Michael Albanese (University of Waterloo)

Math & Stats Department Colloquium

Friday, October 28th, 2022

Time: 2:30 p.m.  Place: Jeffery Hall, Room 234

Speaker: Michael Albanese (University of Waterloo)

Title: The Yamabe Invariant of Complex Surfaces

Abstract: To any suitable geometric space (closed smooth manifold), one can associate a real number called the Yamabe invariant which arises from considerations in Riemannian geometry. For surfaces, this number is a familiar quantity, but in higher dimensions, it is less understood. However, as we will see, more can be said if one restricts to those spaces which admit a complex structure, e.g. orientable surfaces. This talk is partly based on joint work with Claude LeBrun.

Michael Albanese earned his PhD from Stony Brook University under the supervision of Claude LeBrun. He recently started a postdoc at the University of Waterloo after completing a postdoc at UQAM. His research interests are in complex and Riemannian geometry, as well as some areas of algebraic topology. In particular, non-Kahler surfaces, almost complex structures, and spin geometry.