Noah Ringrose’s Personal Website

Hi! I’m an incoming physics PhD student at NYU interested broadly in generalized symmetries and topological defects in QFTs and lattice models, as well as the mathematical classification and characterization of topological phases of matter.

I am currently finishing my undergraduate studies in math and physics at Penn State University, where I am mentored by Adrian Ocneanu. I also spent a summer at Ohio State University, where I conducted research in tensor categories and topological phases under the supervision of Dave Penneys and Kyle Kawagoe.

This website is my personal space where I share my ideas and perspectives on math and physics and keep track of my progress as a physicist, mathematician, natural philosopher, or whatever I choose to identify as on a given day.

I’m only just getting started, but if you’re itching for a first taste of my work, you should check out my senior honors thesis, Higher Structures from Simple Lattice Models. I believe that physicists shouldn’t have to wait decades for abstract math to be translated into their language. I aim to destigmatize the use of abstract math — like category theory — in physics by building visually intuitive mathematical frameworks. This thesis is a testament to this belief; my goal was to motivate the use of topological defects and fusion categories in physics from the ground up, showing how they naturally arise when studying the simplest classical lattice model — the 2d Ising Model.

If you are curious about my background, you can check out my CV.

I love talking to anyone who shares even a passing interest in these ideas, so if you want to chat about anything, feel free to reach out via email at noah.ringrose@gmail.com!