The systolic inequality says that any Riemannian metric on an n-dimensional torus with volume 1 contains a non-contractible closed curve with length at most C(n) - a constant depending only on n. One remarkable feature of the inequality is it holds for such a wide class of metrics. It's much more general than an inequality that holds for all metrics obeying a certain curvature condition.

The systolic inequality is a difficult theorem, and each proof is guided by a metaphor that connects the systolic inequality to a different area of geometry or topology. In this talk, I will explain three metaphors. They connect the systolic inequality to minimal surface theory, topological dimension theory, and scalar curvature.

The Turan function ex(n,F) of a k-graph F is the maximum number of edges in an F-free k-graph on n vertices. This problem goes back to the fundamental paper of Turan from 1941 that solved it for complete graphs (k=2). Unfortunately, very few non-trivial instances of the problem have been solved when we consider hypergraphs (k>2).

We survey some recent results and methods on the hypergraph Turan function. In particular, we discuss the so-called stability approach that greatly helps in obtaining exact results from asymptotic computations (for example, those that use flag algebras or graph limits).

Some of the remarkable phenomena that emerge when a trapped, ultracold Bose gas is set in rapid rotational motion will be reviewed. In anharmonic traps, where the rotational velocity can in principle be arbitrarily large, one can distinguish three critical velocities at which the flow pattern changes radically. The first is the velocity at which vorticity sets in, eventually leading to a lattice of vortices, at the second a 'hole' is created and the condensate becomes concentrated in an annulus while the vortex lattice persists in the bulk, and at the third a transition to a 'giant vortex' state takes place in which all vorticity disappears from the bulk but a macroscopic circulation around the hole remains.

The mathematical model used for analysis of these phenomena has similarities with Ginzburg-Landau (GL) Theory in superconductivity with the critical velocities in rotating gases playing an analogous role to the critical magnetic fields in GL theory, and techniques originally developed in the context of GL theory have, indeed, been important for understanding rotating gases. There are, however, also important differences, and in particular the theory of the giant vortex transition requires significant modifications of the GL setting. Theses similarities and differences will be discussed. (Joint work with Michele Correggi and Nicoals Rougerie.)

In 1995, G. Courtois, S. Gallot and myself constructed a family of maps with very good properties regarding volume elements between certain manifolds. We used it to give an alternative proof of Mostow's rigidity for rank one closed symmetric spaces as well as a rigidity result for their geodesic flow, conjectured by A. Katok. Various modifications of the original construction have been made since yielding new results in different settings. We shall describe the basic construction, the modifications, some applications and open questions.