The Robin-Schensted-Knuth insertion algorithm provides a bijection between non-negative integer matrices and pairs of semistandard Young tableau. However, by relaxing the conditions on the correspondence, it allows us to define the Poirer-Reutenauer bialgebra, which exactly describes the algebra of symmetric functions viewed as generated by the Schur polynomials. This gives an interesting combinatorial decomposition of symmetric products of Schur polynomials, called a Littlewood Richardson rule, which we will discuss. We will then power through as many generalisations as I have time for: Hecke insertion and stable Grothendieck polynomials, shifted insertion and Schur P-functions, and shifted Hecke insertion and weak shifted stable Grothendieck polynomials

Deficiency is a measure of how complicated the presentations of a particular group need to be; it is defined as the maximum of the number of generators minus the number of relators (over all finite presentations of the group). This talk will introduce the basics of deficiency, give a deft example of Swan which illustrates why our understanding of deficiency is deficient, and conclude with some new examples that defy this defeatism: finite $p$-groups can have any deficiency you could (reasonably) wish for.

Starting from an example in quantum chemistry, we explain the techniques of Numerical Tensor Calculus with particular emphasis on the convolution operation. The tensorisation technique also applies to one-dimensional grid functions and allows to perform the convolution with a cost which may be much cheaper than the fast Fourier transform.

It is a standard heuristic that sums of oscillating number theoretic functions, like the M\"obius function or Dirichlet characters, should exhibit squareroot cancellation. It is often very difficult to prove anything as strong as that, and we generally expect that if we could prove squareroot cancellation it would be the best possible bound. I will discuss recent results showing that, in fact, certain averages of multiplicative functions exhibit a bit more than squareroot cancellation.

Let A be an abelian variety over the function field K of a curve over a finite field of characteristic p>0. We shall show that the group A(K^{p^{-\infty}}) is finitely generated, unless severe restrictions are put on the geometry of A. In particular, we shall show that if A is ordinary and has a point of bad reduction then A(K^{p^{-\infty}}) is finitely generated. This result can be used to give partial answers to questions of Scanlon, Ziegler, Esnault, Voloch and Poonen.

I will explain how to prove the exactness of the homotopy sequence of overconvergent p-adic fundamental groups for a smooth and projective morphism in characteristic p. We do so by first proving a corresponding result for rigid analytic varieties in characteristic 0, following dos Santos in the algebraic case. In characteristic p we proceed by a series of reductions to the case of a liftable family of curves, where we can apply the rigid analytic result. Joint work with Chris Lazda.

I will talk about a recent proof, joint with M. Gröchenig and D. Wyss, of a conjecture of Hausel and Thaddeus which predicts the equality of suitably defined Hodge numbers of moduli spaces of Higgs bundles with SL(n)- and PGL(n)-structure. The proof, inspired by an argument of Batyrev, proceeds by comparing the number of points of these moduli spaces over finite fields via p-adic integration. I will start with an introduction to Higgs bundles and their moduli spaces and then explain our argument.