This talk will provide an introduction to lattice homology, an algebraic structure used to study specific three-manifolds; that is, spaces that when you zoom in look like three-dimensional space. Lattice homology is constructed by looking at the failure of a specific integer lattice to (topologically) approximate a family of ellipsoids. At the end, I will bounce off of these ideas to discuss the problems arising from having to interact with institutions that were not built with your needs in mind.

Biography: Seppo Niemi-Colvin is a fifth-year Ph.D. student at Duke University studying low dimensional topology under Adam Levine, particularly focusing on knots in three-manifolds other than the three-sphere. Seppo grew up in Raleigh, NC before attending Bryn Mawr College for undergrad, where he realized he is not a girl. After his first year of grad school, he realized that not only isn't he a girl, but he is specifically a queer man. In addition to mathematics, Seppo also enjoys visual arts, and during the summer of 2020 took a class on landscape painting.