Michael Hopkins : The Kervaire Invariant

Posted by Brooke Shipley , part of the Distinguished Lecture Series.

At

March 6, 2014, 4 p.m.

In

LCD 005

Abstract

The Kervaire invariant is subtle and important invariant lying at the interface of algebraic and differential topology. I will describe the history of this invariant, the problem it raised, and its eventual solution.