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Labix Liu

    • About Me:

      Hi! I am a PhD student in London and I work with shapes and geometry five days a week! I read philosophy and history books in my free time, as well as learning about different languages and cultures. I am also a HUGE movie addict (especially Christopher Nolan)!

      I grew up in Hong Kong and finished my high school there. I still remember doodling different shapes and symmetries all over my textbooks!

    • My pronouns are:

      he/him

    • How I use Maths in my work:

      In our everyday lives we come across different shapes and spaces, from the donut on your table to our universe with live in. In my PhD, I use tools from algebra and geometry to try and answer the question of whether a certain class of spaces that have the same number of holes are actually the “same” space. This allows other scientists to transfer complicated calculations on a space they are working with, to a space that has a simpler description for the problems they want to analyze.

    • My Work:

      I try to answer the question of whether shapes or spaces that have the same amount of holes are “the same” space, allowing computations that are difficult on one shape to be transferred to one with a simpler description.

    • My Typical Day:

      I start my work with some computations for the theory that I am working in, or read over some material that are interesting to me to get my brain to start thinking about maths. After having lunch, I start working on more complicated questions and parts of my thesis. Occasionally there is the opportunity to attend some talks or seminars within the university or online. Just before finishing the day, I try to automate some of the calculations with coding.

    CV

    • Education:

      • Finished my high school diploma (DSE) in Hong Kong
      • Did an integrated masters in University of Warwick
      • Started PhD in November 2025

    • Qualifications:

      Highschool (DSE):
      A* equivalent: Maths, M2 (further maths), Information and Computer Technology
      A equivalent: English, chemistry, biology

      University:
      Integrated Masters in Warwick (First Class)

    • Work History:

      • Tutoring for high school students (2021-2025)
      • Small class teaching in high school (2023-2024)
      • Research in LLM for generating high school questions (2024)
      • Graduate Teaching Assistant (2024-2025)

    • Current Job:

      Full Time PhD student

    • Employer:

      Queen Mary University of London

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        detecting holes in spaces

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        Teaching maths in highschool

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Green Day

        What's your favourite food?

        Hong Kong Style French Toast

        Tell us a joke.

        Topologists cannot distinguish between coffee mugs and donuts; because they both have a hole!

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