Capturing Adriano Garsia's unique perspective on essential topics in algebraic combinatorics, this book consists of selected, classic notes on a number of topics based on lectures held at the University of California, San Diego over the past few decades. The topics presented share a common theme of describing interesting interplays between algebraic topics such as representation theory and elegant structures which are sometimes thought of as being outside the purview of classical combinatorics. The lectures reflect Garsia’s inimitable narrative style and his exceptional expository ability. The preface presents the historical viewpoint as well as Garsia's personal insights into the subject matter. The lectures then start with a clear treatment of Alfred Young's construction of the irreducible representations of the symmetric group, seminormal representations and Morphy elements. This is followed by an elegant application of SL(2) representations to algebraic combinatorics. The last two lectures are on heaps, continued fractions and orthogonal polynomials with applications, and finally there is an exposition on the theory of finite fields. The book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in the field.

This book is based on two series of lectures given at a summer school on algebraic combinatorics at the Sophus Lie Centre in Nordfjordeid, Norway, in June 2003, one by Peter Orlik on hyperplane arrangements, and the other one by Volkmar Welker on free resolutions. Both topics are essential parts of current research in a variety of mathematical fields, and the present book makes these sophisticated tools available for graduate students.

Because of the interplay among many fields of mathematics and science, algebraic combinatorics is an area in which a wide variety of ideas and methods come together. The papers in this volume reflect the most interesting aspects of this rich interaction, and will be of interest to researchers in discrete mathematics and combinatorial systems.

This text contains expository contributions by respected researchers on the connections between algebraic geometry, topology, commutative algebra, representation theory, and convex geometry.

This book, dedicated to the memory of Gian-Carlo Rota, is the result of a collaborative effort by his friends, students and admirers. Rota was one of the great thinkers of our times, innovator in both mathematics and phenomenology. I feel moved, yet touched by a sense of sadness, in presenting this volume of work, despite the fear that I may be unworthy of the task that befalls me. Rota, both the scientist and the man, was marked by a generosity that knew no bounds. His ideas opened wide the horizons of fields of research, permitting an astonishing number of students from all over the globe to become enthusiastically involved. The contagious energy with which he demonstrated his tremendous mental capacity always proved fresh and inspiring. Beyond his renown as gifted scientist, what was particularly striking in Gian-Carlo Rota was his ability to appreciate the diverse intellectual capacities of those before him and to adapt his communications accordingly. This human sense, complemented by his acute appreciation of the importance of the individual, acted as a catalyst in bringing forth the very best in each one of his students. Whosoever was fortunate enough to enjoy Gian-Carlo Rota's longstanding friendship was most enriched by the experience, both mathematically and philosophically, and had occasion to appreciate son cote de bon vivant. The book opens with a heartfelt piece by Henry Crapo in which he meticulously pieces together what Gian-Carlo Rota's untimely demise has bequeathed to science.

This collection of tutorial and research papers introduces readers to diverse areas of modern pure and applied algebraic combinatorics and finite geometries. There is special emphasis on algorithmic aspects and the use of the theory of Gröbner bases.

This book contains the extended abstracts presented at the 12th International Conference on Power Series and Algebraic Combinatorics (FPSAC '00) that took place at Moscow State University, June 26-30, 2000. These proceedings cover the most recent trends in algebraic and bijective combinatorics, including classical combinatorics, combinatorial computer algebra, combinatorial identities, combinatorics of classical groups, Lie algebra and quantum groups, enumeration, symmetric functions, young tableaux etc...

Because of the inteplay among many fields of mathematics and science, algebraic combinatorics is an area in which a wide variety of ideas and methods come together. The papers in this volume reflect the most interesting aspects of this rich interaction and will be of interest to researchers in discrete mathematics and combinatorial systems.

This volume contains original research and survey articles stemming from the Euroconference ``Algebraic and Geometric Combinatorics''. The papers discuss a wide range of problems that illustrate interactions of combinatorics with other branches of mathematics, such as commutative algebra, algebraic geometry, convex and discrete geometry, enumerative geometry, and topology of complexes and partially ordered sets. Among the topics covered are combinatorics of polytopes, lattice polytopes, triangulations and subdivisions, Cohen-Macaulay cell complexes, monomial ideals, geometry of toric surfaces, groupoids in combinatorics, Kazhdan-Lusztig combinatorics, and graph colorings. This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students interested in various aspects of modern combinatorial theories.

Algebraic combinatorics is the study of combinatorial objects as an extension of the study of finite permutation groups, or, in other words, group theory without groups. In the spirit of Delsarte's theory, this book studies combinatorial objects such as graphs, codes, designs, etc. in the general framework of association schemes, providing a comprehensive overview of the theory as well as pointing out to extensions.