CUNY Graduate Center Topology Seminar

General Information

The seminar meets Wednesdays 5:00-6:00 in room 6493 at the Graduate Center. The mathematics department lounge is room 4214.

The building is at 365 5th Avenue (34th St) in Manhattan.

Here is a link for Parking lots in NY (the neighborhood is called Murray Hill).

For more information about the seminar, or to add a name to the seminar mailing list, contact Martin Bendersky

  • THURSDAY Apr. 10 5-6 PM (Note change of day).
    Room: 4214-03 (Note change of room)
    Tony Bahri/Rider University
    Title: Piecewise Polynomials and the Equivariant Cohomology of Weighted Projective Spaces
    Abstract: A report of joint work with Matthias Franz and Nigel Ray. Weighted projective spaces are the easiest examples of singular toric varieties. Unlike the case of smooth varieties, the integral equivariant cohomology ring depends on more than just the combinatorics of the underlying fan. We describe the ring structure in terms of piecewise polynomial functions on the fan. Unlike the ordinary integral cohomology, this ring distinguishes among weighted projective spaces.
    Restaurant: TBA

  • April 2 Laurentiu Maxim/Lehman college

    TITLE: Atiyah-Meyer formulae for Hodge-type invariants of algebraic varieties.
    ABSTRACT: I will report on recent progress on the study of genera and characteristic classes of algebraic varieties. I will describe Hodge-theoretic analogues of the Atiyah-Meyer signature formula, and discuss possible extensions of these results to the singular setting. This is joint work with S. Cappell, A. Libgober and J. Shaneson.
    Restaurant: : Kang Suh. 1250 Broadway (32nd st).

  • March 26 Nancy Hingston/College of New Jersey

    Title: Loop products and closed geodesics
    Abstract: The critical points of the energy function on the free loop space L(M) of a compact Riemannian manifold M are the closed geodesics on M. Filtration by the length function gives a link between the geometry of closed geodesics and the algebraic structure given by the Chas-Sullivan product on the homology of L(M). Geometry reveals the existence of a related product on the cohomology of L(M). For manifolds such as spheres and projective spaces for which there is a metric with all geodesics closed, the resulting homology and cohomology rings are nontrivial, and closely linked to the geometry. I will not assume any knowledge of the Chas-Sullivan product. Joint work with Mark Goresky.
    Restaurant: TBA

  • March 12 Joe Neisendorfer/University of Rochester

    Restaurant: 2nd Avenue Deli
    Title: Samelson products over loops on H-spaces

  • Nov. 14 Bill Singer/Fordham University

    Room: 6417
    Restuarant: Kang Suh. 1250 Broadway (32nd st).
    Title: "Rings of Symmetric Functions as Modules over the Steenrod Algebra".

  • Dec. 5 Don Davis/Lehigh University

    Room: 6417
    Restuarant: TBA
    Title: From invariant theory to homotopy groups.
    Abstract:
    We determine the v1-periodic homotopy groups of all irreducible p-compact groups (BX,X). In the most difficult, modular, cases, we follow a direct path from their associated invariant polynomials to these homotopy groups. We show that, if p is odd, every irreducible p-compact group has X of the homotopy type of a product of explicit spaces related to p-completed Lie groups.

  • Friday October 19, 10:00-11:00 am John Klein/ Wayne state University

    Title: Bundle structures and Algebraic K-theory

    Abstract:
    This talk will describe algebraic K-theoretic obstructions to lifting fibrations to fiber bundles having compact smooth/topological manifold fibers. The surprise will be that a lift can often be found in the topological case. Examples will be given realizing the obstructions.

  • Oct. 3 Jesus Gonzalez/ Centro de Investigacion, Mexico City

    Title: Topological complexity of lens spaces
    Abstract:
    The topological complexity of lens spaces can be used to approach the immersion problem for odd dimensional projective spaces. Following work of Fadell-Husseini (1992) and Farber-Grant (2007), I will describe how to compute the initial stages in such an approach.

  • Oct. 25 Tony Bahri/ Rider University

    Title: "Stable decompositions of complements of complex coordinate subspace arrangements and generalized moment angle complexes"

    Abstract: A report of joint work with Martin Bendersky, Fred Cohen and Sam Gitler. We investigate a splitting, after one suspension, of a generalized moment angle complex into pieces related directly to the underlying simplicial complex defining it. In the particular case of the complements of complex coordinate subspace arrangements, our result implies a well known homology result of Goresky and MacPherson.
    Restaurant: TBA

  • March 8 Joel Zablow

    Title:On the relations and homology in the Dehn twist quandle of a surface

  • Nov 9, 1:30-2:30, Rm 8405Dennis Sullivan -Cuny Grad. Center

    Title: Are the operations in the free loop space of a closed manifold invariants of homotopy type?

  • Oct. 26 Hayden Harker,Vasser College

    Title: Derived functors of the locally finite functor
    Abstract: Define the functor G from A-modules to A-modules to be the locally finite functor where G(M) = {m in M | Am is finitely generated as a vector space}. We describe our interest in this functor and discuss the specific case when A is an exterior algebra over Z_2 with a countably infinite number of generators.

    Restaurant:TBA

  • Oct. 12Don Davis, Lehigh University

    Title "Homotopy exponents of SU(n)."
    Abstract: We use methods of combinatorial number theory to prove that some homotopy group of SU(n) has an element of order p^{n-1+[n/p^2]+[n/p^3]+...}
    Restaurant: Ben's Deli 209 W 38th St. near 7th ave.

  • March 23 Selman Akbulut, IAS/MSU

    Title: Topology and Geometry of G_2 manifolds.
    Restaurant: TBA

  • Feb. 16 Rob Schneiderman, NYU

    Title: Whitney towers and low dimensional topology.
    Restaurant: TBA
    Abstract

  • Dec. 1 Martin Bendersky, CUNY Hunter College/Graduate Center

    Title: A spectral sequence approach to normal forms.
    Restaurant: Ben's Deli

  • Nov. 17Craig Westerland, IAS

    Title:Function Spaces from Surfaces and stable decompositions.
    Abstract: We discuss the function spaces Map(X,M) of continuous maps from a surface, X, to a manifold M,,studying some multiplicative properties and giving a new stable splitting when M is a sphere.
    Restaurant: TBA

  • Oct. 27 Nancy Hingston, The College of New Jersey

    Title: Subharmonic Solutions of Hamiltonian Equations on Tori
    Abstract
    Restaurant: TBA

  • March 17 Cindy Curtis, The College of New Jersey

    Title: On the SL(2,C)-Casson Invariant.
    Restaurant: Kang Suh (1250 Broadway)

  • April 21 Stefan Bauer, IAS

    Title: Refined Seiberg Witten Invariant
    Restaurant: TBA

  • April 28 John McCleary, Vassar College

    Title: Contribution of Hinz Hopf
    Restaurant: TBA

  • Oct. 15 Lee Mosher, Rutgers University, Newark

    Title: Parageometric Automorphisms of Free Groups.

    Abstract
    Restaurant:Kang Suh (1250 broadway)

  • Oct. 29 Katarzyna Potocka, Lehigh University

    Title: The number of summands in the v_1 periodic homotopy of SU(n)
    Restaurant: Ben's Deli (38th St. and 7th Ave.)

  • November 19Martin Bendersky, CUNY Hunter College/Grad Center

    Title: Stable Geometric Dimension of Vector Bundles over RP^n
    Restaurant: Crestanello (475 5th Ave. Between 40 and 41st)

  • Oct. 2 John Klein, Wayne State University

    Title:Poincare Duality and Brave New Rings
    Restaurant:TBA

    Schedule, Fall 2001

    Schedule, Spring 2001