This volume contains a collection of well-written surveys provided by experts in Global Differential Geometry to give an overview over recent developments in Riemannian Geometry, Geometric Analysis and Symplectic Geometry. The papers are written for graduate students and researchers with a general interest in geometry, who want to get acquainted with the current trends in these central fields of modern mathematics.

The leading mind behind the mathematics of string theory discusses how geometry explains the universe we see. Illustrations.

Minimal surfaces date back to Euler and Lagrange and the beginning of the calculus of variations. Many of the techniques developed have played key roles in geometry and partial differential equations. Examples include monotonicity and tangent cone analysis originating in the regularity theory for minimal surfaces, estimates for nonlinear equations based on the maximum principle arising in Bernstein's classical work, and even Lebesgue's definition of the integral that he developed in his thesis on the Plateau problem for minimal surfaces. This book starts with the classical theory of minimal surfaces and ends up with current research topics. Of the various ways of approaching minimal surfaces (from complex analysis, PDE, or geometric measure theory), the authors have chosen to focus on the PDE aspects of the theory. The book also contains some of the applications of minimal surfaces to other fields including low dimensional topology, general relativity, and materials science. The only prerequisites needed for this book are a basic knowledge of Riemannian geometry and some familiarity with the maximum principle.

Ricci flow is a powerful analytic method for studying the geometry and topology of manifolds. This book is an introduction to Ricci flow for graduate students and mathematicians interested in working in the subject. To this end, the first chapter is a review of the relevant basics of Riemannian geometry. For the benefit of the student, the text includes a number of exercises of varying difficulty. The book also provides brief introductions to some general methods of geometric analysis and other geometric flows. Comparisons are made between the Ricci flow and the linear heat equation, mean curvature flow, and other geometric evolution equations whenever possible. Several topics of Hamilton's program are covered, such as short time existence, Harnack inequalities, Ricci solitons, Perelman's no local collapsing theorem, singularity analysis, and ancient solutions. A major direction in Ricci flow, via Hamilton's and Perelman's works, is the use of Ricci flow as an approach to solving the Poincaré conjecture and Thurston's geometrization conjecture.

This volume consists of papers written by eminent scientists from the international mathematical community, who present the latest information concerning the problem of Plateau after its classical solution by Jesse Douglas and Tibor Rad¢. The contributing papers provide insight and perspective on various problems in modern topics of Calculus of Variations, Global Differential Geometry and Global Nonlinear Analysis as related to the problem of Plateau.