Benni Thien Ngo

I am a Ph.D. student in mathematics at the University of Western Ontario, working under the supervision of Chris Kapulkin. My research interests lie in homotopy theory and higher category theory, with a focus on models of ∞‑categorical structures.

Email Address: bngo23[at]uwo.ca

Office: Room 275C, Middlesex College, University of Western Ontario

A photo of me.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (2025–present)
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Expected date of graduation: 31 December 2028.
Master of Science in Mathematics (2021–2024)
Universität Regensburg, Germany
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (2018–2022)
Universität Regensburg, Germany

Theses

Master's thesis
Title: A functorial rectification of finitely cocomplete ∞‑categories
Supervisor: Denis-Charles Cisinski
A result, originally by Karol Szumiło, states that the homotopy theory of finitely cocomplete ∞‑categories is equivalent to that of cofibration categories. Using methods from higher category theory, I gave an alternative proof of this result. My thesis can be found here.
Bachelor's thesis
Title: Locally constant sheaves with values in higher groupoids
Supervisor: Denis-Charles Cisinski
Following "Higher Topos Theory" by Jacob Lurie, I exhibit the sheaf ∞‑category of a paracompact space X to be a homotopy theory of spaces over X. For this, I constructed a relative version of the geometric realization–singular complex adjunction, equipped the relevant categories with model structures, and showed that the unit of the adjunction corresponds to sheafification.

Teaching

Mentor in the Directed Reading Program

University of Western Ontario (January 2025–present)

The DRP pairs undergraduates with graduate mentors for study projects. I met weekly with my mentees, guided their reading, and helped them set their goals and prepare final presentations.

  • Kai Boisvert – “The Point of Pointless Topology” · winter term 2026, January–April
  • Kai Boisvert – “Introduction to Whitehead's theorem” · fall term 2025, September–December
  • Ishaan Chopra – “An Introduction to Category Theory: the Yoneda Lemma” · winter term 2025, January–April

Teaching Assistant for Courses

University of Western Ontario (January 2025–present)

My duties included marking assignments, midterms, and final exams, proctoring exams, and holding office hours. Course outlines can be found UWO course outlines directory .

  • CALC 1301: Calculus II · winter term 2026, January–April
  • MATH 2700: Linear Algebra II · winter term 2026, January–April
  • MATH 1600: Linear Algebra I · winter term 2025, January–April & fall term 2025, September–December
  • MATH 2151: Discrete Structures for Engineering · fall term 2025, September–December
  • CALCULUS 1000: Calculus I · summer term 2025, May–August
  • MATH 4152: Algebraic Topology · winter term 2025, January–April

Tutor for Exercise Classes

Universität Regensburg (April 2019–October 2024)

I corrected students' submissions to weekly exercises, presented solutions in tutorials, and proctored and graded final exams. Course outlines can be found Universität Regensburg course catalog.

  • Mathematics for Chemists and Chemical Economics Students II · summer semester 2024, April–September
  • Introduction to Probability Theory & Statistics · summer semester 2021 & summer semester 2023, April–September
  • Linear Algebra I · winter semester 2022/2023, October–March
  • Mathematics for Media Computer Science II · summer semester 2022, April–September
  • Numerical Analysis I · winter semester 2020/2021 & winter semester 2021/2022, October–March
  • Analysis I & II · summer semester 2020, April–September

Talks

Combinatorial Model Categories & Presentable ∞‑Categories
Graduate Student Seminar, University of Western Ontario – 20 March 2026
A functorial rectification of finitely cocomplete quasicategories
2025 CMS Summer Meeting, Université Laval – 8 June 2025

Conferences, Seminars & Workshops

Onsite Participation

Remote Participation

Invited, but Unable to Attend

Other Experience

Technical Support
Universität Regensburg (April 2020–October 2024)

As part of a two‑person team, I was the first point of contact for technical issues in the department. My duties included setting up workstations (computers, printers, telephones, and other equipment), troubleshooting server‑related problems (e.g. web‑printing and telephony), training new staff on the university's IT systems, and occasionally reporting to the central university‑wide technical support.