Title:  Cutting random trees

                   Nevin Kapur
   Center for the Mathematics of Information
       California Institute of Technology

Abstract: In the second of two talks, I will demonstrate how analytic
combinatorics can be used to derive limiting distributions of parameters of
random structures.

The specific question I will address is the following: Given a random rooted
tree, pick an edge uniformly at random and "cut it," discarding the
component of the tree that doesn't contain the root.  Continue this process
till the root is isolated.  How many cuts are required
(asymptotically) to destroy the tree?

(This talk will be largely self-contained---I will only rely on the audience
having hazy recollections of last week's talk.)