Using the Eisenbud-Khimshiashvili-Levine local degree, which is the A1-local degree of Morel in A1 homotopy theory, we define a degree of a finite map between smooth schemes over k. When the target is appropriately connected, this degree is a bilinear form over k. We discuss some applications to enumerative geometry over non-algebraically closed fields. This is joint work with Jesse Kass and Jake Solomon, and will also contain joint work with Padmavathi Srinivasan.

A celebrated 19th century result of Cayley and Salmon is that a smooth cubic surface over the complex numbers contains exactly 27 lines. Over the real numbers, the number of lines depends on the surface, but Segre showed that a certain signed count is always 3. We extend this count to an arbitrary field using A1-homotopy theory: we define an Euler number in the Grothendieck-Witt group for a relatively oriented algebraic vector bundle as a sum of local degrees, and then generalize the count of lines to a cubic surface over an arbitrary field. This is joint work with Jesse Leo Kass