Differential Geometry, Topology,
and special structures
seminar

Department of Mathematics
The Graduate Center of CUNY

Fridays 11:45noon - 1:45pm
Location: Room 6494
Organizers: Luis Fernandez, Mehdi Lejmi, Sisi Shen, Scott Wilson

Scope: This seminar is devoted to geometric structures on manifolds, and their topological properties. We are particularly interested in (almost) complex manifolds, symplectic topology and geometry, (almost) Kahler geometry, and spin^c geometry, as well as the tools of algebraic topology and geometric analysis that have proven useful in studying such structures. The goal is expose faculty and students to present day research and foundational material in a relaxed format that includes traditional lectures with an actively engaged audience.
Here are links to previous semesters:
DGT Seminar Spring 2026 DGT Seminar Fall 2025 DGT Seminar Spring 2025 DGT Seminar Fall 2024 DGT Seminar Spring 2024 DGT Seminar Fall 2023,
DGT Seminar Spring 2023 DGT Seminar Fall 2022, DGT Seminar Spring 2022 ACG seminar
Link to Homepages: Mehdi Lejmi Xi Sisi Shen Scott Wilson

Fall 2026: (all meetings in person)


9/4: organizational meeting

9/11: no meeting (no classes scheduled)
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9/18: Shuhao Li (Stony Brook University)
Title: Open-closed string topology and Lagrangian embeddings

Abstract: The Maslov class is a basic invariant of a Lagrangian submanifold. However, many fundamental questions concerning constraints on the Maslov classes of Lagrangian embeddings (known as Maslov class rigidity) remain open. For example, the existence/non-existence of a Maslov-zero Lagrangian embedding of a given closed manifold L into the standard symplectic vector space C^n is a well-known problem. I will speak about a new approach to these types of questions using a construction of a (curved) deformation of the dg algebra of chains on the based loop space, following ideas from open-closed string topology, and derive new results on the Maslov class rigidity question.


9/25: Prof. Gueo Grantcharov (Florida International U.)
Title: On the SL(n,H) and strong HKT geometry

Abstract: Abstract: In the talk we'll review the basics of the theory of hypercomplex manifolds and the Hermitian geometry of two particular, but complementary cases - when the manifold has trivial canonical bundle (the SL(n,H) case) and when it admits a strong HKT metric. The second part is based on a joint work with B. Brienza, A. Fino, and M. Verbitsky.


10/2: Prof. Yueqiao Wu (Johns Hopkins)
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10/9: Ryan McGowan (Rutgers)
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10/16:
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10/23:
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10/30: Prof. Sven Hirsch (Columbia University)
Title: TBA

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11/6:
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11/13: Prof. Tang-Kai Li (Columbia University)
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11/20: Prof. Sadok Kallel, Universite de Lille (France) and American University of Sharjah (UAE)
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11/27: no meeting this week


12/4: Prof. Shengzhen Ning, University of Maryland
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12/11: Prof. Jesse Madnick (Seton Hall University)
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