Outreach

I love to share the things I love with others, which has led me to taking part in exhibitions and giving talks and workshops on my favorite topics — or anything that can help students, teachers or the public appreciate math or origami. Through these outreach efforts I have accumulated resources for a number of topics that I can present about.

Bird's Eye Conference

In 2023, Turner Silverthorne and I founded the Bird’s Eye Conference, an annual platform for graduate students in my department to share “bird’s-eye views” of their mathematical interests with each other. Going beyond many conferences, an explicit focus on the accessibility of mathematical content was built into its design. Over the next three years, more than 200 registered attendees in total have sampled the breadth of mathematical research at the University of Toronto, through over 90 survey talks. Read my account of how the first-ever conference went!

Newsletter of the Mathematics Graduate Student Association

In 2024, I founded a newsletter for my graduate student community at the University of Toronto. All its content is contributed by graduate students. Read the current and past issues online. The first issue was included comics, puzzles, an anonymous Q&A column, and a critique of the notion of mathematical genius. One article even waxed lyrical about durians, the "King of Fruits." The second issue had an interview with Fields Medalist Alain Connes about his creative process, and an exploration of rhetoric in mathematical writing.

Sprout!

Quek Yihui and I organized Sprout, where alumni of NUS High School returned to teach fun workshops based on their interests, and students of NUS High attended workshops that they were interested in. Students enjoyed taking workshops from "Beatboxing" to "Herpetology: The Study of Ugly Animals". Check out the full list of workshop descriptions, as well as pictures taken at Sprout, at the Facebook event!.
Picture
Building skyscrapers to withstand weight and other challenges

Talks

  • ​History of Math for high schoolers at MIT Junction (2015)
  • How to Play Go for high schoolers at MIT Junction (2015)
  • Origami: Art, Science, Math for the OrigaMIT Convention (2014) [Slides]
  • Surfaces in Topology for the Raffles Institution Math Society (2014)
  • Geometric Dissections for students and teachers from Raffles Girls' School (2014)
  • Origami Research for the "Alumni Math Sharings" at NUS High School (2013)
  • Math Research in High School together with Ananya Kumar and Lim Sung Hyun, for the "Alumni Math Sharings" at NUS High School (2013)
  • Tools and Tips for Mathematics together with Ananya Kumar and Lim Sung Hyun, for the "Alumni Math Sharings" at NUS High School (2013)
  • The Schläfli Symbol for the "Alumni Math Sharings" at NUS High School (2013)
  • Polyhedron Weaving for the Random Interest Group (2011)
Origami: Art,, Science, Math

Workshops