VIGRE seminar, spring 2000:
Elliptic Curves
- Instructor
-
Peter Stiller
- Students enrolled
-
Merrick Brown,
Kendra Quesenberry
(undergraduate mathematics students);
Robert Eby,
Sachindranath Jayaraman,
Robert Main,
Amie Moch,
Darren Rhea,
Paul Schumacher,
Sarah Stovall
(graduate mathematics students)
- Description
- Elliptic curves is a topic easily accessible to
undergraduates with only a minimal background in abstract algebra. At the
same time, the subject is at the heart of some of today's most advanced
mathematics, including the proof of Fermat's Last theorem. In a completely
different direction, elliptic curves play an important role in cryptography
and information security. This seminar investigated these topics and made
use of the material collected from the Institute for Advanced Study's Park
City conference (Summer 1999) which brought together students, high school
teachers, and researchers on activities related to this seminar.