There is an older web page of mine still up; I am rather embarassed about it, but I suppose that it's more complete than this one. I also have a rarely-updated Livejournal, on which I hope to post thoughts philosophical, mathematical, and within the intersection. Especially within the intersection.

I am Daniel Zaharopol, a mathematics graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I did my undergraduate work at MIT.

Mathematics and Education

College and graduate work alone do not comprise my education, or even my academic education. No listing of the places I've studied would be complete without two summer camps. First, the more recent one (at which I stay as a counselor to this day): Canada/USA Mathcamp, an astounding place that presents advanced mathematics to high school students. The second is the Center for Talented Youth, aka CTY, which first launched me into the world of mathematics and theoretical computer science, and also first launched me into a world filled with my peers.

Now, I study mathematics. Ultimately, I will probably study some kind of differential topology or geometry, or perhaps algebraic geometry, or maybe just some kind of algebra. I also have a passion for a branch of theoretical computer science called "computational complexity theory" --- the study not of specific algorithms, but rather the global lay of the land when thinking about the difficulty of algorithmic problems. Ever since the MIT class forbodingly titled "Advanced Complexity Theory," I've been hooked.

That certainly doesn't describe all my mathematical interests. I tend to be interested in just about anything related to algebra or topology. I've been sitting in on the group theory group's seminars here at UIUC, and reading up in other areas. I certainly can't say what my final field will be.

Teaching and Other Hobbies

When I'm not doing mathematics, I can probably be found teaching (for Mathcamp, MIT's Educational Studies Program, a term at the Boston Math Circle, MIT's Experimental Studies Group, or wherever I can find the chance), writing plays (including one produced by MIT's Dramashop entitled "Fidgeting at the Wheel"), playing strange strategy games (such as Octi, Ricochet Robot, or Twixt), doing some astronomy, playing Tennis, or otherwise amusing myself.

Because of my interest in teaching, I've compiled some resources for high school students that are interested in mathematics.

Geekery

(ah, and you ask, just what portion of this web page hasn't been geekery?)

I am a fan of many science fiction shows, most recently including Battlestar Galactica and Firefly, but also somewhat older shows such as Babylon 5 and Star Trek (especially in its Next Generation incarnation, but also the Deep Space Nine incarnation).

I enjoy all kinds of reading, although it tends towards more modern writers rather than older writers. This ranges from "respectable" writers such as Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff, Nick Hornby, and Kate Atkinson, to the truly geeky science fiction and fantasy crowd --- Tolkien, Le Guin, Gaiman, Card, Simmons (Hyperion), and so forth.

My favorite pasttime for social gathering is board games. Not Monopoly, or even chess, but stranger, newer games. You can find out more about the unexpectedly rich world of board games through that link, where I describe some of the games that I own.

Since playwrighting is my most serious hobby, I've put some plays online.

It shocks me more than you might imagine that I would care to put up some links to poetry on my home page.

It'll get done eventually...

Eventually, this page will contain many more useful things: bits of mathematics I've enjoyed, book reviews, discussions about astronomy, and teaching notes; indeed, perhaps some of those will be up at some point in the near future. Until then, if you know me from somewhere, or just want to talk, I'd love to correspond (with a warning about limited free time!).