Conference: Trisections Workshop: Connections with Computational Topology

The conference Trisections Workshop: Connections with Computational Topology will be held at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA during July 20-24, 2026. The workshop invites novel discourse between two groups of researchers: those with expertise in studying four-dimensional topology and geometry using the theory of trisections and those with expertise in computational approaches to low-dimensional topology. The study of four-dimensional spaces is naturally interconnected with many facets of science and mathematics - from relativistic physics to quantum computing to protein biology - and many important questions in the field remain unanswered. The overarching goal of the workshop is to leverage the combinatorial nature of the theory of trisections to develop new computational and computer-aided approaches to studying four-dimensional spaces. The workshop will feature lectures in the mornings, and the afternoons will be spent actively working in small groups on open questions relating to the focus areas of the workshop. It is expected that many of these working groups will turn into collaborations that persist beyond the 5-day workshop. The workshop will enable collaborations between researchers from all different career stages and with varied research interests and expertise, furthering their ability to leverage computational approaches to understand four-dimensional topology and geometry. Conference Website: https://sites.google.com/view/tw2026 This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2554733 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Meier | Institution: Western Washington University, BELLINGHAM, WA | Award Amount: $30,000 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2554733 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2554733.html