Lei Xue

What can I call you?
"Lei" is fine! I also respond to "Dr. Xue" and "Professor Xue", but I prefer not to be called "Mrs. Xue" or "Miss Xue".

What did you do before coming to U(M)?
I grew up in Hunan and Beijing, China. I went to college wanting to become an economist, and so I decided to get a double major in math. Then I learned a lot of cool math, and became very passionate about the subject ever since. I completed a B.S. in math from UCLA in 2016, a Ph.D. at the University of Washington under Professor Isabella Novik in 2022, and then I moved out here.

What's your research like?
I like combinatorics! In particularly I am interested in studying the combinatoric of polytopes and simplicial complexes. My thesis was "Face Numbers of Polytopes, Posets, and Complexes".

What is your cat's names?
FeiFei.

...why?
Nothing special other than it sounds beautiful! Also Fluffy is her old name given by a little girl in her previous family.

What's your favorite mathematical object?
Polytopes! I recently adopted one for my birthday!