{"589662":{"#nid":"589662","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Get To Know the Math Prof: Stavros Garoufalidis","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/people.math.gatech.edu\/~stavros\/cv.pdf\u0022\u003EStavros Garoufalidis\u003C\/a\u003E started his mathematics education in Greece. As a high-school student, he participated in an International Mathematical Olympiad. He received a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Athens, Greece. He completed M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics at the University of Chicago. He joined Georgia Tech in 1999. Fluent in four languages\u0026mdash;Greek, English, French, and German\u0026mdash;he is also an associate editor at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.worldscientific.com\/worldscinet\/jktr\u0022\u003EJournal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications\u003C\/a\u003E, as well as an \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/people.math.gatech.edu\/~stavros\/bees\/index.html\u0022\u003Eavid beekeeper\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your research about?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMy main area of research is quantum topology, which is a combination of studying all three-dimensional shapes, building physical theories about them, and thinking of each shape as a possible universe. 3-D shapes can be described by drilling tubes through a solid (for example, cheese) and then filling them in after possibly twisting. The holes are known as knots in three-dimensional space, that is circles that are allowed to move as long as they do not meet themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has been the most exciting time so far in your research life?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI have enjoyed collaborating with more than 54 researchers over the years on several projects, discovering new connections and predicting outcomes of difficult computations.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of those predictions involves the number 697, which we found in some numerical computations with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mpim-bonn.mpg.de\/node\/97\u0022\u003EDon Zagier\u003C\/a\u003E, the American mathematician who is now the director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mpim-bonn.mpg.de\/\u0022\u003EMax Planck Institute for Mathematics\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp; The number appeared in totally unrelated mathematical physics computations in a different context. The presence of that number gave us confidence that \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/people.math.gatech.edu\/~stavros\/publications\/arbeitstagung11.pdf\u0022\u003Eour results\u003C\/a\u003E are not coincidental, and in fact, they formed the foundation of deep conjectures and theorems in number theory, quantum topology, and mathematical physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you find your way to mathematics research?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen I was a high school senior in Greece, I participated in the high school math competitions and took part in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_International_Mathematical_Olympiads\u0022\u003E24th International Mathematical Olympiad\u003C\/a\u003E, in 1983 in Paris. I got a bronze medal and a distinction for a solution to a number theory problem that was originally rejected, but eventually accepted as very original by the committee.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI was equally interested in physics and mathematics at that time, but I chose to study mathematics as an undergraduate. Mathematics was clear and conceptual for me. This path brought me to do a Ph.D. in the University of Chicago\u0026mdash;my first ever time in the U.S.\u0026mdash;where I realized what first-rate research is all about. I continued to be exposed to world-class research at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.msri.org\/web\/cms\u0022\u003EMSRI\u003C\/a\u003E, MIT and Harvard.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to a college freshman who wants to be a mathematician?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are a lot of misconceptions about mathematics taught at U.S. high schools. I would advise a freshman to learn the concepts of math, not be afraid of real mathematical thought, and to practice proofs and computations.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you could not be a mathematician, in what line of work would you be now?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the past eight years, I have been involved with beekeeping, as a way to stay in tune with nature, seasons and geography, as well as an entrance to an alien world of insects working together as a superorganism. Beekeeping could become a profession if math was not available.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat three destinations are still in your travel to-do list?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI love traveling and have been to 30 countries so far, but I have always been thinking of visiting Africa, India, and Antarctica. Since my teenage years, and while learning history of the Middle East, I\u0026#39;ve been fascinated about the idea of traveling through Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, Pakistan, and eventually reach India. Such a trip would be rich in experience, history, and culture. Unfortunately, the times that we live in make this idea impractical.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you could have dinner with any person in history, whom would you invite?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI wish I could have dinner with Archimedes and Gauss\u0026mdash;the two best mathematicians of all times.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Advice to freshmen math majors: Practice proofs and computations"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo celebrate Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, we\u0026#39;re featuring the math professors of Georgia Tech. This week, meet Stavros Garoufalidis, mathematician, linguist, and beekeeper.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"To celebrate Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, we\u0027re featuring the math professors of Georgia Tech. "}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2017-04-03 15:25:25","changed_gmt":"2017-09-01 16:54:16","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"589660":{"id":"589660","type":"image","title":"Stavros Garoufalidis","body":null,"created":"1491232698","gmt_created":"2017-04-03 15:18:18","changed":"1491232698","gmt_changed":"2017-04-03 15:18:18","alt":"","file":{"fid":"224661","name":"Stavros.Garoufalidis.Capture.PNG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Stavros.Garoufalidis.Capture.PNG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Stavros.Garoufalidis.Capture.PNG","mime":"image\/png","size":539505,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Stavros.Garoufalidis.Capture.PNG?itok=oqqfTsBl"}}},"media_ids":["589660"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1279","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"173954","name":"Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month"},{"id":"173953","name":"Stavros Garoufalidis"},{"id":"168854","name":"School of Mathematics"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"173647","name":"_for_math_site_"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}