Summer Research Associate Program
About
The Summer Research Associate program hosted by Topos Institute offers an opportunity for early career researchers to engage in cutting-edge research under the mentorship of experts affiliated with the institute. Research areas explored in the program include mathematics, especially category theory and mathematical logic; programming language theory and software systems; and philosophy, especially ethics of science and technology.
Current RAs and projects
Our next program will be in 2025! See the 2025 Summer RA Program Announcement.
Past RAs and projects
2024
- C.B. Aberlé
- Topic: Polynomial functors for the semantics of dependent type theory
- Mentor: David Spivak
- Blog post: Polynomial universes and natural models
- Keri D’Angelo
- Topic: Wiring patterns for composition of Mealy machines
- Mentor: Sophie Libkind
- Blog post: Wiring diagrams for Mealy machines
- Owen Haaga
- Topic: Agent-based modelling in AlgebraicJulia
- Mentor: Kris Brown
2023
- Harrison Grodin
- Topic: Synthetic domain theory and polynomial functors in computer science
- Mentor: Dana Scott and David Spivak
- Blog post: Poly-morphic effect handlers
- Harper Hults
- Topic: Statistical theories and probabilistic programming
- Mentor: Evan Patterson
- Blog post: Categorical statistics in Julia
- Samantha Jarvis
- Topic: Constructing dynamic monoidal categories from reverse derivative categories
- Mentor: David Spivak
- Blog post: Building dynamic structures
- Stephen Mell
- Topic: Graphical languages for distributive monoidal categories
- Mentor: Kris Brown
- Luke Morris
- Topic: Discrete exterior calculus on 3D semi-simplicial sets
- Mentor: Evan Patterson
- Software: CombinatorialSpaces.jl
2022
- Angeline Aguinaldo
- Topic: AI planning using categorical databases and rewriting
- Mentor: Evan Patterson
- Blog post: Using categorical logic for AI planning
- Anthony Agwu
- Topic: Categorical semantics of untyped lambda calculus
- Mentor: Dana Scott
- Blog post: Scott’s model of lambda calculus
- Alejandra Arciniegas
- Topic: Technology ethics at Topos Institute
- Mentor: Brendan Fong
- Blog posts: Strategies for ethically oriented pursuit of research and technology, and Project cards: a tool for research transparency
- Harrison Grodin
- Topic: Programming language semantics using topology and domain theory
- Mentor: Dana Scott
- Blog post: Recursive Types via Domain Theory
- Michael Lambert
- Topic: Double categories for knowledge representation and databases
- Mentor: Evan Patterson
- Blog post: Data operations are functorial semantics
- Joshua Meyers
- Topic: Polynomial functors and computation
- Mentor: David Spivak
- Blog posts: Computation and category theory, and Imagining bicomodules with type theory
2021
- Sophie Libkind
- Topic: Mathematics and software for composing open dynamical systems
- Mentor: Evan Patterson
- Software: AlgebraicDynamics.jl
- Owen Lynch
- Topic: Design and implementation of categorical databases (“struct acsets”)
- Mentor: Evan Patterson
- Software: categorical databases (“acsets”) in Catlab.jl
- David Jaz Myers
- Topic: Categorical theory of dynamical systems
- Mentor: David Spivak
- Book: Categorical Systems Theory
- Nelson Niu
- Topic: Polynomial functors
- Mentor: David Spivak
- Book: Polynomial Functors: A Mathematical Theory of Interaction
