International Conference

on

QUANTUM GROUPS

5-12 July, 2004

Haifa, Israel

The conference will feature recent developments in the theory of quantum groups including geometric representation theory, finite-dimensional Hopf algebras and the theory of tensor categories. It will take place at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology during the period July 5-12, 2004 and will be sponsered by the Center for Mathematical Sciences at the Technion under the auspices of the Mallat Family Fund for Research in Mathematics, with partial support from the Emmy Noether Research Institute for Mathematics and the Minerva Foundation of Germany. Its purpose is to bring together mathematicians working in any one of the vast research fields which go under the umbrella "Quantum Groups".

Scientific Committee: E. Aljadeff, M. Cohen, P. Etingof, S. Gelaki, D. Kazhdan and S. Shnider.

Participants include: S. Arkhipov, Y. Bazlov, J. Beck, A. Berenstein, R. Bezrukavnikov, A. Braun, A. Braverman, P. Bressler, S. Caenepeel, M. Cohen, E. Effros, P. Etingof, D. Evans, D. Gaitsgory, S. Gelaki, V. Ginzburg, J. Greenstein, J. Guccione, D. Gurevich, I. Heckenberger, T. Hodges, A. Joseph, Y. Kashina, Y. Kawahigashi, D. Kazhdan, R. Kedem, E. Koelink, S. Loktev, I. Marshall, I. Mirkovic, A. Mudrov, E. Mukhin, D. Naidu, S. Natale, D. Nikshych, V. Ostrik, S. Raianu, N. Reshetikhin, M. Rosso, V. Roubtsov, O. Schiffmann, H.-J. Schneider, S. Shnider, Y. Sommerhauser, J. Stokman, E. Taft, J. Towber, M. Vybornov, H. Wenzl, S. Westreich,

For further information :
Sylvia Schur (Conference Coordinator)
Department of Mathematics
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology
32000 Haifa, Israel
Phone:     972 4 829 4278
Fax:         972 4 829 3388
  cms@math.technion.ac.il

Registration
Please make every effort to  ensure that your registration form reaches us before April 30.  The conference will commence on the morning of Monday, July 5, 2004, so participants should reach Haifa by Sunday evening. Lectures will be held from Monday through Monday.

Talks - Abstracts
If you were invited by the organizers to present a talk, please let us have a title and short abstract of your talk. Abstracts should be up to one page in length and can be sent either by e-mail in LaTeX/TeX or typed and sent by mail (no larger than 14cm x 20cm).

Airport arrival

 A "sherut" (shared taxi service) by the Amal Taxi Co. provides transport from Ben Gurion Airport direct to your hotel in Haifa. The cost is about $12.00, including service charges and the service is available at all times. However, it can cost more if there are not enough passsengers. There is also a special taxi service to Haifa available at the airport for about $70.00 per taxi (at night the price is higher).

Departure
Transportation from Haifa to the airport on your departure can be arranged for about $12.00.

Accommodation
We have succeeded in obtaining hotel rooms for conference participants at one of Haifa's leading hotels at a very special price ($65 per night for a single room  and $45 per person for two people sharing a double room). The price includes breakfast and service charges. These rates also apply to periods directly before and after the conference. In order to benefit from the special conference rates, please complete the enclosed registration form and mail/email it so as to reach us no later than April 30, 2004.   The hotel is very well situated and includes a swimming pool, fitness club and computer facilities. We can also arrange alternative cheaper accommodation if requested.

Currency exchange
Changing currency in Israel is expensive due to bank charges. We do not, however, recommend that you buy Israeli currency abroad. We suggest that you pay your hotel bill in foreign currency (which will also save you the 18% value added tax). We also advise you to limit your currency exchanges to a minimum as a bank charge is made on each exchange, in addition to the charge made for each traveller's check cashed.
Possibly the best way to save is through the use of a credit card. All major credit cards are widely accepted in Israel.

Climate and clothing
The weather in Haifa in July is hot and sunny with temperatures at about 32 degrees Celsius and moderate humidity.  Light clothing and informal dress are recommended.

Conference banquet
The conference banquet will be held on Wednesday, July 7.  Please indicate on the registration form whether or not you wish to participate in the banquet

Conference excursion
An excursion is planned for Saturday, July 10. Please indicate on the registration form whether you are interested in participating in this excursion.

Registration