Topology Festival

May 2–5, 2008

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Festival Speakers 1982-2006

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