Springer Fibers are a fascinating cross-roads of interesting and varied mathematics. The diagram to the right is a (not exhaustive) illustration of their some of the connections that have been demonstrated over the years.
If you'd like to talk about Springer theory, please don't hesitate to reach out.
In the Kansas State Mathematics PhD program, admission to PhD candidacy requires passing two oral exams: the Minor and Major exams. The first is a breadth requirement, the second is meant to pertain to your intended dissertation direction. I've been asked enough about my syllabi that I've added them here as pdfs and the .tex files for those who want to use the same layout (or don't feel like producing their own).
A note to K-State graduate students in any research area: ambition is not always virtue when thinking about one's oral examinations. As always talk with your advisor and dissertation committee members, but don't view the length of these Syllabi as a benchmark.
MS Thesis: Invariant lattices of several elliptic K3 surfaces