Professional Experience

Ph.D. in Mathematics, Michigan State University, MI, 2007. Advisor: Ronald Fintushel.

Academic employment

  • Professor. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 2022—present.
  • Associate Professor. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 2017—2022.
  • Assistant Professor. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 2013—2017.
  • W2 Research Associate Professor. Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, Bonn, Germany, 2011—2013.
  • Postdoctoral Instructor. Department of Mathematics, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 2008—2011.
  • Visiting Ritt Assistant Professor. Department of Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2007.

Grants and fellowships

  • National Science Foundation S-STEM Grant: "Enhancing underrepresented participation in mathematics and statistics", PIs: R. Inanc Baykur, Adena Calden, Maryclare Griffin (lead), Farshid Hajir, Nathaniel Whitaker. DMS-2130262. Award amount: $1,499,774. 2022--2028.
  • National Science Foundation Grant: "Geometry and topology of 4-manifolds", PI: R. Inanc Baykur. DMS-2005327. Award amount: $284,129. 2020--2024.
  • Simons Foundation Collaboration Grant. Award amount: $42,000. 2019--2024.
  • National Science Foundation Grant: "Perspectives in topology and geometry of 4-manifolds", PIs: R. Inanc Baykur, Thomas Mark, Gordana Matic (lead). DMS-1612071. Award amount: $46,100. 2016--2018.
  • National Science Foundation Grant: "Topology of smooth and symplectic 4-manifolds", PI: R. Inanc Baykur. DMS-1510395. Award amount: $178,561. 2015--2019.
  • National Science Foundation Grant: "Northeast Conferences on Geometry and Topology of 4-manifolds", PIs: R. Inanc Baykur (lead), Weimin Chen. DMS-1522633. Award amount: $49,700. 2015--2018.
  • Simons Foundation Collaboration Grant. Award amount: $35,000. 2014--2019.
  • American Institute of Mathematics SQuaRE Grant: "Symplectic and contact geometry and mapping class groups". 2014--2016.
  • UMass Faculty Research Grant: "Interactions between low dimensional topology and mapping class groups". Award amount: $10,000. Summer 2014.
  • UMass Flex Teaching Award (10 times). 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.
  • National Science Foundation Research Grant: "Geometry and Topology of Smooth 4-manifolds", PI: R. Inanc Baykur. DMS-0906912. Award amount: $121,512. 2009--2013.
  • Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Program Membership, Berkeley, CA. Spring 2010.
  • Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques Research Fellowship, Bures-sur-Yvette, France. Summer 2009 and Summer 2011.
  • Max Planck Institute Research Fellowship, Bonn, Germany. Spring and Summer 2008.
  • Institute for Advanced Study Program Membership, Princeton, NJ. Summer 2005.

Service activities

  • Conference, workshop, and seminar organizer
    - Geometry and Topology Seminar (co-organizer). UMass Amherst, Spring 2014--present.
    - Reading Seminar on Automorphism Groups of Manifolds (co-organizer). UMass Amherst, Fall 2023--Spring 2024.
    - K3: A new problem list in low-dimensional topology (co-organizer). AIM, October 30-November 3, 2023.
    - Workshop on "Braids in symplectic and algebraic geometry" (co-organizer). ICERM, March 21-25, 2021.
    - Conference on "Knotted surfaces in 4-manifolds" (co-organizer). Amherst, October 26-28, 2018.
    - Conference on "Geometric structures on 3- and 4-manifolds" (co-organizer). Dubrovnik, June 11-15, 2018.
    - Conference on "Floer homologies and topology of 4-manifolds" (co-organizer). Amherst, April 8-9, 2017.
    - Conference on "Perspectives in topology and geometry of 4-manifolds" (co-organizer). Dubrovnik, June 6-10, 2016.
    - Conference on "Geometry and topology of symplectic 4-manifolds" (co-organizer). Amherst, April 24-26, 2015.
    - Algebraic and Geometric Topology Workshop (co-organizer). METU, Ankara, January 9-10, 2015.
    - Workshop on "Group actions on smooth 4-manifolds" (co-organizer). Amherst, October 25-26, 2013.
    - Workshop on "Geometry and topology of smooth 4-manifolds" (co-organizer). Bonn, June 3-7, 2013.
    - Conference on "Low dimensional topology and mapping class groups" (co-organizer). Bonn, July 1-5, 2013.
    - Geometric-Topology Seminar (co-organizer). Bonn, Fall 2011--Spring 2013.
    - Joint Brandeis-Harvard-MIT-Northeastern Colloquium (co-organizer). Boston, Fall 2010--Spring 2011.
    - Topology Seminar (co-organizer). Brandeis University, Fall 2010--Spring 2011.
    - Graduate Geometry and Topology Seminar. MSU, Fall 2003--Spring 2006.
  • Mentoring
    - Postdocs:  Nathan Sunukjian (2014--2016) → TT at Calvin College,  Jonathan Simone (2018-2021) → Postdoc at Georgia Tech,  Noriyuki Hamada (2017-2022) → Assistant Professor at Kyushu University.
    - Ph.D. students:  Andrew Havens (2021) → TT lecturer at UMass Amherst, Richard Buckman (2023) → Lecturer at UMass Amherst , Mihail Arabadji, Porter Morgan (current).
    - Exchange Ph.D. student:  Kenta Hayano (Max Planck, 2012) → TT at Hokkaido University.
    - REU students: Ben Burns (UMass, 2022), Vivek Chakrabhavi (UMass, 2021), Andrew Sharp (UMass, 2018),  Kai Nakamura (UMass, 2017),  Feride Ceren Kose (Max Planck, 2013).
    - Capstone thesis student: Kai Nakamura (UMass, 2018) → Ph.D. student at UT Austin.
    - Capstone thesis committee member for: Cristian Rodriguez (UMass, 2017).
    - Committee member of the Ph.D. thesis of: Mark Radosevich (Brandeis, 2010), Thomas Shelly (UMass, 2016), Mark Lowell (UMass, 2017), Andrew Havens (UMass, 2021), Richard Buckman (UMass, 2023), Sean Hart (UMass, 2023), Arthur Wang (UMass, 2024).
    - Oral exam committee member for Ph.D. candidates Anna Vijayan, Matt Graham (Brandeis), Mihail Arabadji, Porter Morgan, Sophia Marx (UMass Amherst).
    - Faculty mentor at the American Institute of Mathematics Research Community in 4-Manifolds (Spring 2021).
  • Referee
    - Advances in Geometry
    - Advances in Mathematics
    - Algebraic & Geometric Topology
    - AIMS Mathematics
    - Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society
    - Commentarii Mathematici Helvetici
    - Communications in Analysis and Geometry
    - Expositiones Mathematicae
    - Geometry & Topology
    - Geometry & Topology Monographs
    - Glasgow Mathematical Journal
    - Hiroshima Mathematical Journal
    - International Journal of Mathematics
    - International Mathematics Research Notices
    - Journal für die Reine und Angewandte Mathematik
    - Journal of Differential Geometry
    - Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications
    - Journal of Symplectic Geometry
    - Journal of the London Mathematical Society
    - Journal of the Mathematical Society of Japan
    - Journal of Topology
    - Journal of Topology and Analysis
    - Manuscripta Mathematica
    - Mathematical Physics, Analysis and Geometry
    - Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
    - Mathematical Research Letters
    - Mediterranean Journal of Mathematics
    - Michigan Mathematical Journal
    - Nagoya Mathematical Journal
    - New York Journal of Mathematics
    - Open Book Series
    - Pacific Journal of Mathematics
    - Proceedings of Gökova Geometry-Topology Conference
    - Proceedings of Symposia in Pure Mathematics
    - Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society
    - Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society
    - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA)
    - Quantum Topology
    - Qurterly Journal of Mathematics
    - Rocky Mountain Journal of Mathematics
    - Tokyo Journal of Mathematics
    - Topology and Its Applications
    - Transactions of the American Mathematical Society
    - Transactions of the London Mathematical Society
    - Turkish Journal of Mathematics
  • Reviewer
    - National Science Foundation Grant Panel
    - AMS Mathematical Reviews