Speaker: Olav Kallenberg

Title: Some aspects of branching process theory and its ramifications

Abstract: Branching processes constitute one of the oldest subjects of applied probability, going back at least to the pioneering work of Irénée-Jules Bienaymé (1845). The area has been subject to an intense development through the ages, leading up to some modern theories of subtle difficulty and sublime beauty. After reviewing some classical theory and early history, I hope to comment on some more recent developments and mention some problems that have occupied me at various points in my career. My talk will be kept on an elementary, intuitive level, avoiding the obscuring technicalities and abstractions of the subject.