The 53rd John H. Barrett Memorial Lectures

Recent Development in Geometric Group Theory
May 19 – 22, 2025

Plenary Speakers

Mladen Bestvina (University of Utah)
Christopher Leininger (Rice University)

Invited Speakers

Edgar A. Bering IV (San José State University)
Inhyeok Choi (Cornell University)
George Domat (University of Michigan)
Elizabeth Field (University of Washington Bothell)
Ilya Gekhtman (Technion)
Marissa Loving (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Joseph Maher (Cuny)
Dan Margalit (Vanderbilt University)
Denis Osin (Vanderbilt University)
Rachel Skipper (University of Utah)
Sam Taylor (Temple University)
Yvon Verberne (University of Western Ontario)

Tentative Schedule

Monday, May 19, 2025

9:30-10:25am — Mladen Bestvina (University of Utah)
10:45-11:40am — Inheyok Choi (Cornell University)
2-2:55pm — Yvon Verberne (University of Western Ontario)
3:30-4:25pm — Edgar A. Bering IV (San José State University)

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

9:30-10:25am — Christopher Leininger (Rice University)
10:45-11:40am — Marissa Loving (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Lightning talks with lunch
2-2:55pm — Sam Taylor (Temple University)
3:30-4:25pm — George Domat (University of Michigan)

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

9:30-10:25am — Dan Margalit (Vanderbilt University)
10:45-11:40am — Elizabeth Field (University of Washington Bothell)

Thursday, May 22, 2025

9:30-10:25am — Joseph Maher (Cuny)
10:45-11:40am — Ilya Gekhtman (Technion)
2-2:55pm — Rachel Skipper (University of Utah)
3:30-4:25pm — Denis Osin (Vanderbilt University)

Organizing Committee

Conrad Plaut
Yulan Qing

Transportation Form

Travel

The nearest airport is McGhee Tyson Airport outside of Knoxville (TYS), which is a 30 minute drive from the hotel. Taxi, Uber and Lyft are generally available (about $60 each way), and rental cars are available at the airport. We plan to make some trips between TYS and the conference hotel on May 18 with a leased van, but due to the large number of participants we may not have space to transport everyone. If you are interested in van transportation then please fill in the transportation form and provide your arrival time May 18. Transport back to the airport will be sorted out during the conference. Also, if you will be renting a car and would be willing to take some participants with you to the hotel, please also fill out the transport form and indicate when your flight arrives.

Lodging

The conference hotel is Highland Manor Inn in Townsend, TN. (https://www.highlandmanor.com). If you have not already been contacted by the organizers concerning a shared room, you must make your own reservations a Highland Manor or one of several other hotels in Townsend that can be reached from Highland Manor by a paved greenway that runs through the town.

Highland Manor Inn,

Address: 7766 E Lamar Alexander Pkwy, Townsend, TN 37882

Location

Townsend, TN is adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the country. There are around 1000 miles of trails in the park, ranging from easy to strenuous, many of which are only a short drive from Townsend. There are also some very scenic drives in the area, including a loop through a preserved early settlement, Cades Cove. Townsend also has several restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, and depending on the weather, activities such as swimming, fishing, and tubing on the Little River.