IIT Bhilai Hosts Meru 2026, Bringing Together Leading Mathematicians and Researchers in Combinatorics
Raipur
The Department of Mathematics at Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai (IIT Bhilai) is hosting the fourth edition of the Meru Combinatorics Conference (Meru 2026), bringing together leading mathematicians, researchers and young scholars from institutions across India and abroad to discuss recent advances in combinatorics.
The three-day conference, being held from June 1 to June 3, is aimed at fostering academic exchange and collaboration in one of mathematics’ most dynamic fields. The event is being conducted under the patronage of IIT Bhilai Director Rajiv Prakash, while Dr. Anurag Singh, Assistant Professor in the institute’s Department of Mathematics, is serving as the convenor.
Meru 2026 is supported by the Innovation and Technology Foundation (IBITF), IIT Bhilai, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, and the Chhattisgarh Council of Science and Technology, among other academic institutions.
Named after Meru, the legendary mountain of Indian mythology, the conference draws inspiration from the historical mathematical concept associated with the triangle of binomial coefficients studied by classical Indian prosodists. Over the years, the annual event has emerged as an important platform for the exchange of ideas among mathematicians at various stages of their academic careers.
The conference is guided by a Scientific Advisory Committee comprising distinguished scholars, including Amritanshu Prasad, Director of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences; Arvind Ayyer of the Indian Institute of Science; Narayanan N. of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras; and S. Sivaramakrishnan of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
A major highlight of the conference is a pair of intensive minicourses delivered by leading experts. Sasmita Barik from the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar is presenting lectures on “Integer Matrices with Integer Eigenvalues and Laplacian Integral Graphs”, while Priyavrat Deshpande of the Chennai Mathematical Institute is conducting sessions on “Hyperplane Arrangements: At the Crossroads of Combinatorics, Topology and Algebra”.
The conference also features contributed talks and poster presentations, providing researchers and students with opportunities to showcase their work and engage with experts in the field. Organisers said the event reflects IIT Bhilai’s growing role in promoting advanced scientific research and academic collaboration in Central India.
