New Examples of Almost Non-Negative Curvature (16rit692)

The Banff International Research Station will host the "New examples of almost non-negative curvature" workshop in Banff from July 31, 2016 to August 7, 2016

The overarching goal of this Research in Teams proposal is to show that there are exotic spheres with almost
non-negative curvature in all dimensions congruent to 3 mod 4. Exotic spheres were discovered by Milnor in
1956, but their geometry continues to remain largely a mystery.
The class of almost non-negatively curved manifolds are those that collapse to a point
with a lower curvature bound and these exotic spheres are natural candidates
to admit almost non-negative curvature.

As we are at three separate institutions, we are rarely able to meet in person for extensive discussions.
Banff International Research Station would provide an ideal environment for us to complete the
proposed research.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).