The conference will be held at the Independent University of Moscow, located in the center of Moscow city. The co-organizing and sponsoring institutions are:

• Independent University of Moscow,
• J.-V. Poncelet French-Russian Mathematics Laboratory,
• Lomonosov Moscow State University,
  
• Steklov Mathematical Institute,
• Clay Mathematics Institute,
• Russian Foundation for Basic Research,
  
• Moscow Mathematical Society.

The conference "Transformation Groups" is aimed to review the development of Transformation Group Theory during last decades, to present the most bright recent achievements in this area, and to discuss the perspectives of further research. The conference will be dedicated to the anniversary of Ernest Vinberg, who will become seventy in the summer of 2007. Professor Vinberg is a major expert and active researcher in Lie groups and algebras, discrete and continuous transformation groups, algebraic groups and invariant theory. He has invented numerous methods, proposed many conjectures, and solved a number of difficult and deep problems (both alone and with his collaborators).

The conference is not intended to focus on a narrow set of problems, but rather to present a broad look at recent progress in the field, highlighting new techniques and ideas. Main topics of the conference are:

• Lie groups and homogeneous spaces in Riemannian, Kählerian, symplectic, and super geometry;
• Symmetric spaces;
• Discrete subgroups in Lie groups and discrete transformation groups;
• Finite and infinite dimensional Lie algebras, conformal and vertex algebras;
• Representation theory of Lie groups, Lie algebras, and algebraic groups;
• Adjoint and coadjoint representations;
• Structure theory of algebraic groups;
• Invariant theory and algebraic transformation groups;
• Equivariant embeddings of homogeneous spaces, spherical varieties.

The motivations for the conference are to gather researchers working on transformation groups in various areas of mathematics, in order to extend their ideas and methods to a broader context and to provide an opportunity for a broad discussion and exchange of ideas and experience between mathematicians from various countries and of different generations. Such an exchange would be most useful for those young researchers who make their first steps in mathematics.

During the conference, there will be six working days (Monday, December 17, through Saturday, December 22, 2007) with four one-hour plenary talks (each day) and two half-an-hour sectional talks (on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Five sections will be organized. The poster session is also planned. The conference program is available online.

The conference fee is 150 EURO (except for participants from CIS). It will cover lunches each working day, the conference dinner, coffee-breaks, conference materials, and publication of abstracts.

The list of participants

Invited speakers:

Abstracts

The abstracts of the talks will be published by the opening of the conference in a booklet for the participants. Unfortunately, time limits do not allow everybody to speak at the conference. We hope on your understanding. All participants are invited to present posters of their talks.

Location

The Independent University of Moscow (IUM) is located in the historical center of Moscow city at the address: Bolshoy Vlasyevskiy Pereulok (side-street) 11. The closest metro stations are "Smolenskaya" and "Kropotkinskaya". Here is a brief description of how to get to IUM:

From "Kropotkinskaya": Get out of the metro through the exit to the Gogolevskiy boulevard. Pass through the arch, turn to the left and cross the boulevard. Pass five blocks along Gagarinskiy side-street, then turn to the right and walk about 50 meters along Bolshoy Vlasyevskiy side-street. IUM is located on your left in a four-storey building inside the yard.

Accommodation

The local organizers are ready to book rooms in Moscow hotels for registered participants. We recommend the accommodation at the hotel "Izmailovo". For general information on hotels in Moscow, please consult http://www.moscow-hotels-russia.com or http://www.hotels-moscow.ru.

Organizing Committee: