New Faces

Please join us in welcoming some new faces to the department’s faculty.

David Gay began as a new assistant professor this fall. Dr. Gay received his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in 1999 under the advisement of Robion Kirby. After spending 5 years at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, David returned the U.S. for a year at the University of Iowa, before coming to Athens. Dr. Gay is a highly regarded researcher in geometric topology, specializing in low dimensional symplectic and contact topology. David was hired into a special position funded by the Regents’ STEM initiative. This position requires special efforts in developing undergraduate mathematics education. David has an established record in mathematical outreach and education. Most notably, he is the director of Euclid Lab, which among other things, runs Camp Euclid, a mathematics research camp for middle and high school students (see the article about Euclid Lab in this newsletter).

Paul Pollack will join us in the fall of 2012 as an assistant professor. Dr. Pollack received his Ph.D. at Dartmouth College in 2008 under the advisement of Carl Pomerance. Paul was an undergraduate student at UGA in the early 2000s and we certainly welcome him back to the Bulldog Nation. He is an expert in analytic and combinatorial number theory. He is also an excellent mathematical expositor, as can be seen in his recent text in elementary methods of number theory, Not Always Buried Deep.

Natalia Alexeev began as a lecturer in the fall 2011. Dr. Alexeev served our department for several years as an instructor before she left to earn her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of Georgia. Since receiving her Ph.D. in 2008, she spent a few years as a post-doc with Math Ed using her expertise in educational measurement and assessment. Dr. Alexeev had an excellent reputation as a dedicated and challenging instructor in her earlier years with us and we are excited to have her return to our ranks.

Michael Klipper also began as lecturer in the fall of 2011. Dr. Klipper earned his Doctor of Arts in Mathematical Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University in 2011. As part of his degree he wrote a textbook, Analysis for the Beginning Mathematician. He has class-tested this work at CMU and plans to publish it in the near future. Dr. Klipper is a passionate teacher dedicated to introducing entry-level students to rigorous mathematical thought in a gentle and humorous fashion.