Research & Innovation

Stevens Professor Leads Seminar in Group Theory at Leading Research Institute

Stevens is becoming a global thought leader in group theory - thanks, in part, to Professor Robert Gilman

Gilman teaches in the Stevens Institute of Technology’s Department of Mathematical Sciences. He’s also the director of the Algebraic Cryptography Center. Professor Gilman brought his expertise with him to the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) in Berkeley, California for a seminar in geometric group theory last semester. MSRI attracts leading mathematicians from all over the world for its biannual programs. The group theory program was one of its largest with more than 100 participants. 

Professor Gilman’s seminar opened by discussing mathematical linguistics, or the application of math concepts to identify and predict patterns in language. He briefly discussed the idea of applying those concepts to tease out patterns in defined groups, which is the root of geometric group theory. After Professor Gilman introduced those concepts, the audience got to work applying those concepts to math problems. By the end of the seminar, Professor Gilman and the other participants walked away with exciting new research directions and several new mathematical inquiries. Their work will be published in multiple research papers in esteemed mathematics journal Groups, Complexity, Cryptology.

We look forward to seeing the results of that research and will keep you posted on it.