The good old Brauer algebra from a modern point of view

Abstract: 

The family of Brauer algebras was originally defined in 1937 by Brauer to solve a problem in classic invariant theory.

The talk will give an overview on how this family relates to other areas of representation theory, topology and geometry from a more modern perspective. The objects on the representation theory side include category O for orthogonal Lie algebras, finite dim'l representations of orthosymplectic Lie superalgebras, a version of the Deligne category, Khovanov algebras, and quantum symmetric pairs. While on the topology and geometry side the main objects include Springer fibres, perverse sheaves on isotropic Grassmannians and certain singular TQFTs.