Cornell Topology Festival

Festival Speakers 1982-2012

1982

E. Thomas, Hilbert Modular Varieties
W. Metzler, Simple-homotopy in Low Dimensions and Group Presentations
T. Petrie, Smith Equivalence of Representations
S. Ferry, Fibered Triangulations of Q-manifold Bundles
R. Hamilton, Three-Manifolds with Positive Ricci Curvature
D. Johnson, Finite Generation of the Torelli Subgroup of the Mapping Class Group
R. Charney, Cohomology of Satake Compactifications
M. Davis, Groups Generated by Reflections and Aspherical Manifolds Not Covered by Euclidean Space

1983

J. Milnor, Infinite-Dimensional Lie Groups: A Survey
F. Peterson, Loop Spaces and the Dickson Algebra
K. Igusa, Parametrized Morse Theory and Pseudoisotopy
M. Steinberger, Equivariant Fiber Properties
F. Quinn, Recent Progress in 4-manifolds
K.H. Dovermann, Smith Equivalence of Representations
H. Miller, Recent Work on the Homotopy Theory of Classifying Spaces of Finite Groups
P. Scott, Least Area Surfaces in 3-manifolds

1984

J. Morgan, Degeneration of Hyperbolic Structures and Groups Acting on Trees
S. Weinberger, Symmetry and Homology
M. Culler, A Space of Moduli for the Free Group
D. Davis, A Strong Non-Immersion Theorem for Real Projective Spaces
G. Katz, Integrality Theorems and Witt Analogues of Burnside Rings
K. Brown, Finiteness Properties of Groups of Tree Derangements
R. Fintushel, SO(3)-Connections and the Topology of 4-Manifolds

1985

W. Neumann, Volumes of Hyperbolic 3-Manifolds
J. Birman, Jones' New Link Invariants
K. Orr, A General Framework for Link Cobordism Implying the Sato-Levine Invariants Vanish
D. DeTurck, Music on Manifolds
M. Gage, A Curve Shortening Process in the Plane
M. Steinberger, Equivariant Topological Torsion
E. Devinatz, On Ravenel's Nilpotence Conjecture
D. Gabai, Foliations and the Topology of 3-Manifolds

1986

W. Kazez, Maps of Surfaces and Some Conjectures of Berstein and Edmonds
L. Kaufmann, State Models for Knot Polynomials
J. Harper, Co-Groups which are not Suspensions
C. Rourke, A Proof of the Poincare Conjecture I
S. Plotnick, Growth Functions and Fuchsian Groups
P. Hilton, Failures of Cancellation in Group Theory and Homotopy Theory
A. Edmonds, Group Actions on 4-Manifolds
C. Rourke, A Proof of the Poincare Conjecture II

1987

M. Handel, Zero-Entropy Surface Diffeomorphisms
J. Shaneson, Smooth Nontrivial 4-Dimensional s-Cobordisms
C. Wilkerson, Smith Theory and the Sullivan Conjecture
M. Scharlemann, Link Genus and the Conway Skein Tree
P. Shalen, Trees and Continued Fractions
G. Carlsson, Applications of the Burnside Ring Conjecture
J. West, Nonlinear Similarity Begins in Dimension 6
B. Lawson, The Topological Structure of the Space of Algebraic Varieties

1988

D. Fried, Homology of Free Abelian Covers
S. Ferry, Epsilon-Topology and Novikov's Conjecture
J. Luecke, The Knot Complement Problem
P. Peterson, Bounding Homotopy Types by Geometry
W. Dwyer, Wreath Products and Iterated Fibrations
W. Metzler, The Distinction between Homotopy Type and Simple-Homotopy Type for 2-Complexes
M. Bestvina, Train Tracks for Free Group Automorphisms and a Conjecture of Peter Scott

1989

F. T. Farrell, A Topological Analogue of Mostow's Rigidity Theorem
E. Miller, Generalizations of Casson's Invariant for 3-Manifolds
D. Ravenel, The Chromatic Point of View in Homotopy Theory
C. Frohman, Unitary Representation of Knot Groups
R. Skora, Splitting of Surfaces
W.-C. Hsiang, The K-Theoretic Novikov Conjecture
L. Jones, A Counterexample to Smooth Rigidity
C. McMullen, 3-Manifolds and Riemann Surfaces

1990

B. Eckmann, The Euler Characteristic of Spaces and Groups - Theme and Variations
J. Morgan, Applications of Gauge Theory to Smooth 4-Manifolds
A. Dranishnikov, Cohomological Dimension Theory and its Applications
T. Cochran, New Linking Phenomena: The Land Beyond Massey Products
T. Petrie, The Equivariant Serre Conjecture and Algebraic Actions on Complex n-Space
M. Feighn, Combining Negatively Curved Groups
A. Adem, Cohomology and Actions of Finite Groups
M. Culler, Paradoxical Decompositions and Margulis Numbers

1991

S. Stolz, Simply-Connected Manifolds of Positive Scalar Curvature
J. Cao, Almost Visible Manifolds of Nonpositive Curvature
W. Menasco, The Tait Conjecture and the Classification of Alternating Links
T. Goodwillie, Loops and the K-Theory of Group Rings
M. Lustig, Tunnels, Bridges and K_1
M. Kapranov, On a Conjecture of Baues in the Theory of Loop Spaces
A. Casson, The Seifert-Fibered-Space Conjecture

1992

P. Hilton, The Life and Work of Israel Berstein
Z.-X. He, On "Energy" of Knots and Unknots
C. Wilkerson, Estimating Homotopy by Cohomology
M. Bridson, The Flat Torus Theorem and Semihyperbolic Groups
W. Goldman, Building Polyhedra in Variable Curvature
A. Hatcher, Sphere Complexes of 3-Manifolds and Aut(F_n)
J. Bryant, A Non-Resolvable Generalized Manifold
E. Pedersen, On the Sphere Cross Euclidean Space Form Problem
J. Franks, Geodesics on the 2-Sphere and Periodic Points of Annulus Homeomorphisms

1993

R. Schoen, Harmonic Maps and Actions of Discrete Groups
J. Shaneson, Counting Lattice Points and Singularities of Functions
I. Rivin, Deformation Theory of Singular Hyperbolic Metrics on 3-Manifolds
A. Dranishnikov, Cohomological Dimension Type and the Mapping Intersection Problem
U. Oertel, Spaces which are not Negatively Curved
G. Carlsson, Some Remarks on the Assembly Map in Algebraic K-Theory
C. Curtis, Generalized Casson Invariants
M. Bestvina, The Boundary of Outer Space

1994

K. Kuperberg, Counterexamples to the Seifert Conjecture
P. Thurston, The 4-Dimensional Busemann Conjecture: Recognizing Manifolds in Synthetic Geometry
L. Mosher, Mapping Class Groups are Automatic
S. Ferry, Infinite-Dimensional Phenomena in Finite-Dimensional Topology
S. Gersten, Subgroups of Hyperbolic Groups
R. Charney, Hyperplane Complements Associated to Infinite Reflection Groups
M. Feighn, On the Tits Alternative for Out(F_n)
R. Gompf, On the Topology of Symplectic 4-Manifolds

1995

R. Fintushel, Introduction to Seiberg-Witten Invariants
B. Farb, Coarse Geometry and Rigidity
D. Chase, Fixed Point Sets of Involutions on Spheres
J. Cannon, Thompson's Group: Fordham's Algorithm for Minimal Representatives
R. MacPherson, The Topological Trace Formula
D. Burago, Asymptotic Invariants of Riemannian Tori
J. Morgan, Applications of Seiberg-Witten Invariants to the Topology of 4-Manifolds

1996

D. Gabai, Geometric and Topological Rigidity of Hyperbolic 3-Manifolds
Y. Minsky, The Complex of Curves on a Surface: Hyperbolicity Lost and Found in Teichmueller Space
M. Weiss, Index Theory Without Operators
M. Brin, Automorphisms of Some Small Homeomorphism Groups
N. Brady, Branched Coverings of Cubical Complexes and Subgroups of Hyperbolic Groups
R. Lee, The Spherical Space Form Problem
M. Davis, Boundaries of Coxeter Groups

1997

B. Kleiner, The Large-Scale Geometry of Spaces with Nonpositive Curvature
M. Hopkins, Topological Modular Forms
L. Carbone, Non-Uniform Lattices on Uniform Trees
Z. Szabo, Disproving the Minimal Conjecture
M. Sageev, JSJ-Splittings for Finitely Presented Groups
W. Dwyer, Homology Decompositions for Classifying Spaces
Z. Sela, Low-Dimensional Topology, Algebraic Geometry over Groups, and the Elementary Theory of Free Groups

1998

D. Cooper, Some Surface Subgroups Survive Surgery
J. Stasheff, From Operads to String Theory
J. McCammond, General Versions of Small Cancellation Theory
M. Hutchings, Reidemeister Torsion in Generalized Morse Theory (with an Application to Seiberg-Witten Theory)
A. Reid, Thue Equations and Dehn Surgery
M. Handel, The Mapping Torus of a Free Group Automorphism is Coherent
W. Thurston, Three-Manifolds that Slither around the Circle

1999

Y. Eliashberg, Introduction to Symplectic Field Theory
P. Shalen, Boundary Slopes of Knots, and 3-Manifolds with Cyclic Fundamental Group
C. Woodward, Eigenvalue Inequalities and Quantum Cohomology of the Grassmannian
W. Ziller, Curvature and Symmetry of Milnor Spheres
S. Boyer, A Proof of the Finite Filling Conjecture
M. Kapovich, Group Actions on Coarse Poincare Duality Spaces
D. Wise, Subgroup Separability of the Figure 8 Knot
R. Edwards, Cantor Groups, their Classifying Spaces, and their Actions on ENR's

2000

R. Geoghegan, SL(2) Actions on the Hyperbolic Plane
C. Connell, Volume Growth Rigidity
M. Sapir, Some Applications of Higman Embeddings
J. Roe, Amenability and Assembly Maps
K. Whyte, Large Scale Geometry of Graphs of Groups
M. Bridson, Subgroups of Semihyperbolic Groups
S. Bigelow, Braid Groups are Linear

2001

G. Tian, Symplectic Surfaces in Rational Complex Surfaces
P. Teichner, L-Theory of Knots
J. Rognes, Two-Primary Algebraic K-Theory of Pointed Spaces
D. Sinha, The Topology of Spaces of Knots
D. Calegari, Promoting Essential Laminations
M. Abreu, The Topology of Symplectomorphism Groups
D. Allcock, Reflection Groups on the Octave Hyperbolic Plane
R. Forman, The Differential Topology of Combinatorial Spaces

2002

M. Bestvina, Measured Laminations and Group Theory
D. Biss, The Combinatorics of Smooth Manifolds: Oriented Matroids in Topology
S. Gersten, Isoperimetric Inequalities for Nilpotent Groups
D. McDuff, The Topology of Groups of Symplectomorphisms
Y. Minsky, On Thurston's Ending Lamination Conjecture
P. Ozsvath, Holomorphic Disks and Low-dimensional Topology
G. Yu, The Novikov Conjecture and Geometry of Groups

2003

D. Bar-Natan, The Unreasonable Affinity of Knot Theory and the Algebraic Sciences
J. Birman, Stabilization in the Braid Groups
F. Cohen, Braid Groups, the Topology of Configuration Spaces, and Homotopy Groups
B. Farb, Hidden Symmetries of Riemannian Manifolds
G. Levitt, Automorphisms of Canonical Splittings
J. Meier, Asymptotic Cohomology for the Motion Group of a Trivial n-Component Link
J. Roberts, Rozansky-Witten Theory
D. Thurston, How Efficiently Do 3-Manifolds Bound 4-Manifolds?
U. Tillmann, The Topology of the Space of Strings
A. Valette, Vanishing Results for the First L² Betti Number of a Group
K. Vogtmann, Graph Homology and Outer Space

2004

I. Agol, Tameness of Hyperbolic 3-Manifolds
J. Brock, Ending Laminations and the Weil-Petersson Visual Sphere
N. Dunfield, Does a Random 3-Manifold Fiber Over the Circle?
J. Etnyre, Invariants of Embeddings Via Contact Geometry
R. Grigorchuk, Groups of Branch Type and Finitely Presented Groups
P. Kronheimer, Property P for Knots
Y. Rudyak, Category Weight and the Arnold Conjecture on Fixed Points of Symplectomorphisms
R. Schwartz, Spherical CR Geometry and Dehn Surgery
D. Sullivan, String Background in Algebraic Topology
Z. Szabo, Heegaard Diagrams and Holomorphic Disks
W. Thurston, What Next?

2005

Denis Auroux, Symplectic 4-Manifolds, Mapping Class Groups, and Fiber Sums
Augustin Banyaga, Some Invariants of Transversally Oriented Foliations
Paul Biran, Algebraic Families and Lagrangian Cycles
Thomas Delzant, Fundamental Groups of Kaehler Manifolds
Yakov Eliashberg, Geometry of Contact Transformations: Orderability vs. Squeezing
Étienne Ghys, Minimal Sets of Holomorphic Foliations on the Complex Projective Plane: A Survey
Yael Karshon, Tori in Symplectomorphism Groups
John Morgan, Ricci Flow and Topology of 3-Manifolds
Shahar Mozes , Lattices in Products of Trees
Yann Ollivier, A Panorama of Random Groups
Brendan Owens, Unknotting Information from Heegaard Floer Theory

2006

Noel Brady, University of Oklahoma
Perron-Frobenius Eigenvalues, Snowflake Groups and Isoperimetric Spectra
Gunnar Carlsson, Stanford University
Algebraic Topology and High Dimensional Data
Thomas Farrell, Binghamton University
Some Applications of Topology to Geometry
Soren Galatius, Stanford University
Stable Homology of Automorphisms of Free Groups
Robert Ghrist, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Homological Sensor Networks
Jesper Grodal, University of Chicago
From Finite Groups to Infinite Groups via Homotopy Theory
Maurice Herlihy, Brown University
Topological Methods in Distributed and Concurrent Computing
Tara Holm, Connecticut and Cornell University
Orbifold Cohomology of Abelian Symplectic Reductions
Martin Kassabov, Cornell University
Kazhdan Property T and its Applications
Lee Mosher, Rutgers University
Axes in Outer Space
Nathalie Wahl, University of Chicago
Mapping Class Groups of Non-orientable Surfaces

2007

Danny Calegari, California Institute of Technology
Curvature and stable commutator length
Ralph Cohen, Stanford University
Surfaces in a background manifold and the homology of mapping class groups
Cornelia Drutu, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille I
Relatively hyperbolic groups: geometry and quasi-isometric invariance
Alex Eskin, University of Chicago
Counting problems in Teichmüller space
Mark Feighn, Rutgers University at Newark
Definable subsets of free groups
Ilya Kapovich, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Geodesic currents and outer space
Chris Leininger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The boundary of the curve complex
Tim Riley, Cornell University
The geometry of discs spanning loops in groups and spaces
Juan Souto, University of Chicago
Heegaard splittings and hyperbolic geometry
Gang Tian, Princeton University
Geometrization of low dimensional manifold

2008

Andrew Dancer, Oxford University
Symplectic Versus Hyperkahler Geometry
Hansjörg Geiges, University of Cologne
Contact Dehn Surgery
Viktor Ginzburg, University of California at Santa Cruz
Leaf-wise Coisotropic Intersections
Rebecca Goldin, George Mason University
Equivariant Cohomology in Symplectic Geometry
Richard Kenyon, Brown University
The Configuration Space of Branched Polymers
Ian Leary, Ohio State University
Infinite Smith Groups
Kaoru Ono, Hokkaido University
Floer Theory for Lagrangian Submanifolds
Peter Ozsváth, Columbia University
Heegard Diagrams and Holomorphic Disks
Katrin Wehrheim, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Construction of Topological Invariants Via Decomposition and Representation in a Symplectic Category
Shmuel Weinberger, University of Chicago
Manifolds Whose Universal Covers Have Finite Type

2009

Pierre-Emmanuel Caprace, University of Louvain
Isometry Groups of Proper CAT(0) Spaces
Benson Farb, University of Chicago
Some Universality Phenomena for Pseudo-Anosov Dilations
Tom Farrell, Binghamton University

Bundles with Negatively Curved Fibers

Cameron Gordon, University of Texas

Surface Subgroups of Doubles of Free Groups

Bruce Kleiner, Courant Institute

A New Proof of Gromov's Theorem on Groups of Polynomial Growth

Seonhee Lim, Cornell University

Volume Entropy of Buildings

Robert MacPherson, Institute for Advanced Study

The Geometry of Crystal Decompositions in Materials

Kasra Rafi, University of Chicago

Counting Closed Geodesics in a Stratum

Bertrand Rémy, University of Lyon

Rigidity and Quasi-isomorphism Classes of Simple Twin Building Lattices

Anna Wienhard, Princeton University

Domains of Discontinuity

2010

Miklos Abert, University of Chicago
Graph Limits, Covering Towers, and the Dynamics of Profinite Actions
Indira Chatterji, Ohio State University and Université d'Orléans
Subgroup Distortion and Bounded Cohomology
Karsten Grove, University of Notre Dame
Positive Curvature in the Presence of Symmetries
Jeremy Kahn, Stony Brook University
Essential Immersed Surfaces in Closed Hyperbolic 3-Manifolds
Dan Margalit, Tufts University
Problems and Progress on Torelli Groups
Nikolay Nikolov, Imperial College London
Rank Gradient of Groups and Applications
Doug Ravenel, University of Rochester
The Arf-Kervaire Invariant Problem
Ed Swartz, Cornell University
Counting Faces Since Poincaré
Daniel Wise, McGill University
The Structure of Groups with a Quasiconvex Hierarchy
Robert Young, IHES
The Dehn Function of SL(n;Z)

2011

Matthew Foreman, University of California at Irvine
Classifying Measure Preserving Diffeomorphism of the Torus
Rostislav Grigorchuk, Texas A&M University
Manifestations of the Lamplighter
Olga Kharlampovich, McGill University
Algebraic Geometry for Groups
Darren Long, University of California at Santa Barbara
Some Algebraic Applications of Real Projective Manifolds
Jason Manning, State University of New York at Buffalo
Hyperbolic Dehn Filling of Spaces and Groups
Yair Minsky, Yale University
Dynamics of Automorphism Groups: Ergodicity, Stability, and Topology
Justin Moore, Cornell University
Amenability and Ramsey Theory
Alexandra Pettet, Oxford University
Abstract Commensurators of the Johnson Filtration
Slawek Solecki, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Fixed Points, Ramsey Theorems, Concentration of Measure, and Submeasures
Simon Thomas, Rutgers University
The Complexity of the Quasi-Isometry Relation for Finitely Generated Groups

2012

Ian Agol, University of California at Berkeley
The Virtual Haken Conjecture
Francis Bonahon, University of Southern California
Hitchin Representations
David Gabai, Princeton University
Volumes of Hyperbolic 3-Manifolds
Allen Hatcher, Cornell University
A 50-Year View of Diffeomorphism Groups
Jacob Lurie, Harvard University
The Siegel Mass Formula, Tamagawa Numbers, and Nonabelian Poincaré Duality
Peter May, University of Chicago
What Is Equivariant Cohomology and What Is It Good For?
Dusa McDuff, Barnard College / Columbia University
Embedding Questions in Symplectic Geometry
John Milnor, Stony Brook University
Small Denominators: Adventures Through the Looking Glass
Tom Mrowka, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Instantons and Knots
Walter Neumann, Barnard College / Columbia University
Local Metric Geometry of Complex Varieties
Hee Oh, Brown University
Circle Packings and Ergodic Theory
John Pardon, Stanford University
Totally Disconnected Groups (Not) Acting on Three-Manifolds
Ronald Stern, University of California at Irvine
Pinwheels, Smooth Structures, and 4-Manifolds with Euler Characteristic 3
Peter Teichner, University of California at Berkeley / MPI Bonn
Iterated Disk Constructions in 4-Manifold Topology
William Thurston, Cornell University