Hello
Hi! My name is Yan Yau (not Yan).
I am currently a fourth year PhD student in Algebraic Number Theory at the University of Edinburgh working with Professor Minhyong Kim. I did my undergraduate and masters at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge.
My work focuses on Arithmetic Topology, which is the study of Number Theory motivated through the perspective of viewing the embedding of a knot in a 3-manifold as being analogous to the embedding of a prime in the spectrum of a number ring. I am currently thinking about path integrals of arithmetic Chern-Simons theory and their relation to arithmetic analogues of linking phenomena. You can find out more about what I do here.
I am on track to finishing my PhD by summer 2026, which means I am on the job market for postdoctural positions starting in fall 2026. Here is my CV.
I can be contacted through email at yanyau.cheng(at)ed.ac.uk.
Activities
- I am one of the student organisers of the 2025 AGQ-CDT Student Conference.
- During the 2023-2024 academic year, I was an organiser of the Hodge Club seminars along with Danil Kozevnikov and Tuan Pham.