Kevin Corlette, Chair

Department of Mathematics
University of Chicago
5734 South University Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637

chair@math.uchicago.edu

Welcome to the Department of Mathematics at the University of Chicago. The Department is the locus of a wide range of activity, ranging from mathematical research at the frontiers of the subject, to educational activities at both undergraduate and graduate levels, to programs which reach out to teachers and students in public schools in the Chicago area.

The Department sponsors a number of academic programs:


A great deal of information about these programs can be found through this website. Questions about undergraduate programs can be directed to Diane Herrmann or Paul Sally. Questions about the Ph.D. program may be directed to Laurie Wail. Questions about the Master's program in Financial Mathematics may be sent to Alice Brugman. The Master of Arts in the Teaching of Mathematics will come to an end this year, but it may be revived in a different form in the future; please contact Paul Sally with questions.

Research activities in the Department cover a variety of areas, reflecting the broad expanse of modern mathematics. The department has groups in algebra, analysis, geometry, topology, applied mathematics and logic, but the lines between these groups are not rigid, and research in the department often takes little notice of such boundaries. Some of the areas in which there is significant activity in the department include: algebraic geometry and commutative algebra, number theory, representation theory, finite groups, logic, Lie groups, algebraic topology, geometric topology, differential geometry, ergodic theory, complex geometry, harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, numerical analysis, fluid flow, computational mathematics, and neural networks. A few specific areas of interest in the department currently include the Langlands program relating representation theory and arithmetic, the theory of motives in algebraic geometry and number theory, the large-scale geometry of discrete groups and spaces such as the Teichmüller space of a Riemann surface, the "hot spots" conjecture on the maximum and minimum of eigenfunctions of the Laplacian in a bounded domain, the geometry of the support sets of measures such as harmonic measure, the geometry of configuration spaces of points in a complex manifold, the mathematics describing the crumpling of an elastic sheet, the "fractal" nature of the moduli space of Riemannian metrics on a manifold, and the exploration of a "brave new algebra" in stable homotopy theory.

The Department also sponsors a broad range of seminars and colloquia throughout the academic year. These include four annual lecture series in algebra, analysis, applied mathematics, and geometry/topology given by eminent mathematicians. There is also an active visitors program, with both short and long term visitors throughout the year. In addition, there are the many activities which provide some of the social glue in the department, including afternoon teas on each weekday throughout the academic year, a weekly Pizza Seminar for graduate students, activities of the undergraduate Math Club, the annual Department dinner, annual barbeques in the fall and spring, "beer skits" in the spring, the annual Christmas party, softball games in the summer, and more.

There are a number of community outreach programs based in the Department. These include the Young Scholars Program, which is directed at mathematically talented 7th-12th graders in the greater Chicago area. There are also various programs for teacher development, including the . Information about another effort in this direction can be found in this article from the University of Chicago Chronicle.

Please use this website to explore the many facets of the Department. Comments and suggestions may be sent to me by email or (if you are accessing this page from the University of Chicago domain) through the Suggestion Box.

        With warm regards,

      Kevin Corlette