Sir Michael Atiyah
March 8
MS 6627
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Fullerenes as Minimum Energy Configurations

Abstract

A number of quite different problems appear to lead to similar minimum energy configurations. Surprisingly these turn out to be of the type familiar in carbon chemistry under the name of Fullerenes. Professor Atiyah shall survey these problems and provide pictures of computer simulations due to Richard Battye and Paul Sutcliffe.

Sir Michael Atiyah received the Fields Medal in 1966 at the early age of 37 for his work in topology. He is one of the pioneers in the development of the K-theory. Moreover, the K-Theory and the Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem linked the areas of geometry, topology, algebra, and calculus. His current work involves mathematical physics and the relationship between geometry and particle physics.
Learn more about Professor Atiyah:

• Biography of Michael Francis Atiyah
  from The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
• Sir Michael Atiyah - the science of equations
  The British Council