Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
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lakshmic.bsky.social
Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
@lakshmic.bsky.social
350 followers 770 following 48 posts
Freelance science writer covering technology, math, computer science- https://lakshmichandrasekaran.contently.com/. Words in @quantamagazine.bsky.social, @sciencenews.bsky.social & others.
Please subscribe to my blog here: https://scieye.wordpress.com/
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Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
hermathsstory.bsky.social
“I feel that many women (…), might not know what (…) a career in maths actually means (…). I believe it is important to tell them that this is an option.” - Nishu Kumari

➡️https://hermathsstory.eu/nishu-kumari/

#HerMathsStory #Academia #Combinatorics #Europe #Postdoc @randomstructures.bsky.social
Portrait of Nishu Kumari, postdoc researcher at the University of Vienna. She has black hair, wears glasses and a red patterned blouse, and sits under a tree against the backdrop of an entrance to a building. The image includes the Her Maths Story logo and her name and title.
January 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM
lakshmic.bsky.social
In my latest blog, I discuss the challenges of building a powerful #cryptographic technique that aims to “obfuscate” the internal implementation details of programs- lnkd.in/gT3smPZh
Thanks Seyoon Ragavan and Rahul llango for the nice chat about their works @simonsinstitute.bsky.social!
#TCS
Constructing indistinguishability obfuscation schemes in a hardness rich world
Rachel Lin’s talk, “Expedition to Obfustopia,” at the Simons Institute examined indistinguishability obfuscation (IO) in cryptography. She highlighted the challenges in constructi…
lnkd.in
January 16, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
hermathsstory.bsky.social
“(...) It is possible to create an authentic picture of #mathematics and convey an impression of how mathematics forms its own world of well-ordered structures with a striking internal consistency (...)” - Lisa Hefendehl-Hebeker

➡️ hermathsstory.eu/lisa-hefende...

#HerMathsStory
Portrait of Lisa Hefendehl-Hebeker, a senior professor, smiling at the camera. She has short curly gray hair, wears glasses and a blue patterned blouse, and stands in front of a blue FAU backdrop. The image includes the Her Maths Story logo and her name and title.
January 14, 2026 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
hermathsstory.bsky.social
One of our founders is posting about Her Maths Story on this fantastic #scicomm account, where each week, a different scientist posts about their work.
@realscientists.de
@realscientists.bsky.social
realscientists.de Elena @ Real Scientists DE @realscientists.de · 20d
Zum Abschluss möchte ich gerne noch mein privates Projekt @hermathsstory.bsky.social vorstellen. Das habe ich vor fast genau 5 Jahren (wir haben am 20. Januar 5-Jähriges 🎉) zusammen mit zwei Freundinnen in's Leben gerufen.
January 11, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
sgoldstine.bsky.social
#ShowMeYourKnits #knitterschoice

Fundamentals of Lace, 2025: the newest #mathart I’m exhibiting at the Joint Math Meetings next week. Details (like the allusion in the name) are through the link and in the alt text.

🧶 #knitsky #mathknitting #symmetries

gallery.bridgesmathart.org/exhibitions/...
The catalog photo of Fundamentals of Lace, a knitted wall hanging. The piece is a rectangle of blue knitted lace lashed to wooden dowels at the top and bottom. The fabric has white, yellow, and red beads knitted into the lace. The rectangle is divided into a 3 x 3 grid of different lace designs, and each section has its own pattern of colored beads that mark the symmetries of the design. The white beads, which are always in vertical or horizontal lines, mark the axes of reflection (mirror) symmetries. The yellow beads (also in vertical or horizontal lines) mark the axes of glide reflection symmetries. The red beads, which are slightly larger and more spaced out, mark centers of rotational symmetry. Fundamentals of Lace after blocking and before attaching to dowels, lying flat on a wooden deck. Each of the nine lace designs is made up from smaller lace motifs arranged in four rows and six columns. Disregarding any beads, the motif in the upper left corner of each design is identical, a rectangle with eyelets along one diagonal and half of the other diagonal forming a lowercase lambda. The part of the motif under the lambda is an eyelet mesh, while the regions above and to the left are solid stockinette. The rest of each design consists of the same motif in various orientations, some like the original, some flipped vertically, some flipped horizontally, and some rotated by 180°. Mathematically, the motif is a “fundamental region” for the design; hence, the title of the work. Fundamentals of Lace, pre-blocking. The lace is rumpled and uneven, and the lines of beads are much wobblier than in the finished work. Algebraically, we can prove that there are exactly nine possible symmetry structures for a design in a non-square rectangular grid repeating in two directions. The structures are expressed by the beaded markings: for instance, the middle panel gives an example of a design with no 180° rotational symmetries that has both reflections and glide reflections, and any repeating design that has evenly spaced, parallel symmetry axes that alternate between reflections and glide reflections and nothing else except translations (just sliding the design without twisting or flipping) has the same abstract symmetry structure.
December 29, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
hermathsstory.bsky.social
As we march towards the end of 2025, we reflect on the amazing mathematical journeys that our contributors have transported us to! In total, we published 11 stories and 4 blogs this year. 1/8

Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash
Flat lay of a cozy winter scene on a wooden table with a mug of frothy coffee, a deep red knitted scarf, matching yarn ball, red berry branches, and small star and snowflake ornaments arranged around the cup.
December 19, 2025 at 5:38 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
What does it mean to compute blindfolded? A curious topic how #homomorphic #encryption helps safeguard privacy while allowing extraction of insights from #data. Learn more here- bit.ly/3XMMT8R
Thank you Alexandra Henzinger! @vinodnathan.bsky.social @csail.mit.edu @simonsinstitute.bsky.social
Extracting Insights while Protecting Privacy: The Promise of Homomorphic Encryption
Smartphone security now uses homomorphic encryption to label unknown calls as potential scams without accessing contact lists. This cryptographic tool allows computations on encrypted data, enhanci…
bit.ly
December 12, 2025 at 4:24 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
Happy to share Surya Mathialagan's #math journey in @hermathsstory.bsky.social! I met Surya at @simonsinstitute.bsky.social & found her path to #cryptography research fascinating - from her early love of puzzles to #MathOlympiads! Hope you enjoy reading it!

#TheoreticalComputerScience #Proofs
hermathsstory.bsky.social Her Maths Story @hermathsstory.bsky.social · Dec 10
“Representation shapes what seems possible, even when no one says it out loud. I feel so incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with (...) incredible women.” - Surya Mathialagan

➡️ hermathsstory.eu/surya-mathia...

#Cryptography #USA #Math #TheoreticalComputerScience #hermathsstory
The picture shows the Her Maths Story logo on top, below is a portrait photo of Surya Mathialagan. Below the photo it says her name and postdoctoral researcher. She’s wearing a red sweater, has long dark hair and wears sunglasses in her hair. The background is natural with a picture of a tree.
December 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
The latest post in @hermathsstory.bsky.social
features how to #breakbarriers in #math! Thank you Ashleigh Ratcliffe & Rosie Evans for your thought provoking article!
#academia #invisibleworkload #allyship
hermathsstory.bsky.social Her Maths Story @hermathsstory.bsky.social · Nov 26
Ashleigh Ratcliffe & Rosie Evans wrote a blog post presenting their booklet on how to improve gender diversity in maths: “Sharing of information, opportunities and networks is invaluable, especially to first generation PhD students and minoritised groups.”

➡️ hermathsstory.eu/the-piscopia...
The image shows a dark blue background with the Her Maths Story logo at the top. At the centre of the image, we have a rectangular graphic with light grey background, inside a rounded sage green rectangle, large dark-green text reads ‘What Can You Do?’ Beneath this, smaller text says: ‘A practical guide for those wishing to improve gender diversity in mathematical research.’ The top left shows the Piscopia Initiative and How to Train Your Allies logos. At the bottom corners are two cartoon-style characters: on the left, a light-skinned woman with long, curly, golden-brown hair, resting her chin on her hand and looking upward; on the right, a woman with medium-brown skin wearing a red hijab, also resting her chin on her hand and looking upward thoughtfully. Below the rectangular graphic, small text says: ‘by Rosie Evans & Ashleigh Ratcliffe’.
November 26, 2025 at 4:43 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
Today @hermathsstory.bsky.social is happy to feature Ilse Fischer's journey in #math. IIse works on enumerative #combinatorics. Not sure what that is?! Check out her story where Ilse provides fun everyday examples of where you might be using them!
randomstructures.bsky.social Random Structures @randomstructures.bsky.social · Nov 12
Check out Ilse's profile over on Her Maths Story!

We think it's really worth a read 👏

#womeninmaths #mathematics #austria #womeninstem
hermathsstory.bsky.social Her Maths Story @hermathsstory.bsky.social · Nov 12
“I hope that we will get to a point in the future where a woman can be an excellent mathematician without it being remarked upon as something out of the ordinary.” - Ilse Fischer @randomstructures.bsky.social

➡️ hermathsstory.eu/ilse-fischer/

#Combinatorics #Europe #Math #Academia
November 12, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
snexplores.bsky.social
When a perigee and full moon collide, this bold, beautiful lunar event can rise. This week’s word is supermoon. https://www.snexplores.org/article/scientists-say-supermoon-definition-pronunciation
November 10, 2025 at 9:37 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
My latest blog covers how scientists Ewin Tang, John Wright and colleagues derived inspiration from studies in #linguistics to estimate #quantum states: scieye.wordpress.com/2025/11/06/f...
Thanks to @simonsinstitute.bsky.social for the opportunity to talk to researchers about this exciting work!
From Butterflies and Shakespeare to Estimating Quantum States
It is expected that any complex calculation performed on an error-prone quantum computer will result in an output in the form of a random quantum state. This random state itself is a probabilistic …
scieye.wordpress.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:41 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
It was a pleasure chatting with Yael and Daniele about several developments in #cryptography! Thank you @simonsinstitute.bsky.social for this opportunity!
simonsinstitute.bsky.social Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing @simonsinstitute.bsky.social · Oct 14
In this episode of Polylogues, @lakshmic.bsky.social sits down Yael Tauman Kalai and Daniele Micciancio to discuss developments in lattices and FHE, the gap between theory and practice, and the unique culture of crypto as a field.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_R3...
Yael Tauman Kalai & Daniele Micciancio | Polylogues
YouTube video by Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing
www.youtube.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
sciam.bsky.social
John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work showing how bizarre microscopic quantum effects can infiltrate our large-scale, everyday world
This Year’s Nobel Prize in Physics Is Awarded to Three Scientists for Work in Quantum Mechanics
John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work showing how bizarre microscopic quantum effects can infiltrate our large-scale, everyday world
www.scientificamerican.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
simonsinstitute.bsky.social
1/2 How can one make sense of dolphin vocalizations and behavior? First, "use machine learning to rediscover human words by just watching unlabeled videos of people talking about things," said @mit.edu's Mark Hamilton, speaking at the Simons Institute. Video: simons.berkeley.edu/talks/mark-h...
September 30, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
simonsinstitute.bsky.social
1/2 While in Hawaii during the pandemic, Markus Freitag realized he should take whale language translation seriously. "I really fell in love with whales. You could just lay in the water and you could hear them singing," he said at the Simons Institute. Video: simons.berkeley.edu/talks/markus...
September 29, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
econover.bsky.social
I had fun speaking today at the Quantum World Congress panel on Demystifying Quantum: How to Communicate Cutting Edge Science to Diverse Audiences. Alongside the fantastic moderator @csrday.bsky.social and esteemed panelists @nicoleyh11.bsky.social and Ben Stein #QWC2025
September 17, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
robinlloyd.bsky.social
Early-bird reg. discount for ScienceWriters2025, the annual conference for science journalists and science writers, ends next Weds (Oct 1). I plan to attend SciWri, as usual. It's always great. Let's all attend to re-energize, learn, make job connex & hang out in Chicago. sciencewriters2025.org
Welcome - ScienceWriters2025
ScienceWriters is an annual conference for professionals and students who produce material about science, health, engineering, and technology for the public.
sciencewriters2025.org
September 24, 2025 at 8:12 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
I was intrigued to find out what are "Mechanical #quantum memories" & listened to this latest episode @newquantumera.com! It was fun & I enjoyed learning about how to extend a quantum state of a #qubit!
newquantumera.com The New Quantum Era @newquantumera.com · Sep 14
🎙️ Just published a new episode of The New Quantum Era - innovation in quantum computing, science and technology: Mechanical Quantum Memories with Mohammad Mirhosseini. Have a listen:
Mechanical Quantum Memories with Mohammad Mirhosseini
Assistant Professor Mohammad Mirhosseini (Caltech EE/APh) explains how...
share.transistor.fm
September 24, 2025 at 7:39 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
Here's my latest blog alert on sublinear #algorithms and #differentialprivacy in a wide-ranging conversation with @ccanonne.github.io!

scieye.wordpress.com/2025/09/17/e...

#randomness #BigData #SciComm @simonsinstitute.bsky.social @sydney.edu.au
Exploring algorithms and privacy in big data with clément canonne
In this age of identity theft and privacy invasion, could you order a bowl of chips online, without giving away your mother’s maiden name? Gathered in a local pub in Sydney, computer scientist Clém…
scieye.wordpress.com
September 18, 2025 at 12:58 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
Thank you @simonsinstitute.bsky.social! I enjoyed this conversation with Moni!

#cryptography #AI #encryption #complexity
September 12, 2025 at 5:16 PM
lakshmic.bsky.social
We are happy to feature Mihyun's story today! Please check it out to learn about Mihyun's #math journey and her research that spans interdisciplinary fields #Combinatorics #StatisticalPhysics #NetworkScience and others!
hermathsstory.bsky.social Her Maths Story @hermathsstory.bsky.social · Sep 3
“Although maths may appear too abstract (…), everybody has been exposed to (…) digital security or artificial intelligence, which (…) rely (…) in mathematics. I (…) believe that maths is invaluable to our society (…).” - Mihyun Kang

➡️ hermathsstory.eu/mihyun-kang/

@randomstructures.bsky.social‬
The picture shows the Her Maths Story logo on top, below is a portrait photo of Mihyun Kang. She’s wearing dark glasses and a striped shirt. She has medium long dark hair wearing it as a bob. In the background is shaded grey and white. Below the picture it says her name and Full Professor.
September 3, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
hermathsstory.bsky.social
🎉 We’re back! After a refreshing summer break, Her Maths Story is returning with more powerful and personal insights into the lives of women in mathematics. (1/5)

#HerMathsStory #WomenInMaths #MathsInTheWorld #WomenInSTEM #STEMStories #InspiringWomen
September 1, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
hermathsstory.bsky.social
Our team member and co-founder @joanagrah.bsky.social was invited to take part in a discussion round with Women in Vision Siegen. What a great initiative! 🫶 Looking forward to following your activities!

#WomeninMaths #WomeninComputerScience #WomeninVision
joanagrah.bsky.social Joana Grah @joanagrah.bsky.social · Aug 23
It was a great pleasure to take part in a discussion round hosted by the #WomenInVision Siegen initiative, which aims to encourage more women to study computer science & computer vision: sites.google.com/view/women-i..., to share my own experiences and talk about @hermathsstory.bsky.social. 😊
August 23, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Lakshmi Chandrasekaran
hermathsstory.bsky.social
Did you know that you won‘t miss any of our posts by clicking on the bell icon on our profile page and opting to get notifications about our posts & replies?
Screenshot of a Bluesky profile page with a magenta arrow pointing to a bell icon with a plus sign Screenshot of options that pop up when clicking on the bell icon: Keep me posted Get notified of this account‘s activity Posts + option to select this Replies + option to select this Save changes
August 27, 2025 at 6:31 AM