Frontiers Lecture 1: Symmetries of Surfaces

There are many ways to study surfaces: topologically, geometrically, dynamically, algebraically, and combinatorially, to name just a few. We will touch on some of the motivation for studying surfaces and their associated mapping class groups, the collection of symmetries of a surface. We will also describe some of the ways that these different perspectives for studying surfaces come together in beautiful and sometimes unexpected ways.

Please contact Lillian Pierce (pierce@math.duke.edu) for zoom link and password.