Local Information

Problem Session

Goals:

The broad goal of the problem session is to articulate a vision for the future of this field, in line with the Frontiers theme of the workshop. We will discuss important loose ends that should be tied up, and will generate a collection of what we believe ought to be some of the guiding problems for Floer homology and its intersection with low-dimensional topology over the next five years. We will then brainstorm more modest problems that may serve as milestones on the way to these guiding problems, and even attempt to tackle some of these!

Format:

The Monday problem session will begin in Maloney 560. Moderators will present a list of thematic areas and there will be a short discussion. Preliminary themes (which, you'll note, have overlaps) are:

  • 3-manifolds (e.g. Dehn surgery, taut foliations, left-orderings)
  • 4-manifolds (e.g. closed 4-manifolds, concordance and homology cobordism)
  • contact and symplectic geometry
  • gauge theory
  • TQFT structures (e.g. bordered Floer theories, axiomatization, naturality)
  • Floer homology and quantum invariants.

Participants will divide into groups according to preferred themes and work at blackboards in Maloney Hall. A major goal for Monday's and perhaps some of Tuesday's group work is to brainstorm and refine "guiding" and "milestone" problems, as above.

The Tuesday session will also begin in Maloney 560. A representative of each group will spend 5-10 minutes summarizing for all participants the most important aspects of their Monday discussions, and we'll record a list of the guiding problems generated by the groups. We'll then divide into groups once again for focused work. Groups are welcome to disband, split, merge, etc., and participants may join different groups or spend time with multiple groups.

Participants will continue their group work on Wednesday as they see fit, whether that involves generating and refining problems, or tackling specific problems.

The formal problem session will conclude on Thursday with a Debrief in Fulton 145, which will consist of a workshop-wide discussion led by group representatives about progress made during the week.

The schedule lists the problem sessions as lasting from 2:30-4:30, but participants are welcome to work in the Math Department from as early as 8:30 to as late as 5:30. Moreover, problem session attendance isn't mandatory and, within problem sessions, participants needn't rigidly adhere to the format above (for example, you'll likely be interested in more than one theme; it's fine to visit and participate in multiple groups, as alluded to above). One of the aims of this workshop was simply to bring people together who might be natural collaborators and give them plenty of time to talk outside of lectures. We thought these conversations might benefit from some structure, and also wanted to set an achievable, concrete goal---generating a repository of important, forward-looking problems. Hence, the format described above.

Priority:

We would like to encourage a spirit of openness, but are sensitive to issues of priority and credit which can arise in group settings. Two remarks. First, you shouldn't feel pressure to open up to group work problems you'd rather pursue by other means or in other settings. If you're working on a problem in a pre-existing collaboration or have assigned a problem to a grad student, for example, you might discuss the problem and explain why you think it's important while also being clear about the status of the problem and your or another person's stake in it (you're also free not to talk about it at all), and other participants should respect common sense boundaries. Second, our advice for handling issues of credit can be summed up by: (1) communicate, early and often, and (2) err on the side of generosity. If, when working a problem after leaving this conference, you think that someone you talked to here may also have a vested interest or stake in the problem, or may feel as though they contributed pertinent ideas, contact them!

Location & Directions

The workshop will take place on Boston College's main campus in Chestnut Hill.

The talks and Thursday's Problem Session Debrief will be held in Fulton 145.

The Problem Sessions will be held in the Math Department, which is located on the 5th Floor of Maloney Hall, and will start in Maloney 560. The map below shows Fulton and Maloney, starred.

Click here for more general directions to campus.

From the AC Hotel to campus, your best options are:

  • Walk: a pleasant 1 mile stroll, around the BC Reservoir.
  • BC Shuttle: a 10 minute ride then 5 minute walk. Get on at Reservoir T stop across from hotel, get off at Robsham stop on Campanella Way. Click here for the schedule (first departure at 8:25AM).
  • Uber: for Fulton, ride to Beacon St and Lawrence Ave. For Maloney, ride to 21 Campanella Way.

Parking

Parking is available in the Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street Garages (white in the map above). We will have visitor parking passes available (pick them up from John).

Food & Drink

From campus (these are all adjacent to campus):

From hotel (many options; below are the closest two):

We've built in lots of time for lunch so that you can venture a little farther from campus, by Uber or public transportation or walk. Our favorite near-ish area for food & drink is Washington Square in Brookline, < 1 mile from the hotel, straight down Beacon Street. Walk or take the Green Line (5 minutes). Options there include:

Coffee

From campus:

  • Fuel America (1 mile from Maloney)
  • Dunkin' Donuts (cuz Boston; adjacent to campus)

From hotel:

Washington Square also has several options, including our favorite, Cafe Fixe:

Reimbursement

Those getting reimbursed should fill out the reimbursement form in the packet, and send it with travel receipts to jonathan.tosi@bc.edu. You can also find the form online here. For more detailed reimbursement instructions (including those on receiving a per diem), click here.