Conference: Knots in Washington: Conferences on Knot Theory and its Ramifications

This award provides support for the 50th Knots in Washington conference that will take place at George Washington University in Washington, DC, December 6-8, 2024. Knot theory is not only a central part of mathematics, but it also has deep connections to physics, chemistry and biology. The series covers cutting edge topics from knot theory and its ramifications.

Organizers will strongly encourage students and junior researchers, as well as members of under-represented groups to participate in this event and engage in formal and informal research collaborations.

An example of a chain of breakthrough in modern knot theory includes: Thurston Geometrization of 3-dimensional manifolds (Perelman theorem), Jones link polynomial (quantum knot invariants, e.g. HOMFLYPT and Kauffman polynomials), Vassiliev (finite type) invariants, Khovanov homology, Ozsvath--Szabo, Heegaard--Floer homology, and Witten Conjecture on skein modules of closed 3-manifolds.

All of these topics were covered at Knots in Washington conferences as they were emerging and before they became a part of mainstream research. The series continues to ensure coverage of current trends in knot theory and low dimensional topology. More information is available at the conference website: https://blogs.gwu.edu/ccas-knotsinwashington/.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.