====== Jeff Johannes (SUNY Geneseo) ======

====== The Casson-Walker-Lescop Invariant and Unlinking ======

===== Abstract for the Combinatorics and Number Theory and Geometry/Topology Seminars 2002 October 3 (Thursday) =====

In this talk I will follow a sequence of ideas that has led me from original questions about how the Casson-Walker-Lescop 3-manifold invariant changes when changing a presenting link, to now approaching questions of a refined notion of unlinking. Open questions and speculations will be mixed with results as I explore the main topic and tangents along the way.