PhD student in math at Clemson University.
Hi, I'm Fabrice, a mathematics PhD student at Clemson University. How did I get here? The story involves a neutrino, a runaway cat, and an accidental visit to the math department.
I earned degrees in Theoretical Physics at the University of Antananarivo, and my work was in particle physics. Eventually, I got tired of chasing particles. Then a neutrino walked into a bar and Schrödinger's cat ran out. “Finally, something I can catch!” I thought. So I chased the cat.
The cat accidentally led me into the math department. I finally caught it, but everyone called it a “category.” Apparently, even cats get longer names here. I stayed to study category theory, which explores mathematical objects through their relationships. Now I apply it to Boolean networks: think of connected switches whose on/off states follow rules.
Where do you put a cat that has become a category? That brings me to my fascination with topos theory. I like to imagine it as a meeting place where different branches of mathematics can understand one another through a shared language of structure and logic. The cat would probably prefer a cardboard box.
“I caught the cat,” I told the computer. “Prove it,” it replied. That is the spirit of my growing interest in formalization: writing mathematics precisely enough for a proof assistant to check each step. I'm also curious about how AI can help us discover and explain mathematical ideas. The cat has declined to provide evidence.
While the cat naps, I explore new technologies, learn tools, and build projects to understand the ideas I'm working with. Curiosity keeps sending me between subjects, looking for connections and the bigger picture. I thought catching the cat would be the end of the adventure. Apparently, it was the admissions process.
I share talks and seminar recordings related to mathematics, theory, and broader conversations at the intersection of ideas and society.
I enjoy reading books that introduce new ideas, challenge the way I think, and open up new ways of seeing mathematics, logic, and the structure of knowledge more broadly.
