Registration & Financial support


Application to participate in the workshop and for financial support should be done before August 1st using this form:


Registration Form


For any questions regarding the meeting, please email Laura Schaposnik at schapos@uic.edu.





Lectures



Introduction: Laura Schaposnik (UIC)






Mini-Course I:  Marina Logares (Oxford)

An introduction to the geometry of Higgs bundles on singular curves.


The lecture course will introduce (generalized) parabolic Higgs bundles, which are Higgs bundles over nodal curves, in connection with the Teichmuller theory of the curve.




Mini-Course II: Steven Rayan (Saskatchewan)

An introduction to the topology and combinatorics of Higgs bundle moduli spaces.


The lecture course will discuss the problem of computing topological invariants of several different types of Higgs bundle moduli spaces.  Along the way, we will discuss the interesting combinatorics that arise and the connection of this problem to representations of quivers.






Schedule






Information


Getting to UIC: The workshop will be held in the UIC Math Department, which is located in the Science and Engineering offices building (SEO, 849 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60607).  Signs with instructions on where to go will be throughout in the building, but you can also come to Laura Schaposnik's office (SEO 509) looking for more information as well.

 

  1. By air: Chicago has two major airports, O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW), and it is easy to get to UIC from either one (many travel sites will let you look for both simultaneously using the airport code CHI).

 

If you are flying into O'Hare, you can take a Blue Line train (costing $5) into the city (towards the loop or Forest Park) which stops right next to the UIC campus (at the UIC/Halsted station) and in walking distance (half a mile) to the Crown Plaza hotel.  For reference, a taxi from O'Hare to downtown will cost around $45 before tip (and can be paid with a credit card).

 

If you are flying into Midway, you can take an Orange Line train (costing $2.50) into the city (towards the loop), which will take you within walking distance of the Crown Plaza hotel (about a quarter of a mile from the Washington/Wells station) or allow you to transfer to the Blue Line (at the Harold Washington Library station) which stops right next to the UIC campus (at the UIC/Halsted station).  Another good option is to take the Orange Line into the loop (e.g. Harold Washington Library station) and then take a short cab ride to UIC or the Crown Plaza (at most $10).  For reference, a taxi from Midway to downtown will cost around $25 before tip (and can be paid with credit card).

 

  1. By car: UIC is easily accessible by car, and is located just off of either the 90/94 or 290 interstates.  If you are coming into UIC, it's best to park at the Halsted Parking Structure at the NE corner of the Taylor and Halsted intersection.  You will have take a ticket for the parking garage; if we know in advance you will be parking there, you can bring your ticket in to the workshop and we can validate it to cover the cost.  Note that in/out priveledges are not included in the validation.  Also note that the parking at the Crown Plaza is far more expensive, and should be avoided if possible. It is recommended that you plan to park your car in the Halsted Parking Structure for the weekend instead.

 

  1. By train:  UIC is also close to Chicago's Union Station with convenient Amtrak trains to many locations in the region.  Alternatively, a cab to either should cost under $10.

 



Lodging: Participants whose travel arrangements are being handled through UIC will be staying at hotel two hotels in River north.  It is an easy commute through the Blue Line to the UIC stop Halstead. Here is the map:









Wifi: Participants will be able to use Eduroam at UIC, and hotels will have Free Wifi.

 



Friday night workshop dinner: After the introductory session on Friday night, we will  head back to downtown/River North for dinner.  If you end up getting into Chicago late and miss the first session, you should plan to come to the restaurant directly. The details are:


Place: Pizzeria Due (619 N Wabash Ave)

Time: 8 p.m.

 



Saturday afternoon/night:  On Saturday evening we will go on a boat trip - if you would like to participate in this activity, please indicate so in the registration form (the cost of it will be $10 for students, $15 for post-docs and $20 for faculty):


Place: Ogilvie/Union stop

Time: 5 p.m.

Boat: Chicago Water Taxi

Trip: We will go to China Town and then back up to River North, and it will take around 90 minutes. We will be entertaining you with stories from Chicago architecture’s wonders!






Afterwards we will probably visit the Game Room, located on the second floor of the beautiful Chicago Athletic Club.







Registered participants:


















































































Organized by:

Laura Schaposnik, UIC.


With support from: Support provided by NSF RTG grant DMS-1246844.


  
 






University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

October 21-23, 2016

(poster)


This workshop, aimed at graduate students and young postdocs, will expose participants to some current research topics on the geometry and physics of Higgs bundles. The workshop will have two mini-courses by experts on topics close to their own research, including a mix of lectures and problem sessions. On Friday afternoon we will have an introductory lecture.


Support provided by NSF RTG grant DMS-1246844.


RTG Workshop on the Geometry and Physics of Higgs bundles I.