Our Directors
Geordie Williamson, Director
Professor Geordie Williamson received his undergraduate degree from the University of Sydney and completed his PhD at the University of Freiburg in 2008. He held subsequent positions at the University of Oxford and St. Peter’s College, and worked at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn for five years as an Advanced Researcher. Geordie returned to the University of Sydney as a Professor in 2017 and established the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute with Professor Anthony Henderson.
Geordie’s interests lie in basic questions in representation theory that need extremely sophisticated techniques from algebraic geometry, Hodge theory, or higher category theory to resolve.
Awards and honours
- Max-Planck Humboldt Research Award (2024)
- Australian Laureate Fellowship (2023)
- Prize for Excellence in Mathematics, NSW Premier’s Prizes for Science & Engineering (2022)
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, Institute for Advanced Study (2020)
- Christopher Heyde Medal of the Australian Academy of Science, for research in the mathematical sciences (2019)
- Medal of the Australian Mathematical Society (2018)
- Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society (elected to both in 2018)
- Clay research Award, European Mathematics Society Prize, 2017 New Horizons Prize (with Ben Elias), Chevalley Prize of the American Mathematics Society (all awarded 2016)
Stephan Tillmann, Executive Director
Professor Stephan Tillmann studied mathematics and philosophy in Mainz (Germany) and Melbourne (Australia). After graduating with a doctoral thesis in low-dimensional topology from the University of Melbourne, he spent three years each in Montreal, Melbourne and Brisbane. Stephan joined the University of Sydney in 2011 and currently holds the position of Professor of Geometric Topology.
Stephan’s specialist expertise is rooted in the topology and geometry of low-dimensional manifolds, and his research interests extend to neighbouring areas in mathematics and theoretical computer science.
Awards and honours
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2021)
- Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2018-2021)
- Faculty of Science Learning and Teaching Award, The University of Sydney (2015)
- B.H. Neumann Prize, Australian Mathematical Society (2001)
Research Staff and Affiliates
Dr Jun Yong Park (June Park),
Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Statistics
June Park received his PhD in 2018 from the University of Minnesota under the supervision of Craig Westerland. He has previously worked as a research fellow at the University of Melbourne, MPIM Bonn and IBS-CGP Pohang.
June’s interests include arithmetic theory of algebraic varieties and moduli spaces with connections to number theory, especially the geometry of rational points on stacks and counting families of varieties over function fields.
Dr Renjie Feng,
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Renjie Feng completed his PhD at Northwestern University, Illinois. He joined the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute in 2023 and since then he has been focused on exploring random matrices and random geometry.
Renjie is also interested in probability, as well as advancing his knowledge in machine learning and deep learning. He would like to contribute to the field of mathematics by addressing existing gaps and providing new insights that benefit the broader community, including related fields such as data science, statistics, information theory, and mathematical physics.
Dr Harini Desiraju,
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Harini Desiraju is a postdoctoral researcher at SMRI and the University of Sydney. She enjoys thinking about several questions in mathematical physics and her research mostly focuses on integrable systems and conformal field theories.
Harini graduated with a PhD in Geometry and Mathematical Physics from SISSA, Trieste in 2021 under the supervision of Marco Bertola and Tamara Grava. She has since been a postdoc at University of Birmingham and SLMath (formerly MSRI).
Dr Thomas Le Fils, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Thomas Le Fils completed his PhD at Sorbonne Université. He joined the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute as a postdoctoral researcher in late 2022. Thomas is interested in the study of geometric structures on surfaces and their links with character varieties.
Dr Ashvni Narayanan,
Postdoctoral Researcher
Ashvni Narayanan is a postdoctoral researcher at SMRI and the University of Sydney. Her interests include (but are not restricted to) number theory, formal verification, machine learning and discrete mathematics.
Her PhD, completed at Imperial College London, comprised of formalization of p-adic L-functions in an automated theorem prover called Lean 4. Ashvni also interested in machine learning and have been experimenting with translation of natural language to Lean code using Large Language Models.
Dr Tom Goertzen,
Postdoctoral Researcher
Tom Goertzen completed his PhD at RWTH Aachen University in 2024 and joined the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute (SMRI) as a postdoctoral researcher in October 2024.
His current research focuses on combinatorial problems within representation theory. He has broader interests in modular representation theory, algebraic combinatorics, and geometry. Tom is also interested in exploring the applications of algebra to various other fields, advancing knowledge across interdisciplinary domains.
Dr Alan Stapledon,
Research Affiliate
Alan Stapledon graduated from the University of Sydney in 2003, with the highest average grade of any undergraduate science student in that year. He completed a PhD in mathematics at the University of Michigan in 2009, winning the award for best PhD thesis. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at MSRI at Berkeley, University of British Columbia and University of Sydney, over a 3 year period. He retired from Renaissance Technologies LLC, after working as an equities researcher for 9 years and joined SMRI as a research affiliate in September 2021.
Alan is interested in connections between algebraic geometry and combinatorics. More specifically, he is studying intersections between Hodge theory, toric geometry and Ehrhart theory.
Professional Staff
Kate Doyle,
Executive Officer
Kate Doyle has worked at The University of Sydney since 2005, primarily in the Business School. She has had success as a large-team manager, an engaged collaborator, a proactive trouble-shooter and an energetic contributor to initiatives and projects. She endorses a positive workplace culture and is currently Wellbeing Champion for the School of Mathematics and Statistics.
Kate commenced with SMRI in 2021 and has overall responsibility for the operational management and administrative support of the Institute. Kate also oversees the work activities and growth of the professional staff team and collaborates closely with them on delivering best possible work outcomes.
Dr Catherine Meister, Communications Coordinator
Catherine Meister studied a double degree in arts and science, majoring in history and chemistry, before completing a PhD in chemistry at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Following her PhD, Catherine completed an industrial postdoc in Frankfurt, Germany, and was working as a medical writer before joining SMRI in June 2024.
She is passionate about science and maths communication and the impact of education on society.
Hannah Bryant, Administration Officer
Hannah Bryant joined SMRI in June 2019 and has played a key role in supporting the Institute, using her broad knowledge to augment processes and add value to the SMRI visitor experience.
Hannah has a Masters of Research, majoring in Egyptology, from Macquarie University and over 18 years of experience in professional administration in the private sector.
Previous staff members
Anthony Henderson,
Founding Executive Director
Anthony Henderson received his undergraduate degree from the University of Sydney and obtained his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001. He worked at the University of Sydney from July 2001 to June 2022, becoming a Professor of Mathematics in 2016. He is also a founding Director of the Simon Marais Mathematics Competition for undergraduates in the Asia-Pacific region. In April 2022 he was farewelled from SMRI at the Hendoff.
Broadly speaking, he is interested in geometric and combinatorial aspects of representation theory. In particular, he studies the geometry of nilpotent varieties and Springer fibres, and their generalisations.
Awards and honours
- Medal of the Australian Mathematical Society (2012)
- Christopher Heyde Medal of the Australian Academy of Science, for research in the mathematical sciences (2011)
- Faculty of Science Citation for excellence in teaching (2009)