Formation | 1981; 43 years ago (1981) |
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Chair of Vice Presidents | J. William Helton |
International Workshop on Operator Theory and its Applications (IWOTA) was started in 1981 to bring together mathematicians and engineers working in operator theoretic side of functional analysis and its applications to related fields. These include:
- Differential equations and Integral equations
- Complex analysis and Harmonic analysis
- Linear system and Control theory
- Mathematical physics
- Signal processing
- Numerical analysis
The other major branch of operator theory, Operator algebras (C* and von Neumann Algebras), is not heavily represented at IWOTA and has its own conferences.
IWOTA gathers leading experts from all over the world for an intense exchange of new results, information and opinions, and for tracing the future developments in the field. The IWOTA meetings provide opportunities for participants (including young researchers) to present their own work in invited and contributed talks, to interact with other researchers from around the globe, and to broaden their knowledge of the field. In addition, IWOTA emphasizes cross-disciplinary interaction among mathematicians, electrical engineers and mathematical physicists. In the even years, the IWOTA workshop is a satellite meeting to the biennial International Symposium on the Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems (MTNS). From the humble beginnings in the early 80's, the IWOTA workshops grew to become one of the largest continuing conferences attended by the community of researchers in operator theory.
History of IWOTA
First IWOTA Meeting
The International Workshop on Operator Theory and its Applications was started on August 1, 1981, adjacent to the International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems (MTNS) with goal of exposing operator theorists, even pure theorists, to recent developments in engineering (especially H-infinity methods in control theory) which had a significant intersection with operator theory. Israel Gohberg was the visionary and driving force of IWOTA and president of the IWOTA Steering Committee. From the beginning, J. W. Helton and M. A. Kaashoek served as vice presidents of the steering committee.
West Meets East
Besides the excitement of mathematical discovery over the decades at IWOTA, there was great excitement when the curtain between Soviet bloc and Western operator theorists fell. Until 1990, these two collections of extremely strong mathematicians seldom met due to the tight restrictions on travel from and in the communist countries. When the curtain dropped, the western mathematicians knew the classic Soviet papers but had a spotty knowledge of much of what else their counterparts were doing. Gohberg was one of the operator theorists who knew both sides and he guided IWOTA, a western institution, in bringing (and funding) many prominent FSU bloc operator theorists to speak at the meetings. As the IWOTA programs demonstrate, this significantly accelerated the cultures' mutual assimilation.
Previous IWOTA Meetings
- Harry Dym died on 18 July 2024.
- Israel Gohberg died on 12 October 2009.
- Rien Kaashoek died on 21 November 2024.
- Leiba Rodman died on 2 March 2015.
- Heinz Langer died on 25 January 2024.
- Reinhard Mennicken died on 13 June 2019.
- Ciprian Foias died on 22 March 2020.
- Martin Klaus died on 1 December 2024.
- Sebastiano Seatzu died on 13 February 2018.
- Nikolai Vasilevski died on 26 February 2024.
- Karl-Heinz Förster died on 29 January 2017.
IWOTA Proceedings
Proceedings of the IWOTA workshops appear in the Springer / Birkhäuser Verlag book series Operator Theory: Advances and Applications (OTAA) (founder: Israel Gohberg). While engineering conference proceedings often are handed to participants as they arrive and contain short papers on each conference talk, the IWOTA proceedings follow mathematics conference tradition and contain a modest number of papers and are published several years after the conference.
Funding Sources
IWOTA has received support from many sources, including the National Science Foundation , the London Mathematical Society, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (Spain), Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, National Board for Higher Mathematics, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Indian Statistical Institute, Korea Research Foundation, United States-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, the Commission for Developing Countries of the International Mathematical Union, Stichting Advancement of Mathematics (Netherlands), the National Research Foundation of South Africa, and Birkhäuser Publishing Ltd.
The IWOTA Steering Committee
IWOTA is directed by a steering committee which chooses the site for the next meeting, elects the chief local organizer(s) and insures the appearance of the enduring themes of IWOTA. The sub-themes of an IWOTA workshop and the lecturers are chosen by the local organizing committee after hearing the steering committee's board. The board consists of its vice presidents: Joseph A. Ball, J. William Helton (Chair), Sanne ter Horst, Igor Klep, Christiane Tretter, Irene Sabadini, Victor Vinnikov and Hugo J. Woerdeman. In addition, past chief organizers who remain active in IWOTA are members of the steering committee. The board governs IWOTA with consultation and the consent of the full steering committee. Honorary members of the steering committee, elected in 2016, are: Israel Gohberg (deceased in 2009), Leiba Rodman (deceased in 2015), Tsuyoshi Ando, Harry Dym (deceased in 2024), Ciprian Foiaş (deceased in 2020), Heinz Langer (deceased in 2024), Nikolai Nikolski. Honorary member of the steering committee, elected in 2024, is: Rien Kaashoek.
Future IWOTA Meetings
- IWOTA 2025 will be held at University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands. Main organizer is Felix Schwenninger. Dates are July 14-18, 2025
- IWOTA 2026 will be held at Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada. Main organizers are Javad Mashreghi and Frédéric Morneau-Guérin. Dates are August 3-7, 2026
Israel Gohberg ILAS-IWOTA Lecture
The Israel Gohberg ILAS-IWOTA Lecture was introduced in August 2016 and honors the legacy of Israel Gohberg, whose research crossed borders between operator theory, linear algebra, and related fields. This lecture is in collaboration with the International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS). This series of lectures will be delivered at IWOTA and ILAS Conferences, in different years, in the approximate ratio two-thirds at IWOTA and one-third at ILAS. The first three lectures will take place at IWOTA Lancaster UK 2021, ILAS 2022, and IWOTA 2024. Donations for the Israel Gohberg ILAS-IWOTA Lecture Fund are most welcome and can be submitted via the ILAS donation form. Donations are tax deductible in the United States.
References
- ^ J. W. Helton (1982). "A conference report". Integral Equations and Operator Theory. Vol. 5. pp. 605–607.
- ^ "NSF Award". 13th International Workshop on Operator Theory and Applications. Blacksburg, Virginia: National Science Foundation. 2002.
- ^ "NSF Award". IWOTA 2005 - International Workshop on Operator Theory and Applications. Storrs, CT: National Science Foundation. 2005.
- "Notices of the American Mathematical Society" (PDF). Vol. 62, No. 1. American Mathematical Society. 2015. p. 4.
- ^ Levan, N., ed. (1981). International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems : August 5-7, 1981, Miramar-Sheraton Hotel, Santa Monica, California. North Hollywood, California: Western Periodicals Co. p. iii.
- ^ "IMAGE, the Bulletin of the International Linear Algebra Society" (PDF). International Linear Algebra Society. 2014. p. 35.
- Langer, Heinz (2008-06-23). "VI.2. The Vienna University of Technology at Vienna, Austria". In Bart, Harm; Hempfling, Thomas; Kaashoek, Marinus A. (eds.). Israel Gohberg and Friends: On the Occasion of his 80th Birthday. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag. pp. 249–252. ISBN 9783764387334.
- Landau, Henry J. (2008-06-23). "To Israel". In Bart, Harm; Hempfling, Thomas; Kaashoek, Marinus A. (eds.). Israel Gohberg and Friends: On the Occasion of his 80th Birthday. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag. pp. 309–310. ISBN 9783764387334.
- ^ "IWOTA-2015 Program" (PDF). Georgian Mathematical Union, Georgian National Academy of Sciences. 2015.
- Dijksma, A.; Kaashoek, M.A.; Ran, A.C.M., eds. (2001). Recent Advances in Operator Theory. Operator Theory: Advances and Applications. Vol. 124 (1 ed.). Basel, Boston, Berlin: Birkhäuser Verlag. pp. xiii–xxii. ISBN 978-3-0348-9516-3. ISSN 0255-0156.
- ^ Ball, J.A.; Dym, H.; Kaashoek, M.A.; Langer, H.; Tretter, C. (eds.). Operator Theory: Advances and Applications. Series. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag. ISSN 0255-0156.
- A. E. Frazho; M. A. Kaashoek; L. Rodman (2010). "Israel Gohberg ". IEEE Control Systems Magazine. Vol. 30. pp. 135–139.
- "Notice regarding Professor Leiba Rodman".
- C. Tretter (2024). "In Memoriam Heinz Langer (08.08.1935-25.01.2024)". Integral Equations and Operator Theory. Vol. 96, no. 10.
- "International Workshop on Operator Theory and its Applications". www.lancaster.ac.uk. Lancaster University.
- "Travel Support for IWOTA 2004".
- "NSF Award". Nineteenth International Workshop on Operator Theory and Applications. Williamsburg, Virginia: National Science Foundation. 2008.
- "Travel Support for IWOTA 2009".
- "Travel Support for IWOTA 2012".
- ^ "IWOTA 2004". www.ncl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- "IWOTA 2010". www3.math.tu-berlin.de. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
- "IWOTA 2011". www.us.es. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- "AMSI Annual Report 2012-2013" (PDF). p. 24.
- ^ "IWOTA 2013". www.iisc.ernet.in. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
- ^ Grobler, J.J.; Labuschagne, L.E.; Möller, M., eds. (2010). Operator Algebras, Operator Theory and Applications. Operator Theory: Advances and Applications. Vol. 195 (1 ed.). Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag. p. vii. doi:10.1007/978-3-0346-0174-0. ISBN 978-3-0346-0173-3. ISSN 0255-0156.
- Ando, T.; Curto, R.E.; Jung, I.B.; et al., eds. (2009). Recent Advances in Operator Theory and Applications. Operator Theory: Advances and Applications. Vol. 187 (1 ed.). Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag. p. viii. doi:10.1007/978-3-7643-8893-5. ISBN 978-3-7643-8892-8. ISSN 0255-0156.
- "IWOTA 2014". www.math.vu.nl. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
- "International Workshop on Operator Theory and its Applications (IWOTA)".
- "International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS)".
- "International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS) donation page".
External links
- Operator Theory: Advances and Applications Series on Springer website
- IWOTA's YouTube Channel
- IWOTA 2000 - Bordeaux, France
- IWOTA 2006 - Seoul, Korea
- IWOTA 2007 - Potchefstroom, South Africa
- IWOTA 2008 - Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A
- IWOTA 2010 - Berlin, Germany
- IWOTA 2011 - Seville, Spain
- IWOTA 2012 - Sydney, Australia
- IWOTA 2013 - Bangalore, India
- IWOTA 2014 - Amsterdam, Netherlands
- IWOTA 2015 - Tbilisi, Georgia
- IWOTA 2016 - St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- IWOTA 2017 - Chemnitz, Germany
- IWOTA 2019 - Lisbon, Portugal
- IWOTA Chapman USA 2021 - Orange, California, USA
- IWOTA Lancaster UK 2021 - Lancaster, United Kingdom
- IWOTA 2022 - Kraków, Poland
- IWOTA 2023 - Helsinki, Finland
- IWOTA 2024 - Canterbury, United Kingdom
- IWOTA 2025 - Enschede, The Netherlands