Em P Hugh Morton MA, PhD

My principal area of research is in low-dimensional topology, and I have been particularly interested in the study of how one or more closed curves can lie in space. In a mathematical context this study has been given the name of Knot Theory - knots on a piece of string being viewed in these terms simply by splicing the two ends together to get a closed curve.

There has recently been considerable interaction between knot theory and a number of other areas of mathematics and theoretical physics. This began with the work of Jones in 1984 when von Neumann algebras were used quite unexpectedly to produce knot invariants. Subsequent developments in knot theory have resulted in the discovery of interesting new algebras, and in helpful geometric interpretations for features of known ones. I have been closely involved in these from an early stage when I realised the importance of satellite knots in these developments, and initiated their use in this context.