1-2-3 Seminar: Triangulations and Subdivisions of Polytopes

We survey the geometric-combinatorial theory of triangulations and subdivisions of polytopes. This topic is of classical interest in the context of combinatorics, and indeed of classical childhood interest for many of us (as witnessed by the success of toys like Legos). However, over the past century it was discovered that this subject possesses several connections to other areas of mathematics. We study subdivisions from three perspectives of increasing abstraction, and will see at the end that these perspectives provide interesting applications. Along the way we will encounter characters from enumerative and geometric combinatorics, as well as from algebraic geometry if time permits.

Zoom Link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/92849568892