Title: Gradient Flows for Minimal Surfaces
Speaker: Chris Wright
Abstract: Minimal surfaces have been studied for hundreds of years, but to this day they continue to be a rich source of research in Riemannian geometry. In this talk, I will discuss an approach to the problem of constructing minimal surfaces which uses a class of partial differential equations known as gradient flows. In particular, I will outline some recent and ongoing developments which aim to extend these techniques to study free boundary minimal surfaces.
Some snacks will be provided before and after the talk.