Louis-Philippe and Nigel are part of the Model Theory of Operators group supervised by Professors Brad Hart and Ilijas Farah. Nigel and Louis-Philippe have established an excellent professional relationship. Intellectually they are well rounded with a sharp sense of humour and great ambitions for their future academic careers.
Nigel and Louis-Philippe were pleasantly surprised by the daily routine that was established amongst the Fields-MITACS students. Upon arrival Louis assumed that the students will have to be ‘focused on math only.’ As several weeks passed his assumption was proven wrong. The Fields-MITACS group lives a very active and balanced life style. Nigel appreciates the flexible schedule and believes that, “the environment impacts the way we think.” Taking regular breaks filled with physical activity and friendly interactions increase Nigel’s and Louis-Philippe’s research productivity.
Louis-Philippe and Nigel, behind the Fields Institute
Louis-Philippe recently graduated from the University of Montreal. His long term goal is to become a professor of mathematics. As for now, he is striving to finish a one-year Masters Degree at the University of Toronto. Louis-Philippe is aware of the challenges that might arise on the way of a young mathematician but he is not willing to give up his dream.
Nigel is going into the third year of a Mathematics Program at McMaster University. His interests span multiple academic disciplines. Nigel enjoys discovering mathematics through other disciplines such as medicine and logic. With such a wide erudition it is hard for him to pinpoint the field in which he would be willing to get into after graduating.
Nigel and Louis-Philippe have never been a part of a group research project before, but they quickly discovered that the key to productive collaboration is the ability to take criticism and to be attentive to each other’s ideas. “We wouldn’t get very far without [accepting] criticism”, said Nigel.
Interview conducted by Mariya Boyko