Office hours with a topologist

Scheduled office hours, discussions, and panels:

Spring 2021 Office Hours:

Thursday, January 28th, 14:00-15:00 ET Kristen Hendricks (Rutgers) Stop by to talk about research or other aspects of the profession, or just to say hi and introduce yourself. Meeting ID 570 840 4797; password is a chain with trivial boundary.

Thursday, February 4th, 13:00-14:00 ET Robert Lipshitz (Oregon) I’m happy to try to answer questions about Heegaard Floer homology, Khovanov homology, and related topics, or just to hear what other people are working on. Zoom meeting ID: 940 0108 6883. Passcode: “the ______ fibration is a map S^3 -> S^2".

Tuesday, February 9th, 18:00-19:00 ET Priyam Patel (Utah) I’m happy to chat about and hear your thoughts on any of the following: research, teaching (especially in the times of Covid), life in academia, work-life balance, social justice and math, advocating for individuals from marginalized groups in STEM, and really just about anything else! Zoom meeting ID: 969 5227 2761. Passcode: 883629.

Wednesday, February 17th, 11:30 - 13:00 ET Marc Lackenby (Oxford). Zoom meeting 449 100 6973. Passcode is: The most common of the 8 geometries on 3-manifolds (10 letters, all lower case). I'd be happy to discuss topics in 3-manifold theory or knot theory. I can also give some advice about applying for jobs in the UK.

Tuesday, February 23rd, 16:00 - 17:00 ET Mark Hughes (Brigham Young). Zoom meeting ID: 981 9838 4122. Passcode: euler. Stop by to chat about anything really: research, topology, life in academia, family, favorite movies, breakfast cereal, etc. I am interested in knots, knotted surfaces, and 4-manifolds, though I'd love to hear about what you're working on even if it falls outside of those areas.

Wednesday, March 3rd, 11:00-12:30 ET John Baldwin (Boston College). Zoom link here. The password is the first word in Milnor's famous book, "____ Theory". Also Marston's last name. First letter capitalized. I'm happy to chat about most things, including low-dimensional topology, Floer homology, and skein lasagna modules.

Tuesday, March 9th, 14:00 - 15:00 ET Samuel Taylor (Temple). Zoom meeting ID 950 8981 4484. Passcode: password. Hi! Stop by to talk research (either yours or mine) or just to introduce yourself. I usually think about topics in geometric group theory or geometric topology, but I’m also happy to learn new things.

Tuesday, March 16th, 11:00 - 12:00 ET Brendan Owens (University of Glasgow). Zoom meeting ID 439 217 8217. Passcode: 866683. Link here. Happy to discuss knots and smooth 4-dimensional topology, or academic careers in North America and UK, or whatever.

Thursday, April 1, 14:00 - 15:00 ET Alex Zupan (Nebraska). Zoom meeting ID: 600063128 and link here. I'm happy to talk about low-dimensional topology, best teaching practices, DEI in higher ed, work-life balance, and pretty much anything else.

Wednesday, April 7th, 12:00 - 13:00 ET Nathan Dunfield (UIUC). Zoom meeting ID 841 4689 2098. Passcode: “The Geometrization Conjecture of ___________”. Link here. I’m happy to chat about 3-dimensional geometry and topology, including algorithms and practical computation (SnapPy, Regina, etc.), and to hear what others are working on.

Wednesday, April 14th, 12:00 - 13:00 ET Ina Petkova (Dartmouth) and Akram Alishahi (University of Georgia). Zoom meeting ID: 956 9115 2022. Passcode: 857837. Stop by to chat about research, or any other aspect of a mathematician's life, or just to introduce yourself.

Thursday, May 6th, 14:00-15:00 Patricia Cahn (Smith College). Zoom ID: 92853398652. Password: 012345. I'm happy to chat about low-dimensional topology, careers at liberal arts colleges, teaching, work-life balance. Or, just stop by to introduce yourself or say hi!

Tuesday May 11, 2:00-3:00pm ET Elizabeth Denne (Washington & Lee University). Zoom ID: 988 8037 8172. Passcode: 560798. I welcome questions about geometric and physical knot theory, and I’m interested to hear what other people are thinking about in their research. I’m also happy to share my experiences being on hiring committees at liberal arts colleges. There are plenty of tips I can share to help your application stand out.

Friday, May 14th, 14:00-15:00 EDT Cagatay Kutluhan (Buffalo). Zoom ID: 951 4448 9686. Password is the name of a certain part of an automobile engine. Also the name for topological spaces that are Hausdorff, locally Euclidean, and second-countable. (all lowercase) Happy to talk about all related to math and life.

Thursday, May 20th, 13:00-14:30 EDT Tye Lidman (NCSU). Zoom ID: 936 5724 0608. Password: 12345. Link here. Stop by to introduce yourself, vent, and discuss low-dimensional topology, teaching, DEI, or anything else pertaining to the profession.

2020 Office Hours:

Tuesday, December 8th, 13:00-14:00 ET Christian Millichap (Furman University). Drop by to chat about research, professional development, working at a liberal arts college, job marketing for liberal arts colleges, or just to say hi. Zoom Meeting ID: 948 6907 5738. The password is the Euler characteristic of the projective plane (in letters, no caps).

Wednesday, December 2nd, 20:00-21:00 ET Jessica Purcell (Monash). I am happy to discuss anything mathematics related: research, teaching, career, etc. A few things I know pretty well: *Academic jobs in Australia versus the US -- I moved to Australia from the US, so I am somewhat familiar with both systems. *Women in mathematics -- I'm currently the chair of WIMSIG, the women in maths group in Australia, and I'd be happy to discuss things we do (but we are smaller than the AWM). *Hyperbolic knot theory -- I recently published a book with that title with the AMS, and I've been getting lots of email questions about the exercises. Happy to talk about the book and/or the exercises. Zoom ID 891 5584 5908. Password 688952.

Wednesday, November 18th, 15:00-16:00 ET Dave Gay (UGA). Stop by and talk about anything related to low-dimensional topology and/or outreach and/or mathematical illustration. Research-wise, I've mostly been thinking about diffeomorphisms of the 4-sphere and Cerf theory lately (what information can we squeeze from the fact that every diffeomorphism of S^4 is pseudoisotopic to the identity?), but I've still got plenty of idle thoughts about contact and symplectic stuff, Morse 2-functions, and trisections, and I'd love to hear what you are working on. Zoom link here.

Monday November 16th, 14:30-16:00 ET (11:30 PT) Ryan Budney (Victoria). Manifold theory, algebraic topology, knots, embeddings, or whatever else people want to chat about. My most recent work is in 4-manifold theory. [Organizer's comment: Ryan might also be able to offer perspective on differences between the Canadian and American academic systems.] Meeting ID: 938 0011 3481. Password: 925883.

Wednesday November 11th, 14:00-15:00 ET Scott Carter (South Alabama). Meeting ID: 957 6035 3667. Password: tqft. I'm happy to talk with anyone about items related to classical knot theory, knotted surfaces in 4D, handle decompositions, particularly about these as they related to Dehn or Wirtinger presentations, and Morse functions. I'm familiar enough with Khovanov homology and the Jones polynomial, quandles and the Alexander polynomial, and representations of the fundamental group. For beginners, I'd also be able to work through easy CW-complexes and computing homology thereof. Talk to me and you'll learn that you are not alone in your ignorance. Zoom link here.

Thursday October 22nd, 11:00-12:00 ET Andy Putman (Notre Dame). I'd be delighted to talk about any topic in geometry or topology. Even if it's nowhere close to my particular research interests, I'd love to hear what you are working on! I'm also happy to answer questions about career issues (e.g. publishing, the job search, work-life balance, etc). Zoom link here.

Wednesday October 14th, 13:30-14:30 ET Peter Lambert-Cole (UGA). Stop by to talk about topology, banana-related mathematical lore, and how we're not getting anything done because of COVID19. Zoom Meeting ID: 258 053 0575. Password is the ancient Greek who wrote "The Elements" (6 letters, first letter capitalized).

Friday October 9th, 16:00-17:00 ET Swatee Naik (National Science Foundation). Join me to chat about NSF opportunities, or just introduce yourself and tell me what you are working on. Meeting ID: 161 657 2219. Password: 213367. Here is a set of slides Swatee prepared with information about NSF funding.

Wednesday October 7th, 13:30-14:30pm ET (10:30 PT) Laura Starkston (UC Davis). Stop by to tell me what you are working on, discuss low-dimensional symplectic and contact topology, or chat about life in academia. Meeting ID: 975 8379 2348. Zoom link here. Password: An ___ pair is given by two manifolds which are homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic, now often searched for in dimension 4, but first appearing in Milnor's 7-spheres.

Friday October 2: 19:00-20:00 ET (18:00 CT) Jing Tao (University of Oklahoma). Happy to chat about math, research, meaning of life...anything but politics. Feel free to bring a drink. Meeting ID: 977 6005 5526. Zoom link here. Passcode: The password is the word that fits both blanks in the sentence (10 letters, starts with h, all lower case): "Not to be _____, but _____ geometry is the best!!"

Wednesday September 30: 14:00-15:00 ET Jianfeng Lin (UC San Diego). Join me to chat about anything about math: research, teaching, life in academia, or just to introduce yourself! Meeting ID: 982 7676 3338 . Password: An orientable surface of genus one (five letters, lower-case)

Wednesday September 23: 18:00-19:00 ET Juanita Pinzón (Notre Dame). Join me to chat about math, teaching, life in academia, the champions league, or anything you want! Or to simply introduce yourself. Meeting ID: 965 6145 8007. Zoom link here. Passcode: Last name of the winner of the 2019 Abel prize, first letter capitalized.

Wednesday September 16: 13:00-14:00 ET Jeff Meier (Western Washington). Come drop in to ask me any questions you might have about low-dimensional topology or pursuing a career in academia, or to tell me about what you’ve been working on! Zoom Meeting ID: 922 4125 9811. Passcode: The first letter of the Greek alphabet, lower-case.

Monday September 14: 13:00-14:00 ET Sara Maloni (U Virginia). I'm happy to chat about anything: research, professional development, work-life balance or any other aspects of a mathematician’s life. Join me on zoom here. (The password is the surname of the only women who won a Fields Medal, with only the first letter capitalized.)

Tuesday August 25: Robert Lipshitz (U Oregon). I’m happy to try to answer mathematics questions or just to hear what you’re working on. Zoom Meeting ID: 942 3880 9321. Password: surface (“Two-dimensional manifold. Seven letters.”)

Spring/Summer 2020 Office hours:

April 13: 21:00-23:00 ET Tye Lidman (NCSU). Stop by to discuss mathematics, other aspects of the profession, or just to introduce yourself. Zoom link here. The password is the simplest non-trivial knot (no caps).

April 17: 13:00-14:00 ET Jennifer Hom (Georgia Tech). I'm happy to discuss research or professional development. BlueJeans link here.

April 20: 14:00-15:00 ET John Etnyre (Georgia Tech). Feel free to discuss research, professional development, or come introduce yourself. BlueJeans link here.

April 23: 11:00-12:00 ET Danny Ruberman (Brandeis). I'm happy to chat about any aspect of low-dimensional topology, especially gauge theory. Zoom link here. The password is the functor dual to homology (no caps).

April 27: 14:00-15:00 ET Roger Casals (UC Davis). Happy to discuss research, early career development, or come introduce yourself. The Zoom link is here. The password is the adjective for a knot tangent to a contact structure, one word, ten letters, no caps (nor fillings).

April 30: 10:30-12:00 ET John Baldwin (Boston College) and Steven Sivek (Imperial). We're happy to chat about anything: mathematics, pop culture trivia, etc. Zoom link here. The password is the first word in Milnor's famous book, "____ Theory". Also Marston's last name. First letter capitalized.

May 4: 14:00-16:00 ET John Etnyre (Georgia Tech). Feel free to discuss research, professional development, or come introduce yourself. BlueJeans link here.

May 6: 12:00-13:00 ET Francesco Lin (Columbia). Stop by to discuss research, or any other aspect of a mathematician's life, or just to introduce yourself. Zoom link here. The password is the Euler characteristic of the torus (in letters, no caps).

May 11: 9:00-10:00 ET Jennifer Hom (Georgia Tech). Happy to chat about anything: research, professional development, favorite hypothetical questions, etc. BlueJeans link here.

May 14: 10:00-11:00 ET Vera Vértesi (University of Vienna). Drop in for a chat about research, career, work-life balance or any other aspects of a mathematician’s life. Join me on zoom here, the password is an embedded circle in a 3-manifold (4 letters).

May 18: 13:30-15:00 ET Adam Levine (Duke). Happy to talk about topology, professional development, or anything else. Zoom link here. Password is the answer to 66-Across in this crossword puzzle (all lower case).

May 20: 13:00-14:00 ET Kristen Hendricks (Rutgers). Stop by to talk about research, other aspects of the profession, or just to say hi and introduce yourself. Zoom Meeting ID 659-967-6025; password is a chain with trivial boundary.

May 25: 14:00-15:00 ET John Etnyre (Georgia Tech). Feel free to discuss research, professional development, or come introduce yourself. BlueJeans link here.

May 29: 13:00-14:00 ET Dave Futer (Temple). Stop by to talk about research, professional development, or just to say hi and introduce yourself. Zoom Meeting ID: 972 5910 0570. The password is the last name of the mathematician who studied ___ twists (in two dimensions) and ___ surgery (in three dimensions).

June 8: 14:00-15:00 ET John Etnyre (Georgia Tech). Feel free to discuss research, professional development, or come introduce yourself. BlueJeans link here. (This office hour will happen every other week through July.)

June 18: 12:00-13:00 ET Christian Millichap (Furman University). Drop by to chat about research, professional development, working at a liberal arts college, job marketing for liberal arts colleges, or just to say hi. Zoom Meeting ID: 705 899 6800. The password is the Euler characteristic of the projective plane (in letters, no caps).

June 22: 14:00-15:00 ET John Etnyre (Georgia Tech). Feel free to discuss research, professional development, or come introduce yourself. BlueJeans link here.

June 25: 10:00-11:30 ET John Baldwin (Boston College) and Steven Sivek (Imperial). We're happy to chat about anything: mathematics, pop culture trivia, etc. Zoom link here. The password is the first word in Milnor's famous book, "____ Theory". Or Marston's last name. Or the French word for "walrus". First letter capitalized.

July 1: 20:00-21:30 ET Tye Lidman (NCSU). Stop by to discuss research, non-research aspects of the profession, or just introduce yourself. Zoom link here. The password is an embedded loop in a three-manifold (four letters, no caps).

July 6: 14:00-15:00 ET John Etnyre (Georgia Tech). Feel free to discuss research, professional development, or come introduce yourself. BlueJeans link here.

July 7: 15:00-16:00 ET Shea Vela-Vick (LSU). Stop by to discuss research, professional development, or come introduce yourself. Zoom link here. The password is the first word in every low-dimensional topologist's favorite elementary surface diffeomorphism (first letter capitalized): "____ twist".

July 20: 14:00-15:00 ET John Etnyre (Georgia Tech). Feel free to discuss research, professional development, or come introduce yourself. BlueJeans link here.

July 24: 11:00-12:00 ET Aru Ray (Max Planck Institut). Stop by to chat about e.g. research, teaching, cats, puns, anything else. Zoom link here. The password (lowercase, 9 letters) is simultaneously an adjective describing a space where any two points are separated by open sets, a German mathematician, and a terrible pun for being sheltered in place.

August 5: 15:00-16:00 ET Talia Fernos (UNCG) and Genevieve Walsh (Tufts). We're happy to chat about any aspect of mathematical life. We are particularly interested in chatting about the problem of elitism in math, or issues related to gender. Zoom link here. Password: Claytor.

Other office hours and virtual discussions:

diverSCiTea Hour: Coffee/Office hours by and for underrepresented groups in symplectic and contact topology. Organizers: Orsola Capovilla-Searle, Leo Digiosia, Lea Kenigsberg

David Gay (UGA/MPIM) is currently running his own virtual office hours Monday-Friday here.