**Please note this seminar is in-person only SMRI Seminar: ’Tricking the Devil’ Sandor Kovacs (University of Washington) Thursday 20th April, 1:00-2:00pm (AEST) Quad S249 (in-person only) Abstract: Max Noether said that algebraic curves were created by God and algebraic surfaces by the Devil. Unfortunately, that description seems to be also valid for the moduli theory of these objects respectively. I will recall one of the first obstacles one faces when trying to extend the basic results of the moduli theory of curves to that of surfaces and then discuss how one may resolve the arising issue. Time permitting, I will also explain the various stability conditions this problem and its resolution led to. Biography: Sandor Kovacs is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Washington. He received his BS degree at Eoetvoes University (Hungary), and his PhD at the University of Utah. He held positions at MIT and the University of Chicago before moving to the University of Washington. His awards include the American Mathematical Society’s Centennial Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, and two Simons Foundation Fellowships. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. ---- Please join us after the seminar for SMRI afternoon tea, 2:00-2:45pm every Thursday on the SMRI Terrace (accessed through A14-04-L4.36) ---- Other upcoming SMRI events can be found here: https://mathematical-research-institute.sydney.edu.au/news-events/ SMRI YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SydneyMathematicalResearchInstituteSMRI