This week's meeting will be a talk by Andrew Clickard on braid groups and knot invariants. And, of course, there will be free pizza!
Abstract: Braid groups are the algebraic codification of the ways you can braid together several strands. By gluing the top of a braid to the bottom, you also get a knot/link, but does every link have a braid presentation? And is that presentation unique? We answer both of these questions and use the answers to define a family of knot invariants in this beginner-friendly talk.