Ryan Blair

I study low-dimensional geometry and topology with an emphasis on knot theory.

The world in which we live is three dimensional. This basic fact implies that we live in some 3-manifold. In this way, the study of 3-manifolds illuminates the nature of the universe. Knotting phenomena in manifolds is so rich that a complete understanding of it would lead to a complete understanding of all 3-manifolds. The broad goal of my research is to study 3-manifolds via knots.

My recent research investigates the structure of 3-manifolds and the knots they contain by applying modern techniques such as thin position and distance in the curve complex to classical constructions such as Heegaard splittings, Dehn surgery and diagrammatic knot invariants.