My curriculum vitae is also available as a pdf file.

Education

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

Ph.D. in Mathematics, June 2011

• Advisor: Danny Calegari
• Thesis: Extremality of the rotation quasimorphism on the modular group

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

B.S. with Highest Honors in Mathematics, April 2005

• Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 spent at the Math in Moscow program.
• Spring 2003 spent at the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program.

Employment

The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma

Visiting Assistant Professor (Postdoc), August 2011-May 2014

Research Interests

Geometric group theory

Low-dimensional topology

A more detailed description is available on my research page.

Papers

Stable commutator length in Baumslag-Solitar groups and quasimorphisms for tree actions, with Matt Clay and Max Forester, submitted.

Immersed surfaces in the modular orbifold, with Danny Calegari, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 139 (2011), 2295-2308.

A new computation of the codimension sequence of the Grassmann algebra, with Adilson Eduardo Presoto and Alan Tarr, Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal 6 (2005), no. 2

Awards

Mathematical Congress of the Americas Travel Grant
American Mathematical Socieity, 2013

Apostol Award for Excellence in Teaching in Mathematics
California Institute of Technology, May 2010

Invited Hour-long Research Talks

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Topology and Geometric Group Theory Seminar, November 12, 2013

Fall Redbud Topology Conference
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, November 19, 2011

The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Infinite Groups Seminar, August 1, 2011

Workshop on Geometric Group Theory
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 8, 2011

The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Geometric Group Theory Seminar, April 21, 2011

Centre Interuniversitaire de Recherches en Géométrie et Topologie, Montréal, Canada
Geometry and Topology Seminar, November 5, 2010

Claremont Colleges, Claremont, California
Claremont Topology Seminar, March 30, 2010

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Geometry and Topology Seminar, March 8, 2010

Invited Short Research Talks

AMS Spring Southeastern Section Meeting
Special Session on Number Theory and Topology, March 23, 2014
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee

48th Spring Topology and Dynamics Conference
Special Session on Geometric Group Theory, March 15, 2014
University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia

Joint Mathematics Meetings
AMS Special Session on Geometric Group Theory, January 16, 2014
Baltimore, Maryland

AMS Spring Central Section Meeting
Special Session on Geometric Topology and Group Theory, April 1, 2012
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

AMS Spring Western Section Meeting
Special Session on Asymptotic Group Theory, March 4, 2012
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii

The Triennial Ahlfors-Bers Colloquium
Dynamics Workshop, March 24, 2011
Rice University, Houston, Texas

45th Spring Topology and Dynamics Conference
Special Session on Geometric Group Theory, March 18, 2011
Special Session on Geometric Topology, March 18, 2011
The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas

Joint Mathematics Meetings
AMS Special Session on Geometric Group Theory, January 6, 2011
New Orleans, Louisiana

Workshop on Geometric Group Theory
Goa University, Goa, India, August 9, 2010

Contributed Research Talks

Joint Mathematics Meetings
AMS Special Session on the Geometry of Real Projective Structures, January 5, 2012
Boston, Massachusetts

Geometric Group Theory Workshop
University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, June 20, 2011

AMS Spring Western Section Meeting
Special Session on Geometric Group Theory and Dynamics, May 1, 2011
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada

Ninth Annual Graduate Student Topology and Geometry Conference
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, April 2, 2011

Eighth Annual Graduate Student Topology and Geometry Conference
Geometric Group Theory Session, April 10, 2010
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Geometric Groups on the Gulf Coast
Pensacola Beach, Florida, March 25, 2010

Joint Mathematics Meetings
AMS Session on Group Theory, January 13, 2010
San Francisco, California

Teaching Talks

Joint Mathematics Meetings
MAA Session on Assessing Student Learning: Alternative Approaches
Baltimore, Maryland, January 15, 2014

Teaching Experience

Primary Instructor, The University of Oklahoma, 2011-present
I had full responsibility for the following courses, including planning the material to be covered, preparing for and teaching class, designing and grading exams, assigning homework, supervising graders, holding office hours, and assigning course grades.

• Calculus and Analytic Geometry III, Fall 2011, Fall 2012
• Calculus and Analytic Geometry IV, Spring 2014
• Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013
• Linear Algebra I, Fall 2013

Teaching Assistant, California Institute of Technology, 2005-2010
I prepared for and taught recitations, held office hours, and graded homework and exams. In addition, in Fall 2007, Spring 2009, and Spring 2010, I had additional administrative responsibilities, consisting of supervising other teaching assistants, coordinating grading of homework and exams, and managing other logistical aspects of courses.

• Calculus, Fall 2005
• Linear Algebra, Winter 2006, Winter 2007
• Multivariable Calculus, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2009, Spring 2010
• Differential Equations, Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009
• Probability and Statistics, Winter 2008, Winter 2009

Professional Development

Teaching Scholar's Initiative, Fall 2011, Fall 2013
A teaching colloqium at the University of Oklahoma aimed at improving student learning.

Project NExT, 2012-2013
A program of the Mathematical Association of America for new or recent Ph.D.s in the mathematical sciences who are interested in improving the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics. It addresses the full range of faculty responsibilities in teaching, research, and service.

Faculty Learning Community, Spring 2013
A group of faculty at the University of Oklahoma who read and discussed the book How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.

New Faculty Seminar, Fall 2011
A 12-week seminar for new faculty at the University of Oklahoma

Pedagogy Workshop Series, 2007-2009
A series of six workshops offered by the Caltech Project for Effective Teaching designed to help participants reflect upon and improve their teaching skills.

Extended Visits

The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, Spring 2011
(part of Special Year in Topology and Geometric Group Theory)

Centre de Recherches Mathématiques, Montréal, Canada, Fall 2010
(program on Geometric, Combinatorial and Computational Group Theory)

Organization

Spring Redbud Topology Conference, Co-organizer
The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, April 11-13, 2014

Geometry and Topology Seminar, Organizer
The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, Fall 2012-Spring 2014

How to make peer learning and small groups work in class, Co-organizer
Panel discussion at Project NExT Workshop, July 31, 2013

Fall Redbud Topology Conference, Co-organizer
The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, November 3, 2012

Special Session on Geometric Group Theory and Dynamics, Co-organizer
AMS Spring Western Section Meeting
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 30-May 1, 2011

Conferences Attended

See the list on my travel page.

Service

Led preperatory sessions for topology qualifying exam
The University of Oklahoma, July 2013

Judge for Undergraduate Poster Session
Joint Mathematics Meetings, January 2013

Volunteer for Math Day for high school students
The University of Oklahoma, November 2011

Committee to determine mathematics placement of incoming undergraduates
California Institute of Technology, 2009

Coordinated TA training for math graduate students in conjunction with the Caltech Project for Effective Teaching, Fall 2008

Memberships

American Mathematical Society

Mathematical Association of America

Citizenship