Symplectic and Contact Geometry and Connections to Low-Dimensional Topology

Organized by Peter Ozsváth and Yakov Eliashberg Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 In the last 2 decades, and especially in recent years there were symplectic geometric ideas and methods brought significant progress in low-dimensional topology, while the methods developed in 3- and 4-dimensional topology found applications to symplectic geometric problems. For instance, the Lagrangian intersection … Read more

Hyper-Kahler Geometry: October 29 – November 2, 2012

Organized by Ljudmila Kamenova (Stony Brook), Nigel Hitchin (Oxford), Eyal Markman (UMass, Amherst) and Justin Sawon (UNC)   A number of new developments make it timely to hold a workshop on hyperkahler geometry, focussing on: 1. The GMN construction of hyperkahler metrics. 2. Verbitsky’s Torelli Theorem (2009) 3. Simultaneous resolutions of symplectic singularities. 4. Derived … Read more

Alexander Polyakov Video, Quantum Instability of the de Sitter Space

Title: Quantum Instability of the de Sitter Space Speaker: Alexander Polyakov, Princeton University Date: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 Time: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Place:Lecture Hall 102, Simons Center         [box, type=”download”]Watch the video.[/box]

Michael Assis Video – The Complexity of Origami

Michael Assis is a research Assistant in the department of Physics at Stony Brook university pursuing a Phd in physics under Professor Barry McCoy; he earned a bachelors degree in both physics and mathematics from Taylor university and spent a year performing atmospheric physics research at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland studying noctilucent … Read more

Erik Demaine Video – Folding Paper: Visual Art Meets Mathematics

Origami and Paper Folding Bridging Perspectives of Visual Arts and Sciences Dr. Erik Demaine is a Professor of Computer Science at MIT and was the youngest professor in the history of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he joined their faculty in 2001 at the age of 20. In 2003 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship as a “computational … Read more

Carlo Sequin Video, Artistic Geometry: The Math Behind the Art

Artistic Geometry: The Math Behind the Art by Carlo Sequin Monday, July 30th at 5:30 pm Reception and doors open at 5:00 pm The geometry of some abstract sculptures is a starting point to gain some insights into twisted toroids, Moebius bands, and Klein bottles. Carlo Séquin, a computer science professor at UC Berkeley, has … Read more

Origami Heaven Exhibition at the Wang Center

  August 4-9, 2012 Origami Heaven 2012: Stories from Paper From the Aesops Fables and the Brothers Grimm to Tinkerbell and Harry Potter, the Charles B. Wang Center’s 8th Annual Origami Heaven Exhibition celebrates Stories through Paper recreated and interpreted by esteemed origami artists from around the world. Join us to delight in intricate folded-paper … Read more