Mathematics as Metaphor: From Curves Spaces to Quantum Topology

Mathematics seems to develop by revisiting a few basic motifs over and over again. This talk, accessible to an audience of all ages and backgrounds, will describe some of these classical and modern motifs, their appearances in astronomy, chemistry and architecture and their echoes in the paradoxes currently facing physics.

Curtis T. McMullen is Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He received the Salem Prize and the Fields Medal in recognition of his work in complex dynamics and hyperbolic geometry.

You can find more information about speaker Curtis McMullen at: http://www.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/