Topological data analysis with Michael Hill - Maths on the Move

The mathematical area of topology is all about figuring out what truly defines a shape. Famously, topologists consider a coffee cup to be the same as a doughnut because one can be turned into the other without cutting or gluing — what defines and relates these two shapes for a topologist is that they have a single hole. As you might imagine, if you have ever tried to drink coffee out of a doughnut, topology has traditionally been part of pure mathematics. Topological data analysis (TDA), however, opens up a world of applications by applying ideas from topology to vast data sets, helping us to understand their "shape" and draw out important features. In this episode of Maths on the Move we talk to algebraic topologist <a href='https://mikehill.math.umn.edu/'>Michael Hill</a> about some of the fascinating uses of topological data analysis — from understanding breast cancer to making sure that voting is fair. We talked to Michael after he gave a brilliant <a href='...