UFOCLAN
UFOCLAN (Universal quadratic forms and class numbers) is the number theory research group at Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Algebra.
Team members
- Vita Kala (PI)
Postdocs
- Nicolas Daans (from 01/2023)
- Stevan Gajović (from 03/2023)
- Siu Hang “Gordon” Man (from 09/2022)
PhD students
- Om Prakash (from 2023)
Ester Sgallová (from 2021)
Mikuláš Zindulka (from 2021)
We regularly have funding for hiring new postdocs and PhD students. Interested very strong candidates are welcome to email Vita with informal inquiries.
2 postdoc positions are advertised here.

News
Vita Kala received Dean’s teaching award for excellent student questionnaire results in 2022/23.
We have several new postdoc positions available (supported by Pavlo‘s and Vita’s grants).
Andrew Granville is coming for a research visit: He’ll give a talk in the Mathematical Colloquium on November 9, and in our Number Theory Seminar on November 8.
Vita gave an invited seminar talk at Aalto Uni (Finland) on our recent work (with Gordon and Nicolas) on universal forms and Northcott property. He’ll give a similar talk on October 26 at the online Seminar on Arithmetic Geometry and Algebraic Groups – feel free to attend!
We’re happy to have several guests visiting us this October: Daejun Kim (KIAS), Seok Hyeong Lee (Seoul), Didier Lesesvre (Lille), and Giuliano Romeo (PhD student from Turin).
Stevan was one of the organizers of the successful Conference for Young Number Theorists in Bonn.
Jakub Krásenský defended his PhD thesis on Universal quadratic forms over orders in number fields – and is starting his new job as a tenure track assistant professor at Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Information Technology, Department of Applied Mathematics.
Pavlo Yatsyna received a prestigious Primus grant Statistical properties of totally real number fields which will fund him and several postdocs at our department during 2024 – 2027.
Funding
GAČR Junior Star project
from the Czech Science Foundation GAČR, 2021–2025
success rate 9%, total budget 1 000 000 USD
Primus grant
Universal quadratic forms: geometry and analysis
from Charles University, 2020–2022
GAČR Junior grant
Quadratic forms and numeration systems over number fields
from the Czech Science Foundation GAČR, 2017–2019
outcomes of the grant were evaluated by the grant agency as excellent (top 20%)
University research center UNCE
PI Jan Krajíček
Methods of Algebra and Logic
Our seminars
Number Theory Seminar
Algebra Colloquium
If you want to give a talk in either of these seminars, please let one of the organizers (eg Vita) know!
We have mailing lists for both seminars with weekly talk announcements – if you want to join them, please also let Vita know.
Team publications
See here.
Past team members
Postdocs
- Matteo Bordignon (01/2022–01/2023)
next job: postdoc at KTH Stockholm - Giacomo Cherubini (09/2020–10/2022)
next job: permanent position at Sapienza University of Rome - Alessandro Fazzari (09–12/2021)
next job: postdoc at American Institute of Mathematics - Daniel Gil Muñoz (08/2021–06/2023)
next job: postdoc at University of Barcelona - Tomáš Hejda (01/2017–12/2019)
next job: work for Overleaf - Mentzelos Melistas (01/2023–08/2023)
next job: tenure track lecturer at University of Twente - Eric Nathan Stucky (08/2021–08/2022)
next job: adjunct faculty member at Champlain College - Tomáš Vávra (01/2017–08/2020)
next job: postdoc at University of Waterloo - Ezra Waxman (08/2018–07/2019)
next job: postdoc at Dresden University with Minerva Fellowship - Pavlo Yatsyna (01/2020–07/2022)
next job: postdoc at Aalto University - Błażej Żmija (10/2021–06/2023)
next job: postdoc at Polish Academy of Sciences
Ph.D. students
- Jakub Krásenský (2018–2023)
next job: assistant professor (tenure track) at Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Information Technology, Department of Applied Mathematics - Magdaléna Tinková (2017–2021)
next jobs: assistant professor (tenure track) at Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Information Technology, Department of Applied Mathematics; and postdoc at TU Graz funded by Postdoc grant from Czech Science Foundation
