International Conference on Symplectic Geometry and Astrodynamics held at Surrey

The workshop “Geometry Space Surrey” was held 8-10 June hosted by the Surrey Space Centre (SSC) and co-organised with Maths@Surrey. The Principal Organiser was Arthur Limoge, a symplectic geometer currently a Postdoc in the SSC. The workshop focused on applications of symplectic geometry to astrodynamics. Indeed, symplectic geometry – a branch of pure mathematics aimed at formalising classical mechanics in geometric terms – has been producing more and more applications to space mission design in the past decade and a half. However, beyond isolated collaborations, there has yet to be a conference or workshop dedicated at bringing the two communities together. The aim of “Geometry Space Surrey” was to expose the audience to a wide range of ideas and techniques from both symplectic geometry and space engineering, through 5 keynote presentations and more than 20 research talks spanning over 3 days. This included focus sessions dedicated to industry topics, like Cislunar Space Situational Awareness (SSA) on the second day, with speaker Dr Jack Tyler from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, to give insights into the current problems and questions from the space industry; but also more theoretical sessions, like geometric optimal control, and Floer theory on Day 3. Day 4 featured a tour of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd on the Surrey Research Park. The conference photo is below.