Department of Mathematics

2011 Zassenhaus Group Theory Conference

The Department of Mathematics and the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics at Towson University was pleased to host the 2011 Zassenhaus Group Theory Conference, May 27–29. This was the first time this conference has ever been held in Maryland. It was the off-year specialty meeting in group theory of the larger Ohio State-Denison Mathematics Conference held every two years.

Participants at the 2011 Zassenhaus Group Theory Conference at Towson University

For some local (Towson University and Maryland) flavor about the Zassenhaus family, see a

• short biography of his sister; Hiltgunt Zassenhaus.

The Zassenhaus Conference is named for German mathematician Hans Zassenhaus who immigrated to Canada in 1949, then to the United States. He finally settled at Ohio State as a research professor and remained there until his retirement. Zassenhaus' family was known for their opposition to the Third Reich, which made being an academic in Germany difficult.

Zassenhaus wrote one of the first text books on group theory titled Lehrbuch der Gruppentheorie. His research covered many areas of algebra and number theory including permutation groups, computational methods for studying Lie algebras, work on computational algebraic number theory, nearfields, the theory of orders, representation theory, the geometry of numbers and the history of mathematics.

The Ohio-State Denison Mathematics Conference was initiated by Zassenhaus when nearby Denison University made available a large farmhouse. Zassenhaus suggested this house would be an ideal place to do mathematical research and host a conference. The conference attendees soon outgrew the farmhouse and the format changed such that the conference was held every other year at Denison with specialists from group theory, ring theory, number theory and combinatorics presenting papers. In the off years, the specialty groups are to meet in various locations. The off-year group theory meetings have been held at places like the University of Miami-Ohio, University of South Florida, the University of Pittsburgh, Evansville University, Franklin and Marshall College and Saint Louis University.

For any additional information, please, contact the workshop organizer: Jay Zimmerman , Towson University.