When Jacob Kesten crosses the stage to receive his Ph.D. in mathematics from Rice University, he will carry with him not just years of advanced research, but a renewed sense of purpose.
Kesten’s dissertation focused on a highly abstract area of mathematics known as category theory — a field that studies relationships and structures rather than familiar numbers and equations. His work explored division algebras and extended Frobenius structures within monoidal categories, offering new ways to understand how algebraic ideas, such as division and symmetry, operate in broader mathematical contexts. These concepts have applications across physics, computer science and quantum theory.
“At a high level, my research looked at how familiar algebra can be re-imagined when you shift into categorical settings,” Kesten said. “I was interested in how different definitions of division behave abstractly, and how extended Frobenius algebras help us understand how geometric objects can be glued together consistently — something that appears in areas like topology and quantum field theories.”
But his journey at Rice stretches back further than his dissertation work. Kesten first arrived on campus as an undergraduate math major. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he spent two years teaching at a boarding school in Maryland. In 2022, he returned to Houston — and to Rice — newly married to his wife, also a Rice alum, and ready to begin the Ph.D. program.
The return to academia reinforced something he had always suspected.
“Immediately upon being back in the classroom, I realized how much I missed teaching,” he said. “That’s when I knew it was my passion.”
Kesten defended his dissertation in July, and his degree was officially conferred in August — just in time to begin a new chapter as a high school mathematics teacher at The Emery/Weiner School in Houston, where he now teaches precalculus and calculus.
He credits Rice with shaping the way he approaches both research and teaching.
“Rice gave me the confidence to tackle difficult questions,” he said. “I’m leaving with a deeper respect for uncertainty and a stronger belief that growth comes from being willing to struggle.”
It’s a message he now strives to pass on to his students: to take on challenging problems, believe in themselves and value growth over perfection.
“I’m proud of where this journey has taken me,” Kesten said. “And even more grateful for the people who walked it with me. Thank you, Rice.”