I am currently studying for the DPhil degree in mathematics at the University of Oxford. My supervisor is Professor Stuart White. On November 2022, I completed the MSc (Mathematics and Statistics) degree at the University of Melbourne under the supervision of Professor Arun Ram.

On this website, you will find my CV and a selection of notes on a variety of mathematical topics.

I find a wide range of mathematics interesting. Broadly speaking, my research is connected to the longstanding classification programme for C*-algebras, which concerns the use of a wide range of invariants to classify C*-algebras satisfying nice regularity properties and the morphisms between them. One invariant I am particularly interested in is the Cuntz semigroup: a semigroup consisting of positive elements notable for its ability to recover lots of information about the underlying C*-algebra and for its powerful faculty in distinguishing pairs of C*-algebras other invariants in classification may remain blind to.

The class of C*-algebras which I am primarily interested in are graph C*-algebras: operator algebraic objects defined with respect to the data of a directed graph. Graph C*-algebras were originally designed as a generalisation of the Cuntz algebras and possess highly organised structure. Due to this, graph C*-algebras provide nice examples of non-simple C*-algebras from the point of view of classification.

Please refer to the notes I host on this website in order to see the kinds of mathematics I have studied.

My CV is here.

My notes on mathematics are here.

My preprints and publications are here.

Email: yao dot chan at maths dot ox dot ac dot uk

Last updated: June 30th 2026