Polynomial Functors

Nelson Niu is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Washington. He was a keynote speaker on Polynomial Functors at the 2022 Artificial General Intelligence Conference. He conducted research in applied category theory with David I. Spivak at MIT and currently consults with NASA on category theory applied to Advanced Air Mobility Architectures. David I. Spivak is Senior Scientist and Institute Fellow at Topos Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from UC Berkeley in 2007. He went on to demonstrate the broad applicability of category theory during his postdoctoral work and ten years at MIT. He also co-founded the Topos Institute and has authored three books on category theory applications.

• Part I. The Category of Polynomial Functors: 1. Representable functors from the category of sets; 2. Polynomial functors; 3. The category of polynomial functors; 4. Dynamical systems as dependent lenses; 5. More categorical properties of polynomials; Part II. A Different Category of Categories: 6. The composition product; 7. Polynomial comonoids and retrofunctors; 8. Categorical properties of polynomial comonoids; References; Index.

'Crafted with evident care for the subject and the reader, Niu and Spivak invite us into the mathematically abundant world of polynomial functors. Their practical and pedagogical approach plants the seeds for a long, fruitful interaction between 'Poly' and those making sense of our dynamic and interconnected world.' Brendan Fong, Topos Institute