We study the minimum number of paths needed to express the edge set of a given graph as the symmetric difference of the edge sets of the paths. This problem sits in between Gallai's path decomposition problem and the linear arboricity problem. It is also motivated by the study of the diameter of partition polytopes, and we adapt some techniques therein to prove bounds on the path odd-cover number of graphs. Joint work with Steffen Borgwardt, Calum Buchanan, Eric Culver, Bryce Frederickson, and Puck Rombach.

Assouad-Nagata dimension addresses both large-scale and small-scale behaviors of metric spaces and is a refinement of Gromov’s asymptotic dimension. A metric space is a minor-closed metric if it is defined by the distance function on the vertices of an edge-weighted graph that satisfies a fixed graph property preserved under vertex-deletion, edge-deletion, and edge-contraction. In this talk, we determine the Assouad-Nagata dimension of every minor-closed metric. It is a common generalization of known results about the asymptotic dimension of H-minor free unweighted graphs, about the Assouad-Nagata dimension of complete Riemannian surfaces with finite Euler genus, and about their corollaries on weak diameter coloring of minor-closed families of graphs and asymptotic dimension of minor-excluded groups.

Vacillating tableaux are sequences of integer partitions that satisfy specific conditions. The concept of vacillating tableaux stems from the representation theory of the partition algebra and the combinatorial theory of crossings and nestings of matchings and set partitions. In this talk we discuss the enumeration of vacillating tableaux and present multiple combinatorial identities and integer sequences relating to the number of vacillating tableaux and limiting vacillating tableaux.