Singularities: When Smooth Things Go Sharp

Singularities: When Smooth Things Go Sharp

This lecture is face-to-face on the University of Liverpool's campus, exact venue TBC. It is suitable for anyone aged 16 or over with an interest in mathematics. Please book one ticket for each person attending. There will not be a live stream or a recording.

From the crease in a folded piece of paper to the tip of a cone, singularities are places where smooth shapes suddenly turn sharp, crumpled, or irregular. In this talk we’ll explore how mathematicians study these fascinating phenomena. Using illuminating examples like the cusp of a curve or the pinch of a surface, we’ll uncover how mathematicians reveal the hidden patterns behind singularities in places as varied as optics, astrophysics, and robotics.

About the speaker

Dr Graham Reeve gained his PhD from the University of Liverpool in 2012, after which he went on to do postdoctoral research at Universidade de São Paulo. He is now a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at Liverpool Hope University, where he has taught since 2017.

Graham is the 2025-26 President of the Liverpool Mathematical Society and this is his Presidential Lecture.