-closely related to foliations, but are more stable under perturbations

-built on 3-manifolds

-a very recent discovery, only been studied for the last couple of years

*this information found at http://www.ma.utexas.edu/dev/math/Courses/S06Descriptions/M392Ca.html

 Contact Topology and Waves Conversion is very important for today's society, because it helps us learn and study the shapes and the formation of rocks, cliffs, and seashores. It is important to research the occurences of these interesting formations, because we need to know about the history of the world, and the evolving it has undergone.