February 20, 21, 22, 2008

The Distinguished Lecture Series is a series of three lectures. The first lecture is intended for a general audience. This year the lectures will be given by:

Ronald Douglas Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Texas A & M University

A poster advertising the event created by Ryan Smith.

What is mathematics? Does the answer to the question depend on the historic period in which the question is asked? Is mathematics the result of human activity or something else? What is the relation of mathematics and the world?

These are questions which people have pondered over the ages. I intend to discuss a few mathematical vignettes, some involving recent developments and some ancient ones. The approach will be descriptive, nontechnical and somewhat historical. The goal is not so much to explain mathematics but rather how it develops and its place in the world.

The study of bounded linear operators can be related to complex function theory and commutative algebra, especially when one considers n-tuples or algebras of operators. In this latter multi operator case, the function theory and commutative algebra involves several variables.

In this talk, I will describe how this perspective can be used to study the multivariate case and involves an extension of concepts from algebraic geometry and complex geometry. However, I will focus on examples in the single operator case related to classical Hilbert spaces of holomorphic functions to illustrate these points.

In this talk I will provide some details on some recent results involving the application of techniques and concepts from complex geometry to operator theory with some emphasis on the case of several variables.

Location:

For the location of the relevant buildings (Keller Hall, Campus Center, Crawford Hall) consult the campus map.

The Sponsors:

The lectures are sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Mathematics and the College of Natural Sciences of the University of Hawaii, Manoa.