AMSI grant recipient profile: Kiyoshi Andrés Takeuchi Romo

I was born and raised in Mexico. I studied in Stony Brook University, University of California Riverside, Kyoto University, and now I am at the Australian National University working under Vanessa Robins. My current work falls in Topological Data Analysis.

I enjoy the outdoors, and the perspective it brings when you are hanging down a rope in 60 meter waterfall.

Give me a quick overview of the type of mathematics you are studying, and/or the aims of your research and its potential applications/outcomes (how you would explain your work and studies to friends who don’t study maths?)

I am working with the Extended Persistent Homology Transform. It is a transform that aids in studying geometry using topology. To non-mathematical inclined people, I tell them I study the geometry of a shape through its holes.

How did you get into the mathematical sciences? Was there someone or something that inspired you to this field?

My grandfather was a mathematician, my great grandfather and my father were physicists. So it has been somewhat following in their footsteps.

Winter School is designed to give students a deeper understanding of their area of research and expose them to others working in different fields/industries. Tell me about your Winter School experience. What was the most valuable part of the program for you?

Some of the problems I am tackling require tools from geometric analysis. I usually beeline to those things that I think are useful in my research. So the most useful thing for me is widening my horizons to other possibilities of things I don’t know exist that I could perhaps apply in my research.

What was your main take away/s from AMSI Winter School? Something you learnt? A connection you made? Do you have new ideas for your work/research or see it in a new light?

I have some ideas I hope to develop in relation to curvature and the XPHT.

What surprised you most about Winter School?

How absolutely beautiful UQ campus is. How many maths results are being produced as we speak.

What is the importance of in-person communication at an event like Winter School?

I got to catch up with several friends from previous AMSI/MATRIX events! People that were not in the event too that just happened to be at UQ.

You received a grant to attend AMSI Winter School. How important was this in terms of your ability to attend, fully participate in the program and meet others studying in similar fields?

I lose motivation in online classes, so it was vital.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering applying for Winter School? How would you describe the conference to them?

If it’s a field related to yours, or interests you, I would not hesitate on applying. As long as you put in the work, you will come out with something.

Tell us about a moment that changed a preconceived idea about your field?

My ideas change all the time. Sometimes I think something is not possible, sometimes I think it is.

Where do you want the mathematical sciences to take you? Where do you see yourself in five, ten years time?

I’ll be honest, with the advent of AI, I can’t foresee that much into the future. The brave new frontier remains cloudy to me, but I hope to be lecturing in some capacity.

Any other feedback/comments you would like to provide on the travel grant or AMSI Winter School?

Thank you for organizing this Winter School, and I hope many more students get to enjoy and benefit from it for many years to come.