Leyna May-Gurr

Software developer · PhD in algebraic topology · Munich

About me

I’m a software developer with a PhD in algebraic topology. I spent my time at university researching operads and hidden symmetries, teaching Maths, Python and R to engineering and maths undergraduates, and publishing work that used Python to generate graphs with specific curvature properties.

These days I build things like 3D physics games and simulations, where I write the collision detection and motion algorithms myself rather than reaching for an engine. My recent work spans JavaScript, Three.js, React, Vue and Node on the front end, and Python, FastAPI and SQLite on the back.

I’m based in Munich and eligible to work in Germany without visa sponsorship. I’m currently looking for a software development role → get in touch.

See my CV
Leyna May-Gurr beside her conference research poster, “Hidden Symmetries, Trees, Partitions and Operads”.

Software projects

Tilt game

  • JavaScript
  • Three.js
  • React
  • Node.js
  • SQLite

A full-stack browser game built with Three.js. I implemented the physics from scratch rather than using an engine, including ball motion and collision detection against a platform that tilts under mouse control. Scores persist to SQLite and are rendered as a React leaderboard.

View source

Bouncing ball

  • JavaScript
  • p5.js
  • CSS

A physics simulation written from first principles in p5.js, modelling collision detection, velocity and acceleration. Gravity and the angle of the slope are adjustable at runtime, so you can watch how each parameter changes the ball’s path.

View source

Noughts and Crosses In progress

  • Python
  • FastAPI
  • WebSockets

A two-player game served from a FastAPI backend, with game state synchronised between both players over a WebSocket connection.

A hand-drawn noughts and crosses grid.

Research & publications

PhD thesis

Hidden Symmetries, Trees and Operads — my doctoral thesis in algebraic topology, completed at the University of Sheffield in 2025.

Read the thesis
A rooted tree diagram with labelled leaves, illustrating how operad operations compose.

Published paper

  • Python

Quartic graphs which are Bakry-Émery curvature sharp, in Discrete Mathematics. I wrote a recursive Python algorithm to generate the local graph configurations carrying the curvature property the paper characterises.

Read the paper
A symmetric quartic graph, in which every vertex is joined to exactly four others.

Masters thesis

Morse Theory: Morse-Bott Functions and Homology — my masters thesis in low-dimensional differential topology, completed at Durham University in 2020.

Read the thesis
A torus with one circle highlighted, illustrating Morse theory on a surface.