Pol van Hoften is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at VU Amsterdam. Born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in 1994, he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics at Utrecht University and obtained his PhD from King’s College London in 2021. After his PhD, Pol worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University from 2021 to 2023 before joining our department. In 2024, Pol was awarded a VENI grant from the Dutch Research Council.
Raffaella Mulas interviewed him in December 2024.
Thank you for taking the time to meet me, Pol! I would like to start with something I’m curious about—I heard you use an AI app that reads your papers aloud. Can you tell me more about why and how you use it?
Hahaha! I use it for proofreading papers and grant applications and things like that. The software is called Speechify. It will read the text out loud to me, and yes also the math symbols etc. I also look at the text at the same time. This way I am much better at catching typos! I used to have an embarrassing number of typos in my preprints… Also, I don’t lose my patience anymore when I proofread.
That’s interesting, now I want to try it as well! Now, you are also a cello player. How did you get started, and what role does music play in your life today?
I’ve played the cello since I was a kid and I played in orchestras and ensembles since I was a teenager. Since the pandemic, I unfortunately don’t really play anymore. This is also because I don’t enjoy playing on my own. I only like playing with other people, and I love communicating with people through music. Sometimes you can discover more about others by playing with them than by speaking to them!
That’s beautiful—it seems like music is a deeply social activity for you. Is this also how you see mathematics?
Definitely! In fact, I think that one of the most intimate things that you can do with a person is working on a joint project and brainstorming together at the board. I enjoy working with other people so much that I never want to write a paper on my own again. It is also much easier to make mistakes when working by yourself.
That’s fascinating! What other similarities do you see between mathematics and music? And how do they differ in the way you experience them?
They are similar in the sense that they both require creativity and structure at the same time. For me, the difference is that I do music as an amateur for fun, while I do math as a professional for fun!
Haha! Your enthusiasm for mathematics is always so lively! What’s exciting you the most about your work in mathematics at the moment?
I have learned a lot of Fourier theory since I started teaching a course on it, and now it is also appearing in my research! I am writing a paper on “p-adic” Fourier theory with some collaborators, which is basically about Fourier theory in the p-adic numbers. We take a more geometric perspective than people who have previously worked on the topic, which allows us to prove new results. It is a fun project and I am learning a lot, mostly from my collaborators.
Nice! When did your passion for mathematics start?
I was very passionate about physics and astronomy as a child, for example I went to the observatory in Utrecht for my 10th birthday. I was thinking about studying physics for my bachelor’s, but I decided to do a double major in physics and math, because I thought learning math would make me a better physicist. I ended up liking mathematics much more and I became a math major in my second year.
During my bachelor's I wasn’t a top student or someone with very good grades, but this actually turned out to be a good thing! It taught me to keep my expectations low, which helped me avoid putting too much pressure on myself as a student. I remember as a PhD student my only goal was to write a single paper.
Today, do you put pressure on yourself?
Yes, but it’s a healthy kind of pressure!
Who have been the people who have influenced you the most in your mathematical journey—whether they inspired, guided, or supported you?
There are too many people to mention! My advisors James (Newton) and Ana (Caraiani) are very inspiring to me. They are very successful mathematicians, and at the same time they’re very friendly and generous with their ideas. I definitely aspire to be like them.
What do you enjoy most about being part of the mathematics department at VU?
I love the fact that there is a very relaxed environment, without hierarchies. I really enjoy talking to all kinds of mathematicians, not just number theorists or people in my own field.
True! Besides mathematics and playing cello, what makes you happy?
I like being in nature, and these days that means riding my bike, often along the sea. I also like exploring new kinds of music, for example right now I am listening to a lot of Chinese rock music. I also read a lot, mainly sci-fi and fantasy. My girlfriend encourages me to read more (serious) literature, and I really try to do it. I find that it is boring but good for the soul.
Haha! Is there anything else that you would like to share? Maybe something surprising or unexpected about yourself?
Hmm, no, I’m a simple person!
Well, thank you for this “simple” yet delightful conversation!