[Binghamton Geometry/Topology Seminar] April 28 and April 29 (two talks this week; note unusual time/place)

[Lucas Sabalka]

                   BINGHAMTON GEOMETRY/TOPOLOGY SEMINAR

This week in the Geometry and Topology seminar, we have two speakers.  The
first speaker, Anna Wienhard of Princeton University, is part of our Dean's
Speaker Series in Geometry/Topology.  The second speaker, Dani Wise of
McGill University, will be talking to us on Friday at 10:50am in Science 2
room 143 (note the different time and location).


*Date*:  Thursday, April 28, 2011
*Time*:  2:50-3:50pm
*Place*:  Library North 2205 followed by coffee/tea in the Anderson Reading
Room.


*Speaker*:  Anna Wienhard (Princeton)
*Dean's Speaker Series in Geometry/Topology*
*Title*:  Higher Teichmueller spaces -- from SL(2,R) to other Lie groups

*Abstract*: The Teichmueller space of a surface S parametrizes hyperbolic
structures on S; it can be embedded as a connected component of the
representation variety of the fundamental group of S into PSL(2,R). Higher
Teichmueller spaces are connected components of representation varieties of
the fundamental group of S into more general Lie groups G, which share
several algebraic and geometric properties with classical Teichmueller
space. A central question is if higher Teichmueller spaces also parametrize
geometric structures on the surface S.




*Date*:  Friday, April 29, 2011
*Time*:  10:50-11:50am
*Place*:  Science 2 room 143


*Speaker*:  Dani Wise (McGill)
*Title*:  Morse Theory, Random Subgraphs, and Incoherent Groups

*Abstract*: I will use the "probabilistic method" to prove that certain
polygons of finite groups have finitely generated subgroups that are not
finitely presented. This gives a new family of incoherent Kleinian groups.
I'll try to give an idea of what I'm doing here, and perhaps what to expect
next.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www1.math.binghamton.edu/pipermail/topsem/attachments/20110426/0b23a6f4/attachment.html