I am a graduate student in mathematics and a resident tutor in Pforzheimer House. My research is concerned with modeling the spread of infectious diseases, and I am also interested in economics, geometry, and topology. After learning math, writing, and practical jokery at MIT, I spent a year in Orsay, France apprenticed to a pastry chef. I have studied math in Budapest, written science articles for the Chicago Tribune, and worked at the Brookings Institution.
I recently gave a talk on Money and Financial Planning for Pfoho seniors. The talk covers budgeting, saving and investing, student loans, and taxes, all at a basic level.
On May 12th, 2005 I gave a talk at Dartmouth sponsored by the Center for Women and Gender about Sex, Math, and Larry Summers. The talk grew out of my (failed) efforts to create a convincing evolutionary biology model that predicts greater fitness variance among men than among women.
Last fall I raised money for Democratic women in close races. Four of the nine women (Stephanie Herseth, Darlene Hooley, Patty Murray, and Allyson Schwartz) won. This year I am eyeing the New Jersey and Virginia state elections.
As a resident tutor, I cook for study breaks regularly. Besides being lots of fun, study breaks give me a chance to dust off my cooking techniques for massive restaurant portions. However, I try to keep study break food comparatively simple and honest, with emphasis on taste rather than presentation. The ideal dessert study break food can all be cooked in one step, by dumping everything into a pan and baking. Especially in winter, study break desserts score most of their points for being served fresh and hot, usually with ice cream. Here are my most popular recipes:
Email: my last name at math.harvard.edu