SUMS Meeting: Gibbons -- Knots, Polynomials, and Surgery

Thanks to everybody who showed up for the first SUMS meeting, we had quite 
a decent turnout. Hopefully we can maintain the attendance rate because the 
talks are only going to get better!

This week we have a talk by Julian Gibbons. He has been kind enough to provide
 me with an abstract:

Knots, Polynomials, and Surgery

Knots - that is, tangled loops of string - can be extremely tough to
distinguish, and understanding exactly what makes each different knot-type
unique is no easy question. But it's been found that polynomials can
provide a powerful invariant for differentiating between them, and so I
intend to introduce one such polynomial. What's more, if time permits,
I'll provide an application of knot theory to something called manifold
surgery - albeit without the really gory details.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Gareth

DATE: Friday, April 4
TIME: 1-2pm
LOCATION: Carslaw 451