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ISSN 0002-9920 (print) ISSN 1088-9477 (online) of the American Mathematical Society November 2017 Volume 64, Number 10 Antibiotics Time Machines Are Hard to Build page 1136 Fall Western Sectional Sampler page 1142 Backlog of Mathematics Research Journals page 1184 Biennial Overview of AMS Honors page 1200 See “An Invitation to Tensor-Triangular Geometry” (page 1143). Notices of the American Mathematical Society November 2017 FEATURED 1136684 1142 26 1148 Antibiotics Time AMS Fall Western Sectional The Concept of Varifold Machines Are Hard to Sampler by Ulrich Menne Build An Invitation to Tensor-Triangular Geometry by Paul Balmer by Ngoc M. Tran and Jed Yang Double Affi ne Hecke Algebras and Th eir Applications by Pavel Etingof Combinatorics, Categorifi cation, and Crystals by Monica Vazirani November, the month of the American Thanksgiving, seems an appropriate time to be grateful for mathematics, for our community, and especially for you our Notices readers. In appreciation we offer a feature on the difficulty of undoing the problem of antibiotic-resistant microbes, a sampler from the AMS Fall Western Sectional, a deep glimpse into the concept of varifold, a preview of the AMS two-day short course on discrete differential geometry, an account of immigration in the history of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, the Graduate Student section, and advice on writing a teaching recommendation letter and on making mathematics accessible to people with hearing loss. —Frank Morgan, Editor-in-Chief ALSO IN THIS ISSUE COMMENTARY 1153 A Glimpse into Discrete Diff erential Geometry 1133 Letters to the Editor by Keenan Crane and Max Wardetzky 1178 Opinion: Writing a Teaching Letter 1160 Immigration, Freedom, and the History of the Chris Woodward Institute for Advanced Study by Fadi Bardawil, omas Dodman, Ian Jauslin, 1180 Opinion: Accessible Mathematics for People with Pascal Marichalar, Klaus Oschema, and Hearing Loss at Colleges and Universities Peter Redfi eld J. Tilak Ratnanather 1198 AMS Reciprocity Agreements 1191 Book Review: e Slow Professor David Manderscheid GRADUATE STUDENT SECTION FROM THE AMS SECRETARY 1170 Lillian Pierce Interview 1141 2018 AMS Elections: Call for Suggestions Laure Flapan 1184 Backlog of Mathematics Research Journals 1173 WHAT IS... a Varifold? Editors 1200 Biennial Overview of AMS Honors 1174 AMS Graduate Student Blog Notices A MERICAN M ATHEMATICAL S OCIETY of the American Mathematical Society A Mathematical NO NOT USE AVAILABLE IN EBOOK FORMAT Gallery AVAILABLE IN EBOOK FORMAT 2018 JOINT MATHEMATICS MEETINGS AVAILABLE IN EBOOK FORMAT 1247 San Diego Meeting Registration Forms Lisl Gaal Embark on a playful mathematical tour, AVAILABLE IN aided by Lisl Gaal’sEBOOK illustrations FORMAT of familiar scenes and whimsical triggers for the imag- IN EVERY ISSUE ination. Along the way, find fruit stands arranged using polynomial multiplication, 1194 BookShelf checkerboard tablecloths sewn with pat- terns of primes in a two-dimensional num- 1196 The Back Page ber system, and deceptive cats revealing that simple counting is not always so 1208 Mathematics Opportunities simple. This is a book to read and revisit, 1211 Mathematics People gaining new insights each time. 2017; 64 pages; Softcover; ISBN: 978-1-4704-4159- 1217 Inside the AMS 3; List US$25; AMS members US$20; Order code MBK/111 1219 New Publications Offered by the AMS 1226 Mathematics Calendar 1228 Classified Advertising 1234 Meetings and Conferences of the AMS Pre-order your copy at bookstore.ams.org/mbk-111 (800)321-4267 (US & Canada) (401)455-4000 (Worldwide) Notices of the American Mathematical Society EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CONTACTING THE NOTICES Frank Morgan SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ASSOCIATE EDITORS Subscription prices for Volume 64 (2017) are US$637 list; Benjamin Braun, US$509.60 institutional member; US$382.20 individual mem- Alexander Diaz-Lopez, Thomas Garrity, Joel Hass, ber; US$573.30 corporate member. (The subscription price for Stephen Kennedy, Florian Luca, Steven J. Miller, members is included in the annual dues.) A late charge of 10% of Harriet Pollatsek, Carla Savage (ex officio), the subscription price will be imposed upon orders received from Cesar E. Silva, Christina Sormani, Daniel J. Velleman non-members after January 1 of the subscription year. Add for CONSULTANTS postage: Surface delivery outside the United States and India— John Baez, Hélène Barcelo, Ricardo Cortez, Jerry Folland, US$27; in India—US$40; expedited delivery to destinations in Tara Holm, Kenneth A. Ribet North America—US$35; elsewhere—US$120. Subscriptions and orders for AMS publications should be addressed to the ASSISTANT to the EDITOR-IN-CHIEF American Mathematical Society, P.O. Box 845904, Boston, MA Sophia D. Merow 02284-5904 USA. All orders must be prepaid. SENIOR WRITER/DEPUTY EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR Allyn Jackson Rachel L. 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Note: Single issues full contact information, see www.ams.org/publications/ of the Notices are not available after one calendar year. journals/notices/noticescontact [Notices of the American Mathematical Society (ISSN 0002-9920) is published monthly except bimonthly in June/July by the American Mathematical Society at 201 Charles Street, Providence, RI 02904-2294 USA, GST No. 12189 2046 RT****. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, RI, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change notices to Notices of the American Mathematical Society, P.O. Box 6248, Providence, RI 02904-6248 USA.] Publication here of the Society’s street address and the other bracketed information is a technical requirement of the U.S. Postal Service. © Copyright 2017 by the American Mathematical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. The paper used in this journal is acid-free and falls within the guidelines established to ensure permanence and durability. Opinions expressed in signed Notices articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect opinions of the editors or policies of the American Mathematical Society. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Presidential Nomination by Petition? It was impossible not to think of the current adminis- I recently received the September 2017 AMS Notices, which tration. Following that, the “Ode to Joy” in Beethoven’s contains the information on the presidential candidates. Symphony became a prayer for peace and reconciliation Professors Pipher and Williams are eminently qualified, for all mankind. I hadn't expected it, but the program and whichever one is elected will no doubt be an excel- seemed to be the orchestra’s response to the question, lent president. “How do we, as musicians, respond to the catastrophic Nevertheless I wonder if it would be appropriate to situation that confronts us?” That got me thinking: how allow nomination by petition for AMS president (as it is do we respond, as mathematicians? I don’t think this now for other officers and the Council). This is the practice story about the travel ban was the full answer, but it is for many academic and professional organizations. I feel something. Thank you for that. it would increase participation by the membership and —Lyla Fadali allow for greater diversity. One could require a substantial Occidental College number of supporting signatures to preclude frivolous nominations. (Received August 9, 2017) I urge the officers of the AMS as well as the president More to Internationalism than Migration elect to set in motion a procedure for nomination by peti- tion for president. Moon Duchin’s timely commentary in the August 2017 No- —Joe Auslander tices, paired with an article on