Eugenia Loh-Gene Cheng is a British mathematician, educator and concert pianist. Her mathematical interests include

higher category theory In mathematics, higher category theory is the part of category theory at a ''higher order'', which means that some equalities are replaced by explicit morphism, arrows in order to be able to explicitly study the structure behind those equalities. H ...

, and as a pianist she specialises in

lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

er and

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

. She is also known for explaining mathematics to non-mathematicians to combat math phobia, often using analogies with food and baking. Cheng is a scientist-in-residence at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

Early life and education

Cheng was born in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. She moved to

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

at the age of one. Her family is originally from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Her interest in mathematics stemmed from a young age thanks largely to her mother who made mathematics a part of life. Cheng attended

Roedean School Roedean () is a private boarding school governed by royal charter on the outskirts of Brighton, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1885 by three sisters to educate wealthy daughters and heiresses of aristocracy and industrial elites of the 19t ...

. She studied the

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a di ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where she was a student of

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. Her postgraduate research was supervised by

Martin Hyland (John) Martin Elliott Hyland is professor of mathematical logic at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of King's College, Cambridge. His interests include mathematical logic, category theory, and theoretical computer science. Education Hy ...

Career and research

As of 2020, Cheng is a scientist-in-residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she teaches mathematics to arts students. Cheng formerly held academic appointments at the

University of Nice Sophia Antipolis A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. She has published over a dozen research papers across several journals within her area of category theory. Former doctoral students include Nick Gurski and Thomas Cottrell.

Mathematics and baking

Cheng's research interests are in

category theory Category theory is a general theory of mathematical structures and their relations. It was introduced by Samuel Eilenberg and Saunders Mac Lane in the middle of the 20th century in their foundational work on algebraic topology. Category theory ...

, which she has written about for a general audience by using analogies from baking. Her vision is to rid the world of mathematics phobia. In '' How to Bake Pi'', published on May 5, 2015, each chapter begins with a recipe for a dessert, to illustrate the commonalities in the methods and principles of mathematics and cooking. The book was well received and has since been translated into French. Cheng has also written a number of papers with similar themes, such as ''On the perfect quantity of cream for a scone'' and ''On the perfect size for a pizza''. Cheng has presented similar topics through YouTube in a light-hearted manner and has explored mathematics in other ways such as in her speech ''Mathematics and Lego: the untold story''.

Other writing

Cheng's second book, '' Beyond Infinity'', explains

set theory Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies Set (mathematics), sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory – as a branch of mathema ...

for lay audiences using analogies and anecdotes, including

Cantor's diagonal argument Cantor's diagonal argument (among various similar namesthe diagonalisation argument, the diagonal slash argument, the anti-diagonal argument, the diagonal method, and Cantor's diagonalization proof) is a mathematical proof that there are infin ...

and

Zeno's paradoxes Zeno's paradoxes are a series of philosophical arguments presented by the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea (c. 490–430 BC), primarily known through the works of Plato, Aristotle, and later commentators like Simplicius of Cilicia. Zeno de ...

. It was shortlisted for the 2017 Insight Investment Science Book Prize under the

Royal Society Prizes for Science Books The Royal Society Science Book Prize is an annual £25,000 prize awarded by the Royal Society to celebrate outstanding popular science books from around the world. It is open to authors of science books written for a non-specialist audience, and ...

. She published her third book, ''The Art of Logic in an Illogical World,'' in 2018. It explores arguments on real-world topics like

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

white privilege White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the Social privilege, societal privilege that benefits white people over Person of color, non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or ...

, and

police brutality in the United States Police brutality is the use of excessive or unwarranted force by law enforcement, resulting in physical or psychological harm to a person. It includes beatings, killing, intimidation tactics, racist abuse, and/or torture. Police brutality, rac ...

using methods from

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

, including explanations of

Russell's paradox In mathematical logic, Russell's paradox (also known as Russell's antinomy) is a set-theoretic paradox published by the British philosopher and mathematician, Bertrand Russell, in 1901. Russell's paradox shows that every set theory that contains ...

and

Euclid's axioms Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry, ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small set ...

on the way. Cheng writes a column called ''Everyday Math'' for

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

on topics including

probability theory Probability theory or probability calculus is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expre ...

, and Rubik's Cube solutions.

Music

Cheng is a pianist who specialises in

lieder In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

and

. She was awarded the Sheila Mossman Memorial Award from the

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

and was the first recipient of the Brighton and Hove Arts Council Award for the Musician of the Year. In Chicago, she gave a recital in the Pianoforte Chicago recital series; she performed ''

Schwanengesang ''Schwanengesang'' (Swan Song), 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously: # Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab) # Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab) # Frühlingssehnsucht (Rellst ...

'' and ''

Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert (Schubert Thematic Catalogue, D. 911, published as Opus number, Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 Poetry, poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the ...

'' with Paul Geiger at Schubertiade Chicago in 2005 and 2006 respectively, and ''

Die Schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding ''Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of ''Lied'' r ...

'' with Ryan de Ryke at Schubertiade Chicago 2007. She performed lieder with tenor Nicholas Harkness in the Noontime Recital Series at the University of Chicago, the Salon Series at the Tower Club, and the Maxwell Recital Series, and she gave recitals for the Auxiliary Board Chapter of the Lyric Opera; she also performed '' La Traviata'' at the Oak Park Village Players. In 2013, Cheng founded the Liederstube as an oasis for art song in the Fine Arts Building, in downtown Chicago. The mission of the Liederstube is to present and enjoy classical music in an intimate and informal setting. The Liederstube is a Not For Profit

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

organisation.

Media appearances

Cheng has appeared on ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

'' making

mille-feuille A (; ),The name is also written as and . also known by the names Napoleon in North America, vanilla slice in the United Kingdom, and custard slice, is a French dessert made of puff pastry layered with pastry cream. Its modern form was influ ...

with

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

in 2015 to demonstrate

exponentials Exponential may refer to any of several mathematical topics related to exponentiation, including: *Exponential function, also: **Matrix exponential, the matrix analogue to the above *Exponential decay, decrease at a rate proportional to value *Expo ...

. She was interviewed for the morning magazine show ''The Morning Shift'' on Chicago's

Public Radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station ''

WBEZ WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the tri-state region of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is owned by Chicago Public Media and is f ...

'' in 2017. She was interviewed by

Jim Al-Khalili Jameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili (; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist and science populariser. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in science at the University of Surrey. He is a ...

for ''

The Life Scientific ''The Life Scientific'' is a BBC Radio 4 science programme, presented by Jim Al-Khalili, in which each episode is dedicated to the biography and work of a living scientist. The programme consists of an interview between Al-Khalili and the featur ...

'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, first broadcast in January 2018. She appeared on the WGBH podcast '' Innovation Hub'' in spring 2018.

Personal life

Cheng met her partner, Peter “Pete” Wesoloski, when she was 39. In a 2024 ''Wall Street Journal'' article, Cheng wrote about her fertility issues and childlessness.

Books

* (US edition) ** (original UK edition) ** (UK Edition) * (UK edition) ** (US edition) * (UK edition) ** (US edition) * * * ''Bake Infinite Pie With X + Y''. 2022.(Illustrated by Amber Ren) * * * ''Unequal: The Maths of When Things Do and Don’t Add Up.'' Expected on: 5 June 2025.

Recognition

Cheng is included in a deck of playing cards featuring notable women mathematicians published by the Association of Women in Mathematics.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Eugenia Loh-Gene 1976 births Living people Academics of the University of Sheffield Academic staff of Côte d'Azur University Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British Asian musicians British women mathematicians Category theorists English mathematicians English people of Hong Kong descent English women pianists Mathematics popularizers Musicians from Hampshire Musicians from Sussex People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex People from Hampshire People from Sussex School of the Art Institute of Chicago faculty Scientists from Hampshire Scientists from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur