Physical Knots: Knotting, Linking, and Folding Geometric Objects in $\mathbb{R}3$

The properties of knotted and linked configurations in space have long been of interest to physicists and mathematicians. More recently and more widely, they have become important to biologists, chemists, computer scientists, and engineers. The depth and breadth of their applications are widely appreciated. Nevertheless, fundamental and challenging questions remain to be answered. Based on a Special Session at the AMS Sectional Meeting in Las Vegas (NV) in April 2001, this volume
discusses critical questions and introduces new ideas that will stimulate multi-disciplinary applications.