Lectures on Tap -"A Topologist Walks Into A Bar: What Makes A Hole A Hole?"

Join us for a mind-bending evening as topologist Annie Kendzierski explores one surprisingly tricky question: what makes a hole a hole? Through the playful lens of everyday objects—like coffee mugs, donuts, and maybe even your own body—Annie will introduce topology, the branch of mathematics that studies shapes and spaces under stretching and bending, but not tearing or gluing.

You’ll discover when two objects should be considered “the same,” how many holes you actually have, and why these abstract ideas quietly power real-world applications across science and modern technology. No formulas, no prerequisites—just visual intuition, storytelling, and curiosity.

Annie is a young mathematician with a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Galway and a prospective PhD student. Her work lies at the intersection of abstract algebra and topology, with interests in group theory, Conway tiling groups, and the structure of special matrix spaces.