Abstract

The Banff International Research Station will host the "The Many Faceted Connes Embedding Problem" workshop in Banff from July 14, 2019 to July 19, 2019. The workshop is motivated by the recent ferment of activity on the Connes embedding problem, including reformulations from several different perspectives. If the problem is still open in 2019, the workshop will bring together experts from these very different areas to use the insights gained from these developments and subsequent ones to try to resolve the question. If the problem has been solved before the workshop, it will be even more timely. Any new techniques used to resolve the problem would be expected to have far-reaching implications. Participants will gather to learn about these developments and the implications for their fields. As methods used to resolve the problem become better understood, we can expect new insights, simplifications in the proof and alternative proofs from different perspectives. A timely workshop will facilitate such advances. The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada-s Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta-s Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico-s Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).