More than 200 years ago, Évariste Galois developed the theory of groups, a fundamental mathematical concept that is now everywhere in other scientific fields and even our daily lives: from crystal chemical structures, quantum theory, and particle physics to music, Rubik's cube, and the 15 puzzle. The gigantic Monster group M, study subject of the famous Monstrous Moonshine Conjecture, was found to having unexpected rich connections to black hole entropies and quantum gravity. Join Rhodes scholar math whiz Carina Letong Hong in this tour of the ancient concept of groups and find out how it could help us solve a potential future crisis of mankind in post-quantum era. Carina Letong Hong is a double-major in math and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During undergraduate years, she has published 9 research journal papers addressing open questions posed by top mathematicians in their respective fields. She is a recipient of the prestigious Alice T. Schafer Prize awarded to one undergraduate woman in the US for excellence in mathematics, and one of the four 2022 Rhodes scholars of China constituency.
