Discussion Meeting on Knot Theory and its Applications

An International Center for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) Program: ADVANCED SCHOOL AND DISCUSSION MEETING ON KNOT THEORY AND ITS APPLICATIONS was held at IISER Mohali during December 10-20, 2013. The organizing committee consists of Dr. Krishnendu Gongopadhyay from IISER Mohali, Dr.M. Prabhakar from IIT Ropar and Dr. Rama Mishra from IISER Pune. The scientific committee includes Prof. Kapil Paranjape from IISER Mohali,  Louis Kauffman from Illionois, Akio Kawauchi and Seiichi Kamada from Osaka City University, Japan.

The program was centered around Knot theory and its applications to various disciplines of mathematics and other areas of science. Due to its applications in other disciplines, Knot theory has acquired an important place in terms of research globally. However, this area has not been so strongly studied in India. The aim of this program is to provide exposure of this subject to young researchers in India and enthuse them to work on knot theory. The program had two components: December 10--15 there was an advanced school. The advanced school was aimed mainly at graduate students and young researchers who are either working or want to work in knot theory and related areas. It was divided into six series of three lectures (one hour each) along with two tutorials on each topic adding up to 18 lecture hours and 12 tutorial hours. The topics include:  Combinatorial Knot theory, Knot Quandles, Knot homologies, Surface knots, Knot theory and 3-manifolds, Knot invariants.

The discussion meeting during December 16-20, 2013 was meant for connecting the lecture topics of the school to active research areas and lead to the frontiers of current research and trends in knot theory and its applications. The chosen topics covered the latest developments in these areas. The program involved renowned researchers from around the globe as well as enthusiastic young graduate and post-doctoral students. There were total 65 participants in the program.