Upcoming Undergraduate Lecture Series
Upcoming Undergraduate Lecture Series
Speaker: Satyan Devados
Dr. Satyan Devadoss will speak at the Baylor Undergraduate Lecture Series in Mathematics in March 2025. https://satyandevadoss.org/
Dr. Satyan Devadoss is the Fletcher Jones Chair of Applied Mathematics, at the University of San Diego and a Professor of Computer Science at the University of San Diego. Before arriving in San Diego, Devadoss was a faculty at Williams College for nearly 15 years, and has held visiting positions at UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Université Nice, Ohio State, Harvey Mudd, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, and Stanford.
Dr Devadoss earned his Ph. D. in Mathematics from John Hopkins University in 1999. His research concerns topology and geometry, with inspiration coming from theoretical physics, phylogenetics, and scientific visualization. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and is the recipient of two national teaching awards: the Deborah and Franklin Haimo National Teaching Award (2016) and the Henry Alder National Teaching Award (2007) from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), honoring college or university teachers who have been widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has had influence beyond their own institutions. Other awards he received include the Northeastern Sectional Award for Distinguished Teaching (2014) from MAA, the Nelson Bushnell Prize (2012) awarded by Williams College, to faculty in recognition of excellence in scholarship, teaching, and writing, the inaugural William Kelso Morrill Award (1995) from the Johns Hopkins University, for the love of teaching, love of mathematics, and concern for students, the Vizzies Award: Best Visualization (2018) awarded by Popular Science and the National Science Foundation for the interactive work (with Zivvy Epstein and Dima Smirnov) on scissors congruence, and the North Central College Young Alumni Award (2008) given to those who have excelled in their careers and have demonstrated service to the community and to North Central College. Devadoss’ writings on mathematics have appeared in venues such as NPR, the Washington Post, the Times of London, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. He has been generously supported over the years by the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Templeton Foundation, and the Department of Defense.
Some of the large-scale projects undertaken by Devadoss include:
Math Studio: the centerpiece of a $1M funding from the Fletcher Jones Foundation, it serves as an incubator and promoter of a physical experience in mathematics research. Based around the ideals of design thinking, artist workshops, and holy sites, the Studio eschews digital technology in favor of the human senses.
Mage Merlin’s Unsolved Mathematical Mysteries: co-authored with Matt Harvey, a story-driven book presenting sixteen of today’s greatest unsolved mathematical puzzles; MIT Press (2020).
Discrete and Computational Geometry: co-authored with Joe O’Rourke, a visually rich textbook on discrete geometry for the 21st century; Princeton University Press (2011).
The Shape of Nature: a 36-lecture course providing a pointed introduction to the language mathematicians use to study shapes and dimensions; The Great Courses (2010).
Unfolding Humanity: a collaboration with Diane Hoffoss, students, faculty, and community members in the design and construction of a two-ton interactive sculpture, showcased at Burning Man (2018) and the San Diego Maker Faire (2018), embodying unsolved problems in computational geometry and cosmology.
Cartography of Tree Space: collaborative series of paintings and sketches with Owen Schuh (artist) based on the topology of phylogenetic trees. Flaten Art Museum permanent collection. Showings in Satellite Berlin gallery (Spring 2015), Williamson gallery (Fall 2016), and Wriston gallery (Summer 2019).
Folding Borders, Making Unfoldings: working with Perla Myers, Odesma Dalrymple, Daniel Lopez-Perez, the San Diego and Tijuana communities were engaged in live-streamed stations with Knapp Scholars Marty and Erik Demaine, culminating in an exhibition (2018).
Hen Barn: collaboration with Shannon Starkey (architect) on the design and build of a chicken coop inspired by Frank Gehry hay barn design (1967). This barn features a 12-foot chicken run above which the hen house floats, accessed by a grooved ramp, with edge-to-edge ribbon windows and a rear hatch (2017).