The next speaker at the Wigner Colloquium will be András Stipsicz, director of the HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics
Title: Low dimensional topology: the theory of 3- and 4-dimensional spaces
Date: Tuesday, 30 September 2025, 14:00
Place: KFKI Campus, Bldg. 1, Conference room, and also in Zoom:
Invite Link, Meeting ID: 848 8470 2353 Passcode: 180300
Abstract:
In this lecture, I would like to outline the current state of theory regarding 3-dimensional (in brief) and 4-dimensional (in more detail) spaces, with particular emphasis on the key distinction between "continuous" and "differentiable" in 4 dimensions. The theory of differentiable spaces draws on many aspects of theoretical physics; if time permits, I will also try to provide an insight into these, for example, the Seiberg-Witten equations and the topological quantum field theory (TQFT) constructed with their help.
CV of the speaker:
András Stipsicz is a mathematician, director of the HUN-REN Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics, professor at Central European University, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on gauge theory, Seiberg-Witten and Donaldson theory, Heegaard Floer theory, symplectic and contact topology, Lefschetz fibrations, Stein domains, surface singularities, and open book decomposition.
He has worked and served as a visiting professor at numerous international institutions, including the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the University of California, and Columbia University. He has been involved in organizing many international conferences and schools, and regularly gives invited lectures at leading universities worldwide.
He received the ERC Advanced Grant in 2012 and 2024, the János Bolyai Creative Award in 2025. From 2025, he has been a member of the ERC Scientific Council.
