Dialogues between Mathematics and Physics: Yang-Hui He interviewed by Daniel Wang

Aug 2, 2022

Yang-Hui He, Fellow of the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences, discusses intersections between math and physics, international education experiences, and the Churn Institute of Mathematics at Nankai University. They also delve into their research focus on string theory, quantum field theory, algebraic geometry, and machine learning. Plus, they share their motivation for returning to China and their hobbies outside of mathematics.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Shift to Pure Math

Yang-Hui He's childhood hero was Einstein, inspiring him to pursue mathematical physics.
Over time, he shifted towards pure mathematics, drawn to the structure of proofs and inspired by mathematicians like Hilbert and Terence Tao.

INSIGHT

String Theory's Impact

String theory's biggest impact is bridging pure mathematics and physics, enabling them to solve each other's problems.
Physicists' work on string theory has led to new techniques in numerative geometry, while mathematics has enriched the structure of quantum field theory.

INSIGHT

Curiosity-Driven Research

Yang-Hui He maintains a diverse range of research projects, driven by curiosity and the appeal of interesting mathematical structures.
He collaborates with researchers in various fields, from quantum computing to number theory, embracing diverse problems.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this month’s podcast, our guest is Yang-Hui He, a Fellow of the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences, which is based at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, professor of mathematics at City University of London, Chang-Jiang Chair professor at Nankai University in Tianjin, as well as Lecturer at Merton College, University of Oxford.

In this episode, we've invited him to talk about the interactions between mathematics and physics, how the international education and research experience influence a scientist, and the activities carried out at Chern Institute and Nankai University.

Yang-Hui He studied at Princeton University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Physics, with a Certificate in Applied Mathematics and a Certificate in Engineering Summa cum Laude (Highest Honours, Phi-Beta-Kappa). He then obtained a Certificate in Advanced Mathematics (Tripos) at Cambridge University, with Distinction. He went on to receive his PhD in theoretical and mathematical physics from MIT and continued at the University of Pennsylvania before joining Oxford University as a FitzJames Fellow in Mathematics and then UK STFC Advanced Fellow in theoretical physics.

Prof. He is a mathematical physicist working on various interfaces between geometry and theoretical high energy physics. He is particularly interested in aspects of algebraic geometry in application to, and interacting with, gauge theory as well as string theory, such as Calabi-Yau manifolds, holographic correspondences and string phenomenology. He also has interests in the dialogue between number theory, graph representation theory and gauge theories. Yang-Hui He is author of over 200 scientific publications and also a keen communicator of science. With Springer, he published in 2021 The Calabi-Yau Landscape. From Geometry to Physics, to Machine Learning as volume 2293 of Lecture Notes in Mathematics. In late 2022, the Proceedings of the Nankai Symposium on Mathematical Dialogues will appear, a symposium which celebrated the 110th birthday of S.-S. Chern.