Clayton State University is rapidly developing a reputation as the place to be for high-level mathematics.
Coming close on the heels of the Mar. 9 and Mar. 10 Spring 2012 Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Southeastern Section Meeting, Clayton State hosted (in conjunction with Georgia College & State University) the Southern Regional Algebra Conference (SRAC) from Mar. 30 through Apr. 1.
According to Dr. Anthony J. Giovannitti, professor and interim chair of the Department of Mathematics at Clayton State, SRAC has its origins at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette when, in 1970, algebraists such as Professor Laszlo Fuchs from Tulane University and Professor Gilbert Baumslag from Rice University, together with other algebraists from the region, primarily in Louisiana and Texas, first met in Lafayette at what would then become known as the Annual USL Mathematics Conference. By 2012, however, SRAC has become an international conference on algebra.
The 43rd Annual SRAC conference included 31 presenters from 11 states and three countries, including Nigeria and Columbia. The focus of the conference was the major branch of mathematics called “Algebra” or sometimes “Abstract Algebra.” According to Giovannitti, broad sub-areas of algebra include; rings, groups, fields, modules, representations, homology, Lie (pronounced “lee”) groups, Lie algebras, and K-theory.
“The conference has a rich tradition of embracing new mathematics from across all areas in algebra in an atmosphere of collegial discourse and collaboration,” he says. “The name of the conference has at times varied somewhat, referred to as the `Weekend Algebra Meeting’ among other variations, but it has found recent consistency in the SRAC name.
“Although the conference location has remained primarily in the southeastern U.S., the event has attracted algebraists from across the country and indeed the world. Over the years, the SRAC has included participating algebraists from Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America.”