Graduate Student Day and Orientation Conference - 2005

Each fall semester, the Department welcomes all new graduate students and all returning graduate students to the new academic year. This year, the Graduate Student Day and Orientation Conference was delayed one month because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The event took place at LSU's Hilltop Arboretum on Saturday, October 29. The Arboretum is a lovely 14-acre tree garden which was donated to the University to preserve as a quiet place for peaceful contemplation. The lectures and picnic lunch took place in a covered pavilion which was built over the edge of the pond.

Coffee and Donuts were served for breakfast before the lectures began.

Department Chair Larry Smolinsky welcomed participants to the event.

Bill Hoffman, representing the Algebra and Algebraic Geometry Research Group, opened the Conference with a survey of opportunities for study and research in Algebraic Geometry at LSU. He is shown here discussing elliptic curves.

Boris Rubin, formerly on the faculty of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, joined the LSU Mathematics faculty in January 2005. He lectured on a variety of topics of active research interest in Harmonic Analysis, including inverse problems, Pompeiu problems, and pseudo-differential operators.

After lunch there was time set aside for walks in the tree garden and for informal conversations.

The Conference resumed for the afternoon session with a lecture by Yaniv Almog, who joined the faculty in fall 2005, coming from Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. He spoke about mathematical modeling of superconductivity and other phenomena in the materials sciences.

The concluding lecture for the afternoon was given by Tara Brendle, formerly of the Cornell Mathematics Department, who came to LSU in fall 2005. She spoke about the wide variety of research in algebraic topology at LSU. She included also much fine advice for graduate students about how to make the most of their opportunities in graduate school.

The Conference and informal activities, superbly organized and carried out by Jacek and Margaret Cygan, were greatly enjoyed and appreciated by all who attended.

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