more just and equitable society? 

For me, these questions became especially relevant when a research project in "pure" mathematics (CAT(0) geometry) found unexpected applications (robotic motion planning). I will discuss this project, and how it has shaped my thinking about and acting on the relevant societal questions.

Speaker Bios

Dr. Michael Barany is an interdisciplinary scholar, currently Senior Lecturer in the History of Science at the University of Edinburgh. Barany researches the history of modern mathematics and teaches social studies of mathematical sciences, with a focus on how abstract knowledge about the modern world is produced by people, how it is shaped by its contexts, and how it shapes those contexts in turn.

Dr. Federico Ardila is a Colombian mathematician who works in combinatorics and its connections to geometry, algebra, topology, and its applications. He has also done outreach work and spearheaded initiatives related to fostering just, welcoming and joyful mathematical communities which serve the needs of all while benefiting from their differences.

July 20th at 9:00 am Eastern Daylight Time (1:00 pm GMT)

(switch to your timezone here) 

Agenda/Schedule

9:00 AM EDT / 1:00 PM GMT  OPENING REMARKS

9:15 AM  EDT / 1:15 PM GMT  STORYTELLING (<- recording linked here) 

  Prof.  José Julián Díaz Pérez, University of Havana  

9:30 AM EDT / 1:30 PM GMT  MATHEMATICS & SOCIETY 

  Prof.  Ruha Benjamin, Princeton University  

"Deep Unlearning: Reimagining Mathematics Beyond Empire"

10:30 AM EDT / 2:30 PM GMT  DISCUSSION

Email ila@math.toronto.edu for access to the limited-availability recording!

Speaker Bios

José Julián Díaz Pérez is a mathematician from Cuba who works in probabilities, particularly with stochastic processes in continuous time and space. His research includes modeling the first passage time problem for Brownian motion particles to enhance stochastic optimization algorithms.

Dr. Ruha Benjamin is a transdisciplinary scholar, writer, educator, and cultural worker, currently Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, founding director of the Ida B. Wells JUST Data Lab, and award-winning author of four books, Imagination: A Manifesto (2024), Viral Justice (2022), Race After Technology (2019), and People’s Science (2013). Benjamin writes, teaches, and speaks widely about the relationship between innovation and inequity, knowledge and power, race and citizenship, health and justice. Ruha is the recipient of fellowships and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, National Science Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation Freedom Scholar Award, President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton, and most recently the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship.