Sophie Raynor

Modular operads and the mathematics of complex networks

I am a mathematician and lecturer at James Cook University, Bebegu Yumba campus, working in the College of Arts, Society and Education (CASE), and the College of Science and Engineering. Before moving to JCU, I was a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre of Australian Category Theory (CoACT), Macquarie University. My research is in the general area of operad theory, with a focus on modular operads and their foundations. My aim is to develop modular operadic techniques to improve our understanding of complex networks. I also have a lifelong interest in inclusive maths education.

I believe that (pure) mathematics can make a significant contribution in the search for enduring solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. As a working mathematician, it is my responsibility to critically examine my assumptions, practices and institutions, and work to highlight and dismantle barriers to opportunity for participation in mathematical enquiry.

News

• My paper with Luci Bonatto, Safia Chettih, Abigail Linton, Marcy Robertson and Nathalie Wahl on An infinity operad for normalized cacti has been published in Topology and its Applications.
• After a long wait, and some visa delays, we managed to move and start our new jobs. As of February 2022, I am a lecturer at JCU. It's been a full-on first semester, so this site has been rather ignored.
• Indigenising University Mathematics conference at the University of Newcastle 20-21 September 2021. Here are my reflections. (With corrections to the version included in the MQ Maths and Stats October newsletter.)
• My long paper on Graphical combinatorics and a distributive law for modular operads has been published in Advances in Mathematics.
• The preprint of my paper on Brauer diagrams, modular operads and a nerve theorem for circuit algebras is available on the arXiv.