I will discuss via chalk the problem of elementary equivalence for II$_1$ factors and explain why it is extremely thrilling, and extremely timely in the current climate of II$_1$ factor theory. Along the way I will explain various results of mine joint with co-authors that penetrate this problem in new ways.

Bio: Srivatsav Kunnawalkam Elayavalli is an Indian mathematician working in the USA. He earned his doctorate from Vanderbilt University in 2022 under the supervision of Jesse Peterson. Then he was Simons Postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA. Currently he is working in University of California San Diego as an SEW Assistant Professor. His work is in von Neumann algebras, their structure and classification via entropy and boundary techniques.