Algebraic Topology

Algebraic topology is at a point of inflection today, and the Spring 2014 Algebraic Topology program at MSRI reflects the excitement of this moment. The introductory workshop, with more than 200 participants, provided careful introductions to the dominant themes leading up to this moment, giving an informative welcome to the many young researchers in the program and attending the conference. The workshop included a problem session, in which a selection of open problems was presented, some classical, some not-so-classical. Two series of weekly seminars—one on current research, another on open problems—continue to open vistas and improve contacts between diverse research groups. In the middle of the semester program there will be a further workshop, entitled “Reimagining the Foundations of Algebraic Topology.” This conference will capture and disseminate the new spirit we see germinating today, linking higher category theory to the theory of manifolds, providing new approaches to the traditional bridge between topology and algebra provided by algebraic K-theory, and moving ever closer to a real understanding of the topological aspects of quantum field theory.