Talks and Teaching
Here's a list of talks. I'm very interested in teaching and would be happy to tutor undergrad & high school math. If interested, please shoot an email and we'll figure something out.
January 07, 2026
Talk, Joint Math Meetings, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C.
We present a double categorical formulation of Algebraic Quantum Field Theory (AQFT). The construction is expressed as a double functor from the double category of regions of Minkowski spacetime to a double category of von Neumann algebras (vNAs). vNAs provide a natural setting for quantum observables, while their bimodules and intertwiners capture channels and interfaces that go beyond what is visible in ordinary 1-categorical nets. Within this framework, the Haag–Kastler axioms can be phrased in terms of double functoriality and the interchange law, offering a new structural perspective on locality and gluing. We also sketch directions toward incorporating Tomita–Takesaki modular theory for type III vNAs through double functors, and discuss possible connections to categorical models of quantum computation. Slides
September 25, 2025
Talk, Topos Oxford Seminar, Oxford, England, UK
The internet is a strange place — one moment you’re convinced the Starbucks logo never had a star on top, the next you’re knee-deep in a rumor that spreads everywhere at once, and before long you’re staring at a series of pictures that “prove” the moon landing was fake. These phenomena may look like pure nonsense, but they also show how perception, memory, and belief are shaped by our experiences, the hidden biases behind what we perceive, and the difficulty of stitching multiple pieces of information, sometimes conflicting, into a coherent story that fits the most into one’s worldview.
June 27, 2025
Talk, Topos Institute, Oxford, Oxford, UK
David Lynch’s neo-noir classic Mulholland Drive challenges our sense of continuity, identity, and causality. In this talk, I use its fragmented narrative structure as a metaphorical guide to construct an algebraic quantum field theory using a double functor between free globularly generated double categories.
June 27, 2025
Talk, University of Florida, Gainesville, Gainesville, Florida
With Andrew Krenz and Quan Long. Presented a construction of a relative monad that allows classical control and information processing of quantum systems. Recording of my part of this talk.
January 08, 2025
Talk, Joint Mathematics Meeting 2025, Seattle, Washington, USA
Several open problems have been asked and are being solved on the nature of dagger structures that can be defined on Fusion Categories, and many results have been shown for Hermitian (positive dagger) Fusion Categories. However, Non-Hermitian Fusion Categories do exist, the most prominent example of them being the Yang-Lee Category. Using properties of Fusion Categories, previous results that has been found about Fusion Categories with a Hermitian Dagger Structure, and properties that arise from the existence of a Ribbon Structure and the ability to define a braiding, we now shift our focus on investigating Ribbon Fusion Categories that have a Non-Hermitian Dagger structure on them. Utilizing the rich and complicated structure of these categories, we discuss the outline of proofs of theorems on the Muger center, braiding, and spherical structure of such a fusion category, and discuss a potential construction of a TQFT using these results. slides
September 25, 2024
Talk, Graduates Reminisce Online On Topology (GROOT) Summer Seminar, Virtual
Talk Abstract: Several open problems have been asked and are being solved on the nature of dagger structures that can be defined on Fusion Categories. Using previous work that has been done investigating the Hermitian Dagger case, we now shift our focus to dealing with Fusion Categories that have a Non-Hermitian Dagger structure on them. What can we do with these categories? Do they yield any interesting properties? We discuss the outline of proofs of theorems on the Müger center, braiding, and spherical structure of such a fusion category, and discuss a potential construction of a TQFT, and what it could mean for us.
June 21, 2024
Talk, Ross Mathematics Program, Columbus, Ohio, USA
An introductory lecture series on Fusion Categories, taught to high schoolers in the 2024 Ross Mathematics Program. notes
June 15, 2022
Talk, Ross Mathematics Program, Columbus, Ohio, USA
An introduction to category theory through set theory, at a time when I was very fascinated by the potential of using category theory as a logical language for math. slides
