The 2018 Fields Medal Symposium will honour Maryam Mirzakhani (Fields Medal 2014) and the current and potential impact of her work. Please join us for a public event featuring an introduction by Professor Jenya Sapir (SUNY- Binghamton and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics- Bonn), and a public lecture by Professor Amie Wilkinson (University of Chicago) on: Illumination and the work of Maryam Mirzakhani. 

Schedule: 7:00 - 9:00pm, November 5, 2018
Location: MaRS Discovery District, Lower Concourse, 101 College Street, Toronto, ON

First come, first served seating, subject to venue capacity.

PROGRAM

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Ian Hambleton, Director, Fields Institute
Vivek Goel, Vice President, Research and Innovation, University of Toronto
Donna Strickland, 2018 Physics Nobel Prize winner; Professor, University of Waterloo 
Carlos Kenig, President-Elect, International Mathematical Union

Public Lecture

Introduction
Jenya Sapir, Assistant Professor, SUNY Binghamton and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics at Bonn 

Lecture
Amie Wilkison, Professor, University of Chicago
Talk Title: Illumination and the Work of Maryam Mirzakhani

Abstract: Turn on a light in the middle of a room: is every spot illuminated? If the room is a complicated labyrinth, then probably not, but what if the walls of the room are mirrors? We will explore the hidden corners of a mirrored room using the mathematical tools developed by Mirzakhani and her collaborators. The journey will take us through billiard tables and special kinds of surfaces resembling faceted donuts with many holes.

***  

The Fields Medal Symposium comprises three separate events:

• Scientific Program (November 5-9): will honour Maryam Mirzakhani (Fields Medal 2014) and the current and potential impact of her work and is intended for a wide audience, including graduate students, mathematicians in other research areas, and scientists who use mathematics in an important way.
• Public Opening (November 5): features an introduction by Professor Jenya Sapir (SUNY- Binghamton and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics- Bonn), and a public lecture by Professor Amie Wilkinson (University of Chicago). 
• Student Night (November 6): includes a lecture by Professor Diana Davis (Swarthmore College) and networking and pizza.

Events will be broadcast live online whenever possible.

FMS News

• The 2016 FMS was featured in The Walrus on August 8, 2018. The article, written by Fields Institute Board of Directors member Siobhan Roberts, profiles Manjul Bhargava’s contributions to the public’s perception of math at this Fields Institute flagship event. Read the full article here.