Dr. Francis Su on the Beauty and Wonder of Math and Education

“It’s part of my mission to convince you that all of us are mathematical people, by virtue of being human people, and if we could see the human parts of mathematics, we might have a different relationship with it,” began Dr. Francis Su during Hall in the Smith Theater on December 9. Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, and a former president of the Mathematical Association of America. His research is in topological and geometric combinatorics and applications to the sciences, including game theory, voting theory, and the mathematics of fair decisions.

During his talk, Dr. Su encouraged the RL community to seek and value the wonder in math and education, rather than viewing them as transactional, or as a means to get ahead or enter an impressive career. “Think about education as something that forms you—it changes you, it builds your character. It changes your attitudes toward things, and it gives you certain habits of mind, certain dispositions that shape the way you move in the world.”

At the beginning of his talk, Dr. Su performed a card trick during which he perfectly and continuously selected pairs of one red and one black card from a shuffled deck, which he later explained was just a mathematical pattern. From this point forward, both students and faculty were deeply engaged and intrigued, some perhaps seeing math in a new light, as something that can be fun and enlightening. “You are all learning how to look at the world differently through your education,” he said. “You are starting to see things more closely, more deeply, whether that’s a deck of cards and a card trick, whether that’s trying to figure out if someone’s trying to dupe you or take advantage of you, whether that’s being able to look at the beauty of the world and see something wonderful about it. These things make your life richer.”

Dr. Su has a passion for teaching and popularizing mathematics through writing and public engagement. His work has been featured in Quanta Magazine, Wired, and The New York Times. He authors the popular Math Fun Facts website, and three of his articles have been featured in Princeton Press’s Best Writing on Mathematics. From the Mathematical Association of America, he received the 2018 Halmos-Ford award for mathematical writing and the 2013 Haimo Award for distinguished teaching of college-level mathematics. Dr. Su earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and his doctorate from Harvard University.