2016 CMS Summer Meeting
University of Alberta, June 24 - 27, 2016
Krieger-Nelson Prize
- MALABIKA PRAMANIK, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Configurations in sets big and small [PDF]
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When does a given set contain a copy of your favourite pattern
(for example, specially arranged points on a line or a spiral, or the
vertices of a polyhedron)? Does the answer depend on how thin the
set is in some quantifiable sense? Problems involving
identification of prescribed configurations under varying
interpretations of size have been vigorously pursued both in the discrete and
continuous setting, often with spectacular results that run contrary
to intuition. Yet many deceptively simple questions remain open. I will survey the literature in this area, emphasizing some of the landmark results that focus on different aspects
of the problem.
