Dr Soumya Dey is a mathematician broadly interested in Geometry and Topology.

Dr Dey graduated with a PhD in Mathematics from IISER Mohali in 2018, after completing BSc (Hons) in Mathematics from St Xavier’s College, Kolkata, and MSc in Mathematics from RKM Vivekananda University, Belur. Thereafter, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at IISER Bhopal, the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai and Chennai Mathematical Institute, Kelambakkam successively, before joining Krea University in 2022. As part of his doctoral thesis, Dr Dey computed explicit presentations with finite generating sets for the commutator subgroups of some generalised braid groups. As a postdoc, he started working on mapping class groups of surfaces, singular braid groups, and related infinite groups.

Dr Dey strongly believes that active discussion and collaboration is an indispensable part of doing mathematics, and this culture should be inculcated into undergraduate classrooms. He co-organised several conferences, workshops and seminars, at both national and international levels, which are aimed at researchers and graduate students. Also, he has been actively involved as a volunteer in science outreach activities for students and teachers in schools and colleges.

Dr Dey enjoys playing table tennis, traveling to places, listening to music of all sorts, watching movies and humming his favourite songs endlessly.

Research

Combinatorial, geometric and computational aspects of infinite groups

Topology and geometry of surfaces of finite and infinite type

Publications

1. Commutator subgroups of welded braid groups, with Krishnendu Gongopadhyay, Topology and its Applications, Volume 237, Pages 7 – 20. (2018)

2. Commutator subgroups of twin groups and Grothendieck’s cartographical groups, with Krishnendu Gongopadhyay, Journal of Algebra, Volume 530, Pages 215 – 234. (2019)

3. Liftable mapping class groups of regular cyclic covers, with Nikita Agarwal, Neeraj K. Dhanwani, Kashyap Rajeevsarathy, Houston Journal of Mathematics, Volume 47, Number 1, Pages 223 – 243. (2021)

4. Commutator subgroups of singular braid groups, with Krishnendu Gongopadhyay Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications, Volume 31, Number 5, Article No. 2250033. (2022)

5. Generating the liftable mapping class groups of regular cyclic covers, with Neeraj Kumar Dhanwani, Harsh Patil, Kashyap Rajeevsarathy, Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Volume 178, Number 2, Pages 157-176 (2025).

6. Projection complexes and applications to mapping class groups, with Mladen Bestvina, Groups acting on fractals, hyperblicity and self-similarity, Panoramas et Synthèses, Volume 63, Pages 93-114 (2025).

Teaching Modules

Graduate courses in Mathematics:

• Topics in Algebra 1 (MATH631)

Undergraduate courses in Mathematics:

• Proofs and Ideas: An Introduction to Mathematical Thinking (MATH191)
• Algebra 1 (MATH231)
• An Invitation to Geometric Group Theory (MATH355 / MATH455)

Core and Skills courses:

• Mathematical Reasoning (KCCS102)

Courses in other disciplines:

• Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science 3 (COMP401)