We present the linearized metrizability problem in the context of parabolic geometries and subriemannian geometry, generalizing the metrizability problem in projective geometry studied by R. Liouville in 1889. We give a general method for linearizability and a classification of all cases with irreducible defining distribution where this method applies. These tools lead to natural subriemannian metrics on generic distributions of interest in geometric control theory.

There are many interesting problems surrounding the unit group U(RG) of the ring RG, where R is a commutative ring and G is a finite group. Of particular interest are the finite subgroups of U(RG). In the seventies, Zassenhaus conjectured that any u in U(ZG) is conjugate, in the group U(QG), to an element of the form +/-g, where g is an element of the group G. This came to be known as the "(first) Zassenhaus conjecture". I will talk about the recent construction of a counterexample to this conjecture (this is joint work with L. Margolis), and recent work on related questions in the modular representation theory of finite groups.

Structure from Motion (SfM) is a problem which asks: given photos of an object from different angles, can we reconstruct the object in 3D? This problem is important in computer vision, with applications including urban planning and autonomous navigation. A key part of SfM is bundle adjustment, where initial estimates of 3D points and camera locations are refined to match the images. This results in a high-dimensional nonlinear least-squares problem. In this talk, I will discuss how dimensionality reduction methods such as block coordinates and sketching can be used to improve solver scalability for bundle adjustment problems.

Abstract: In 2016 Ayyer, Prasad and Spallone proved that the restriction to 
S_{n-1} of any odd degree irreducible character of S_n has a unique irreducible 
constituent of odd degree.
This result was later generalized by Isaacs, Navarro Olsson and Tiep.
In this talk I will survey some recent developments on this topic.

Signed permutation modules of symmetric groups and Iwahori-hecke algebras