This proceedings volume presents selected, peer-reviewed contributions from the 26th National School on Algebra, which was held in Constanța, Romania, on August 26-September 1, 2018. The works cover three fields of mathematics: algebra, geometry and discrete mathematics, discussing the latest developments in the theory of monomial ideals, algebras of graphs and local positivity of line bundles. Whereas interactions between algebra and geometry go back at least to Hilbert, the ties to combinatorics are much more recent and are subject of immense interest at the forefront of contemporary mathematics research. Transplanting methods between different branches of mathematics has proved very fruitful in the past – for example, the application of fixed point theorems in topology to solving nonlinear differential equations in analysis. Similarly, combinatorial structures, e.g., Newton-Okounkov bodies, have led to significant advances in our understanding of the asymptotic propertiesof line bundles in geometry and multiplier ideals in algebra.
This book is intended for advanced graduate students, young scientists and established researchers with an interest in the overlaps between different fields of mathematics. A volume for the 24th edition of this conference was previously published with Springer under the title "Multigraded Algebra and Applications" (ISBN 978-3-319-90493-1).