Using Algebraic Geometry

How does an algebraic geometer studying secant varieties further the understanding of hypothesis tests in statistics? Why would a statistician working on factor analysis raise open problems about determinantal varieties? Connections of this type are at the heart of the new field of "algebraic statistics".

A number of important results in combinatorics, discrete geometry, and theoretical computer science have been proved using algebraic topology. While the results are quite famous, their proofs are not so widely understood. They are scattered in research papers or outlined in surveys, and they often use topological notions not commonly known among combinatorialists or computer scientists.

aster the deeper layers of algebraic theory with a focus on rings, fields, and polynomial symmetries.