Research Seminars @ Illinois

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Tailored for undergraduate researchers, this calendar is a curated list of research seminars at the University of Illinois. Explore the diverse world of research and expand your knowledge through engaging sessions designed to inspire and enlighten.

To have your events added or removed from this calendar, please contact OUR at ugresearch@illinois.edu

Colloquium

Event Type

Seminar/Symposium

Sponsor

Jake Rasmussen

Location

165 Noyes; reception in 300 Harker at 3pm

Date

Oct 2, 2025 4:00 - 5:00 pm

Speaker

Maggie Miller

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Originating Calendar

General Events - Department of Mathematics

Title: Fibered knots and open problems in 4D

Abstract: Many seemingly basic questions remain open in 4-dimensional topology: “How many smooth spaces are topologically equivalent to a sphere?" (Poincare conjecture), "How many ways are there to cut a sphere in ‘half’?” (Schoenflies conjecture), "What kinds of surfaces do we expect knots in S^3 to bound in B^4?" (slice-ribbon conjecture).

In this talk, I will discuss these open problems and how they connect to 3-dimensional topology, which we are (usually) better at understanding.

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