Algebraic combinatorics is an area of mathematics that employs methods of abstract algebra, notably group theory and representation theory, in various combinatorial contexts and, conversely, applies combinatorial techniques to problems in algebra. History The term "algebraic combinatorics" was introduced in the late 1970s. Through the early or mid-1990s, typical combinatorial objects of interest in algebraic combinatorics either admitted a lot of symmetries (association schemes, strongly regular graphs, posets with a group action) or possessed a rich algebraic structure, frequently of representation theoretic origin (symmetric functions, Young tableaux). This period is reflected in the area 05E, Algebraic combinatorics, of the AMS Mathematics Subject Classification, introduced in 1991. Scope Algebraic combinatorics has come to be seen more expansively as an area of mathematics where the interaction of combinatorial and algebraic methods is particularly strong and significant. Thus the combinatorial topics may be enumerative in nature or involve matroids, polytopes, partially ordered sets, or finite geometries. On the algebraic side, besides group theory and representation theory, lattice theory and commutative algebra are commonly used. Important topics Symmetric functions The ring of symmetric functions is a specific limit of the rings of symmetric polynomials in n indeterminates, as n goes to infinity. This ring serves as universal structure in which relations between symmetric polynomials can be expressed in a way independent of the number n of indeterminates (but its elements are neither polynomials nor functions). Among other things, this ring plays an important role in the representation theory of the symmetric groups. Association schemes An association scheme is a collection of binary relations satisfying certain compatibility conditions. Association schemes provide a unified approach to many topics, for example combinatorial designs and coding theory. In algebra, association schemes generalize groups, and the theory of association schemes generalizes the character theory of linear representations of groups. Strongly regular graphs A strongly regular graph is defined as follows. Let G = (V,E) be a regular graph with v vertices and degree k. G is said to be strongly regular if there are also integers λ and μ such that: Every two adjacent vertices have λ common neighbours. Every two non-adjacent vertices have μ common neighbours. A graph of this kind is sometimes said to be a srg(v, k, λ, μ). Some authors exclude graphs which satisfy the definition trivially, namely those graphs which are the disjoint union of one or more equal-sized complete graphs, and their complements,