Dear all,
I’m starting a new position in Seville this September. It’s not permanent, but it runs for five years, so at least there’s a bit of stability!
As part of the position, I’ve received funding to organize scientific events. Together with Marithania Silvero, I’m planning a small workshop on branched covers in Seville, scheduled for November 17–21, 2025.
We’ve noticed that many younger researchers in our field (including ourselves) are familiar with modern invariants like Khovanov homology and Heegaard Floer theory, but often have little exposure to more classical topics such as branched covers. Our aim is to revisit the foundations through accessible, in-depth lectures by leading experts.
Morning: Lecture series by 2–3 invited speakers
Afternoon: Group discussions exploring the lectures and brainstorming small research projects
Late afternoon: Short participant talk to cap off the day
The atmosphere will be informal and collaborative, with a small group to encourage interaction and discussion. We also hope the workshop will spark new collaborations and ideas. I already have a list of interesting questions, and more will certainly arise during the lectures.
Luisa Paoluzzi – Knot detection via branched covers: in what sense a knot is or isn’t determined by its branched covers.
Marco Golla (to be confirmed) – Applications of branched covers, based on his lecture notes (https://www.math.sciences.univ-nantes.fr/~golla/docs/courses/notes_0401.pdf#page26).
Third speaker (possibly me) – Proof that every 3-manifold is a 3-fold branched cover of a knot in S3, the existence of universal links (i.e. a link L in S3 such that every 3-manifold arises as a branched cover over L), and a complete set of moves for branched covers.
We expect to cover shared-room accommodation for participants. Unfortunately, we will likely not be able to support travel costs.
If you’d like to join, please:
Mark the week in your calendar, and
Email me briefly, indicating whether you would like accommodation covered.
Please do not book travel yet — I’ll confirm exact funding details and the final participant list in September, possibly with a simple webpage.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
All the best,
Marc