"My entry to formal logic was mainly due to being unsatisfied": Sayantan Roy on His Scientific Journey and Future Plans

Sayantan Roy is the newest member of the International Laboratory for Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy. In this interview, he shares stories about his father as his first teacher, the ideas that reshaped his view of logic, and the kindness he's encountered from people in his new home.

Please introduce yourself. Where were you born and how old are you?

 

I am Sayantan Roy. I am 30 years old. I have recently joined as a postdoc fellow in the International Laboratory for Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy, under the guidance of Prof. Elena Dragalina-Chernaya. Prior to that, I completed my PhD under the guidance of Prof. Sankha S. Basu and Prof. Mihir K. Chakraborty. My area of expertise is mathematical logic.

Could you tell us about your life in India? How did you get into science and into logic in particular?

Just the life of an ordinary student, nothing particularly notable or special. I always had an interest in mathematics. My father was my first mathematics teacher. But my entry to formal logic was mainly due to being unsatisfied by the lack of care regarding the foundations of mathematics. It has a long and tortured history, too long to write.

What are your research interests?

In order of importance: universal logic, language-independent notions of paraconsistency, universal model theory and proof theory.

Are there any people, teachers, or perhaps colleagues who have significantly influenced you?

Yes. As I said, my father was my first mathematics teacher. In school, however, I truly learnt the importance of rigor from my friend Debanjan Ghosh. My bachelor's thesis supervisor Prof. Sourav Tarafdar was my first teacher of mathematical logic. He introduced me to Prof. Mihir Kumar Chakraborty who has been extremely influential in developing and nurturing my talents (he is my PhD thesis co-advisor as well). Prof. Sankha S. Basu (my main advisor) has been extremely supportive of my academic journey. Without his and Prof. Chakraborty's encouragement, it would have been impossible to pursue my academic interests freely, in the way I wanted to. Last, but not the least, Prof. Jean-Yves Béziau's works on universal logic has been the most dominant factor in my academic journey. My thinking about logic has been completely transformed by his works.

Why did you decide to apply for the postdoc position at the laboratory?

Because it involved no teaching responsibilities, which for me meant that I could pursue my research interests freely.

What are your first impressions of being in Russia?

People are extremely kind.

What are your further plans for your work at the laboratory and in general?

My research proposal was about developing the theory of abstract model structures in a purely set-theoretic manner. So, that would be one of the main focuses of my research here. In general, I would like to contribute to universal logic as much as I can.