I am a postdoc at the Computer Science Department and a computer scientist in residence at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida, USA. My current research focuses on categorical models for several flavors of compositionality in chemistry.
Before moving to the USA, I was a PhD student at Bioinformatics Group, University of Leipzig and at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Germany. My advisors were Peter F. Stadler & Juergen Jost.
My main fields of interest are:
- Categorical models of chemistry
- Mathematics of data
- Chemical space exploration
- Hypernetwork science
- Computational history of chemistry
What is new?
- August 2025 – Our article “Diachronic data analysis supports and refines conceptual metaphor theory” just appeared in PLOS Complex Systems! 🎉
- March 2025 – Our paper “Dialectica Petri nets”, co-authored with Elena Di Lavore and Valeria de Paiva, was accepted for publication in Fundamenta Informaticae. Working with Valeria’s Dialectica categories to build linear logic models of Petri nets. I learned so much category theory from them through this collaboration!
- July 2024 – Co-organized a mini-course and special session on Applied Category Theory at the Colombian Congress of Applied and Industrial Mathematics (MAPI III). Energizing experience with local and international participants.
- July 2024 – Shared our work on “Towards a Unified Theory of Time-Varying Data” at ACT 2024 at Oxford. Great conversations around categorical approaches to temporal data.
- May 2024 – Submitted two grant proposals to the NSF and USDA focused on open-source tools for chemical process design and sustainable biorefineries. Fingers crossed.
- January 2023 – Started a postdoctoral position at the University of Florida, working at the intersection of computer science, chemical engineering, and category theory.
- December 2022 – Completed my PhD in Computer Science at Leipzig University and MPI MiS with the highest honors (summa cum laude).
- June 2022 – Participated in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (Chemistry), nominated by the Max Planck Society.
- May 2022 – Our paper The expansion of chemical space in 1826 and in the 1840s prompted the convergence to the periodic system was published in PNAS.
- May 2022 – Featured in a Max Planck Institute press release celebrating my thesis defense.
- 2021 – Presented at the Max Planck Scientific Advisory Board meeting as part of the institute’s internal evaluation.
- Summer 2020 – Participated in the Applied Category Theory Adjoint School hosted by MIT. I had the chance to collaborate with Elena Di Lavore and was mentored by Valeria de Paiva throughout the program.
- April 2019 – Our paper Formal structure of periodic system of elements was featured on the cover of Proceedings of the Royal Society A.
- June 2019 – Research featured by multiple outlets including Chemical & Engineering News, Der Standard, Springer Professional, and the Max Planck Society. 🌍
Contact
Email: wleal at ufl.edu
Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering
University of Florida
432 Newell Dr
Gainesville, FL 32611
USA