Biography
I arrived in Potsdam in 1996, after surviving (and enjoying) ten years worth of Canadian winters, and noticed no immediate difference in climate. My hobbies (outside doodling math symbols on napkins) include chess and puzzles. It used to include a bit of basketball and tennis but I took an early forced semi-retirement.
Education Background
Computer Science Ph.D. - University of Calgary
Computer Science M.S. - University of Toronto
Computer Science and Applied Mathematics B.S.c - University of Calgary
Teaching Interests
- Introduction to Computer Science
- Symbolic Computation
- Computer Organization
- Programming Languages
- Automata Theory and Formal Languages
- Data Structures and Algorithms
- Computer Algorithms
- Cryptography
- Compiler Construction
- Computational Learning Theory
- Computability and Logic
Research Interests
Current research interests are in theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics which include machine learning, quantum information, and graph theory. In machine learning, a main interest is in studying how to learn Boolean functions using Fourier methods. In quantum computation, a current interest is in a quantum analogue of random walks on graphs.
Awards
- Clarkson Teaching and New Teacher awards.
Visiting appointments (Institut Henri Poincare, University of Waterloo, Harvey Mudd College).
Grants
- NSF/NSA REU Mathematics grants (2000-2016) which is joint with SUNY Potsdam.
- NSF interdisciplinary grant (2000-2005) for quantum computing.