Shanks Workshop

The goal of the workshop is to bring together a group of mathematicians and physicists who are interested in exploring ideas and techniques from von Neumann algebras that could be relevant to certain areas of theoretical physics such as topological phases of matter, quantum lattice models, quantum spin chains, and, perhaps, quantum gravity. The workshop will be built around Feng Xu and his work on von Neumann entropy and algebraic quantum field theory for which he was invited to speak at the ICM 2026 in Philadelphia. 

Speakers

Terry Gannon, University of Alberta

Corey Jones, NC State University

Yasuyuki Kawahigashi, The University of Tokyo

Nima Lashkari, Purdue University

Feng Xu, UC Riverside

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Location: Vanderbilt University, Stevenson Center 1

Registration

All participants must register through the Registration page by March 20, 2026. 

There is no registration fee.

Travel Information

The closest airport from the Vanderbilt campus is Nashville International Airport (BNA). 

A rideshare (e.g., Uber or Lyft) from the airport costs $30-$40.  Taxis are also available.

Financial Support

Due to limited funding, partial support is only available for speakers.

Organizers

Dietmar Bisch, Vanderbilt University

Julio Caceres, Vanderbilt University

Quan Chen, Vanderbilt University

Junhwi Lim, Vanderbilt University

Please see the departmental webpage for email addresses.