In this talk I will discuss connections between three central problems in algebraic complexity theory: arithmetic circuit lower bounds, derandomization questions in arithmetic computation, and polynomial factorization. These three closely related topics have guided algebraic complexity in the last several decades. I will talk about the interrelations among these problems and also some recent results towards the quest of deterministic multivariate polynomial factorization. 

Refreshments will be served preceding the talk, starting at 2:45.

We gratefully acknowledge the generous financial support of the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).