Mori dream spaces are a class of projective varieties on which Mori’s minimal model program can be carried out. In this talk, I will give a brief introduction to the minimal model program, and define Mori dream spaces. Time permitting, we will see examples of Mori dream spaces, and see their relations to the finite generation of canonical rings. Most of the talk will be accessible to anyone currently taking 631 or with some background in differential geometry. Speaker(s): Yueqiao Wu (UM)