International Conference on Algorithmic Problems in Groups and Semigroups (ICAPGS98)

Second Announcement

An International Conference on Algorithmic Problems in Groups and Semigroups will be held at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from May 11 through May 15, 1998.

The topics of the conference include various aspects of finite semigroup theory, and combinatorial and geometric techniques in the study of finitely presented groups and semigroups. Emphasis will be on decidability problems for finite semigroups and finitely presented semigroups and groups and computational complexity of the related algorithms.

The conference is funded by the US National Science Foundation and the Discrete and Experimental Mathematics program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

INVITED SPEAKERS (50-MINUTE LECTURES)

J. Almeida, G. Baumslag, J. Birman, R. Gilman, V. Guba, D. Holt,
S. Ivanov, O. Kharlampovich, Y. Kobayashi, S. Kublanovsky, S. Margolis,
A. Miasnikov, A. Ol'shanskii, F. Otto, J.E. Pin, S. Pride, J. Rhodes,
N. Ruskuc, M. Sapir, P. Schupp, L.M. Shneyerson, B. Steinberg,
H. Straubing, S. Talwar, D. Therien, M. Volkov, P. Weil.

20-MINUTE LECTURES

There will also be a limited number of 20-minute lectures. People interested in contributing a 20-minute lecture should submit an ABSTRACT (1–2 pages in length) to J.C. Birget at the address below. Contributed lectures will be selected based on the abstracts submitted. It will not be possible to consider any abstracts received after February 28, 1998.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Participants in the ICAPGS conference may also be interested in participating in a Centennial Celebration organized by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the granting of the first Ph.D by the department. The Centennial Celebration will be held at UNL on May 15 and May 16, 1998. There will be several special sessions organized by members of the faculty, including a special session in semigroup theory. Further information about the Centennial Celebration and the ICAPGS conference is available via a link from the UNL Math Department's home page at http://math.unl.edu/. This will be periodically updated.

REGISTRATION FEE

The conference registration fee is US $50, payable either in advance or upon arrival in Lincoln. We are unable to accept credit cards for this, so we request that participants provide payment either in cash or by check (i.e. cheque) in US dollars drawn on a US bank. The registration fee will not be charged to students or people who have completed their Ph.D in the past two years. It would help our accounting considerably if participants can pay the registration fee in advance. Please send your payment in US dollars to Jean-Camille Birget at the address below.

CONFERENCE BANQUET

There will be a conference banquet on Wednesday, May 13. Participants who wish to go to the banquet are asked to indicate this on the form at the end of this announcement. There will be a charge of US $20 to attend the banquet. Again, we can only accept payment in US dollars or in the form of US dollar checks drawn on US banks. It would again help our accounting considerably if participants who wish to attend the banquet can provide payment in advance.

ACCOMMODATION

Blocks of rooms have been held in the Cornhusker Hotel and the Town House Motel in downtown Lincoln, a short walk from the University campus. In addition, a block of dormitory rooms is available on the UNL campus for conference participants who desire low cost accommodation. Since there are other conventions taking place in Lincoln during the week of the conference, downtown accommodation is rather tight and there is a limited number of rooms available at the conference rate, so PARTICIPANTS ARE URGED TO MAKE RESERVATIONS EARLY. Participants who wish to stay in a dormitory room during the conference will need to notify the organizers so that rooms can be held. Participants who wish to stay in one of the off campus locations are asked to make their reservations directly with the hotel/motel and to inform the organizers where they plan to stay.

*********************************************************************
It is CRITICAL that participants inform the hotel/motel that they are
attending the * DEM CONFERENCE * when making reservations in order to
obtain the conference rates quoted below. These rates are only valid
if reservations are made prior to ** MARCH 31, 1998. **
**********************************************************************

1. THE CORNHUSKER HOTEL
   1313 L Street
   Lincoln, Nebraska 68508, USA
   Phone: (402) 474 7474
   Reservations (toll free in USA): 1 800 793 7474
   Fax: (402) 474 1847

This is a very good hotel about 10 minutes walk from the UNL campus.
CONFERENCE RATE FOR ROOMS: US $79 per night (plus 9.5% sales tax).
There is a possibility to share a room at the Cornhusker. Make your
intentions known at the time you make a reservation.
The Cornhusker is holding a limited number of rooms for the conference.
Early reservation is strongly recommended. Please mention that you are
attending the DEM CONFERENCE.

**********************************************************************
2. THE TOWN HOUSE MOTEL
   1744 "M" Street
   Lincoln, Nebraska 68508, USA
   Phone and fax: (402) 475 3000

This is motel-style accommodation with a kitchenette in the room. About
15–20 minutes walk from campus. No restaurant service available at the
motel, but there are restaurants within a few blocks of the motel.
CONFERENCE RATE FOR ROOMS: US $42–47 per night (plus 9.5% sales tax).
There is a possibility to share a room at the Town House if you wish -
make your intentions known at the time you make the reservation.
Again, we strongly urge early reservation. Please mention that you are
attending the DEM CONFERENCE.


3. ON-CAMPUS DORMITORY ACCOMMODATION

We are holding a block of on-campus dormitory rooms for participants
desiring a budget accommodation option. These are clean and conveniently
located, with shared bathroom facilities on each floor etc.
Participants who wish to opt for this are advised that

THERE WILL BE NO FOOD SERVICE AVAILABLE IN THE DORMITORIES DURING THE
WEEK OF THE CONFERENCE.

The conference is the week after final exams at UNL, students
will have vacated the dormitories and most of these residences will be
closed for cleaning that week, but the housing office has agreed to
open one of the dormitory blocks for use of conference participants.
There are restaurants within a 5–10 minute walk of the dormitory.

RATES FOR DORMITORY ROOMS:
$24.70 per night (includes sheets, towels and blankets, sales tax included)
$18.70 per night (includes sheets, sales tax included)
Participants may either opt for a single room or may share a room with
one other person and split the cost.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR STAYING IN ON-CAMPUS HOUSING MUST BE MADE WITH THE
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS. Again, we recommend making arrangements as
early as possible as there is limited space available.

There are many other accommodation options available for people who
have cars, but downtown accommodation is rather limited during the
week of the conference due to conflicts with other conventions.

TRAVEL

The conference will begin promptly at 9:00am on Monday, May 11, so we recommend that all participants arrive in Lincoln by Sunday, May 10 if at all possible. The conference will end at 6:00pm on Friday, May 15. Those who wish to also participate in the Math Department Centennial Celebration should be advised that many activities for this will continue through Saturday, May 16. In particular, the special session in semigroups will continue throughout that day.

We request that all participants provide us with information about travel plans to and from Lincoln as soon as possible. We will make arrangements to meet people at the airport if we have reasonable advance notice about arrival times and flight numbers etc. Please provide us with this information on the form attached below, preferably by e-mail.

MISCELLANEOUS

Further information about the conference, including a tentative program for the lectures and social events will be available in the third announcement, which we plan to send early in April, 1998, or via the conference web site at http://math.unl.edu/Dept/Conferences/ICAPGS98/ People intending to attend the conference are asked to return the form attached at the end of this announcement as soon as possible if they have not already provided this information. Also, anyone who wishes to give a talk at the conference should ensure that an abstract of the talk is sent to Jean-Camille Birget by February 28 at the latest at the address below.

ORGANIZERS:

Jean-Camille Birget
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588–0115, USA
birget@cse.unl.edu

Stuart W Margolis
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Bar Ilan University
Ramat Gan 52900, Israel
margolis@macs.biu.ac.il

John C Meakin
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588–0323, USA
jmeakin@unlinfo.unl.edu

Mark V Sapir
Department of Mathematics
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA
msapir@math.vanderbilt.edu
Please return this form to Jean-Camille Birget at the address below:

Jean-Camille Birget
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588–0115, USA
birget@cse.unl.edu
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ALGORITHMIC PROBLEMS IN GROUPS ANS SEMIGROUPS

Name:

Address:



e-mail:

Fax:

I plan to attend the conference:                 Yes
(Place an X by whichever is applicable)          Probably
                                                 No

I would like to receive the third announcement   Yes
of the conference:                               No

I would like to give a talk at the conference:   Yes
                                                 No

(If Yes) the title of my talk is :



I have sent an abstract of my talk:              Yes
                                                 No

I plan to stay in the lodging indicated below (place an X by the
appropriate hotel or dormitory)

1. Cornhusker Hotel
(I have made/will make my own reservation)

2. Town House Motel
(I have made/will make my own reservation)

3. On-campus dormitory

3(a) I would like to have a single room in the dormitory

3(b) I would like to share a room with______________________________
(Please specify if you want to share with anyone at all or with some
particular individual)

4. Other___________________________________________________________
(Please specify)

I would like to attend the banquet           Yes
                                             No

Payment of the registration fee and cost of the conference banquet
has been sent__________  will be sent prior to the start of the
conference____________ will be paid at the start of the conference______.


I plan to arrive in Lincoln on

Date______________________________

Time_______________________________

Flight number_______________________



I plan to leave Lincoln on

Date______________________________

Time_______________________________

Flight number_______________________