The Richmond Geometry Meeting: Geometric Topology and Moduli is scheduled for August 12-14, 2024 and will be hosted at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. The conference is designed to unite experts in low-dimensional topology and algebraic geometry, spanning diverse career stages and affiliations. Beyond lectures delivered by internationally recognized experts, vertically integrated participation will be fostered by a poster session showcasing the contributions of early-career researchers and a Career and Mentorship Panel.
The conference will investigate the intersection of low-dimensional topology, algebraic geometry, and mathematical physics. The roots of this interdisciplinary exploration trace back to Witten's groundbreaking work in the late 1980s and the emergence of the Jones polynomial in Chern-Simons theory. Since then, a landscape of profound connections between knot theory, moduli spaces, and string theory has emerged, due to the collective efforts of generations of mathematicians and physicists. Noteworthy developments include the deep ties between Heegaard Floer homology and the Fukaya category of surfaces, the intricate interplay revealed by Khovanov homology, and the correspondence of Gromov-Witten and Donaldson-Thomas theories. The study of moduli spaces of curves, as exemplified in Heegaard Floer homology, has played a pivotal role in several developments. The preceding three editions of the Richmond Geometry Meeting, encompassing both virtual and in-person gatherings, have showcased a wave of collaborative advancements in knot theory, algebraic geometry, and string theory. Topics such as braid varieties, Khovanov homotopy, link lattice homology, and the GW/DT correspondence in families have been explored, unveiling a nexus of interdependent breakthroughs. The fourth edition of the Richmond Geometry Meeting will provide a vital platform for the dissemination of the latest findings in this dynamic realm of research.
This meeting is supported by NSF award DMS-2349810.
More details to be announced soon.
