Welcome to the Lair of
Gregory McColm

spacer [ME]
Dept. of Mathematics
College of Arts & Sciences
University of South Florida
4202 E. Fowler Ave., PHY114
Tampa, FL 33620
(813) 974-9550
mccolm@cas.usf.edu
    Teaching &c.:
    • This fall, I will be the organizer for the Discrete Mathematics Seminar, which is also a section of the Graduate Seminar (MAT 6939) open to graduate students for three hours credit (see me for details). In this seminar, speakers speak about mathematical topics ranging from the theory of computation to algebraic topology, from mathematical logic to graph theory; for a sample, see the announcement page for last spring. We will be meeting every Monday from 3:05 to 3:55 in PHY 013.
    • This fall, I will be teaching Advanced Linear Algebra (MAS 5107), currently scheduled for Monday and Wednesday afternoons, 4:35 - 5:50 pm. The text will be the extravagantly priced Linear Algebra by Hoffman & Kunze, although more reasonably priced copies (starting at $ 50 or so used) are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Alibris, and other sources of used books.
    • In spring, 2009, I will be teaching a graduate Selected Topics course in Applied Euclidean Geometry for people interested in the analysis and design of meso- and nano-structures -- but also open to people interested in larger objects, or even in two and three dimensional geometry for its own sake. The course is currently being designed, but it will consist of topics in low-dimension geometry and topology, in particular symmetries (polyhedra, tilings and crystals and other periodic patterns) and building complexes. The course is designed for mathematically proficient natural science and engineering graduate students. As for prerequisites, although we will review the necessary linear algebra in the beginning of the course, it is strongly advised that students already have some experience with vectors and matrices. (There will be a lot of advanced algebra in this course; while students are not required to know this algebra in advance -- it will be presented in class -- students will need sufficient "mathematical maturity" to be able to deal with abstract concepts. By "abstract concepts, I mean the stuff that appears in abstract algebra, set theory and logic, discrete mathematics or graph theory or combinatorics, or the theory of data types.) It is currently scheduled for MWF 10:45-11:35.

Taking College Courses

I have written some pages, for math students (and teachers) in general, on homework, texts, grading, etc. (Some of these pages may be of interest to people in other fields as well.) To go to these pages, start at my main page on taking college classes.
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I was trained as a mathematical logician, with an emphasis on theoretical computer science. My specialty was, and still is, finite model theory. I have working on combinatorial games and the evolution of random structures; I am also interested in emergent and hierarchical phenomena. However, I am now doing increasingly geometric work, with applications of algebra, and ultimately in places like chemistry and nanoscience: see the brochure on

Smart Metal-organic Materials Advanced Research and Technology Transfer
But this transition is not reflected in my site, so here is my somewhat stale Research Page. I will try to catch up asap.

Destinations
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This page last updated June 2008.

Math Programs

The Mathematics Department offers a mathematics major for bachelor's students and a M.A./B.A. program that allows one to get both degrees in about five years. In addition, we offer a Ph.D. Our primary research areas are in various areas in analysis, probability and statistics, and various areas of discrete mathematics. For more information on these programs, click here.

The Mathematics Department is also a partner in the new Master's Program in bioinformatics, which involves the design and analysis of very large molecules, especially pharmaceuticals, proteins, and DNA.

United Faculty

The faculty of a university is the university. Alas, many universities are controlled by an administration which often behaves like the shortsighted management of a business concern. So faculty have must organize to protect their interests and the long-term interests of the university.

Florida State University System faculty are represented by the United Faculty of Florida, which, via the Florida Education Association, is a merged affiliate of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers (the latter being an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor / Congress of Industrial Organizations). USF faculty are represented by the local chapter of the UFF, which also has an off-campus site.

I am the editor of the USF Chapter newsletter Uncommon Sense and the web-master of the chapter website.

Here is an MS Word file for a membership application to join UFF.

As the Chapter's webmaster, I maintained, and still maintain (at a lower level), UFF's website on the Al-Arian controversy. I also wrote an article on A University's Dilemma in the Age of National Security with Sherman Dorn in the NEA journal Thought and Action.

Mathematics Clubs

There are several major organizations in the U.S.A. concerned with mathematics. One of these, the Mathematical Association of America has a chapter here at USF, which meets weekly. Members get subscriptions to mathematics journals, plus other goodies, and student memberships are inexpensive. (It also looks good on resumes.) Students interested in joining the USF MAA are encouraged to contact Fernando Burgos.

Other major mathematical organizations include:

And there are more specialized organizations, such as the Association for Symbolic Logic and the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science.

USF Faculty Senate

I am a member of the USF Faculty Senate, serving a 3-year term from 2002 to 2005; I have been re-elected to serve from 2005 to 2008. (Technically speaking, I represent faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.) Any faculty members with concerns that they believe the Senate should or could address can contact me at mccolm@cas.usf.edu. See also the Faculty Senate website.

Mathematics Awards

There are several awards in mathematics research. Here are some of the most important.

  • Probably the most important award in mathematics is the Abel Prize, the closest thing to a Nobel in mathematics, and clearly set up by the Norwegians with an eye towards Stockholm, which had had its chance. This prize is relatively new, so many people aren't used to it, instead they are aware of...
  • The Fields Prize, a junior achievement award. It is awarded to researchers under 40 whose stellar work shows the greatest potential, and is often misleadingly called the mathematical equivalent to the Nobel.
  • Computer scientists have their own awards, the most important probably being the Turing Award.
  • Speaking of Nobel's, the Swedish Academy has a sort of mini-Nobel for those areas (like mathematics) not covered by the Nobel, the Crafoord Prize.
  • Meanwhile, the Israelis also have a prize in some areas, including mathematics, the Wolf Prize.
  • Muddying the waters is the Clay Mathematics Institute, which is offering $ 1 million each for seven Millenium Problems.

Writing

There are several writer's groups in the Tampa Bay area, and amateur writers (like myself) can get feedback from fellow amateurs (and occasional professionals) by joining in. Groups in Tampa including the Tampa Writer's Alliance, an independent organization. And I am the editor of three newsletters:

  • The Quaternion, the annual newsletter of the USF Department of Mathematics.
  • The Uncommon Sense, the periodic hardcopy newsletter of the USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida.
  • The UFF Biweekly (scroll to the bottom of the page), the electronic fortnightly newsletter of the USF Chapter of the United Faculty of Florida.

Lecture Series

The Mathematics Department presents the R. Kent Nagle Memorial Lecture Series, in which we bring eminent scholars to USF to speak to the public about subjects mathematical. For more information, click here.

This series is one of many series that this and other departments are supporting to reach out to the community. For other programs of this kind, click here.