Homotopy and Simple-Homotopy in Low Dimensions
Wolfgang Metzler (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitaet Frankfurt)

Manifold Problems like the Poincare Conjecture in dimensions 3 and 4 don't allow higher dimensional modifications of polyhedra. This restriction generates many phenomena which are related to combinatorial group theory. The talk will give a survey on this interaction between Topology and Algebra as well as on strategies towards a solution of typical open problems.