My name is Catherine Pfaff. I'm an American from a small town (primarily established by my grandfather) in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
My love for mathematics sprung out of my college years at the
University of Chicago,
where my studies primarily focused on abstract algebra, geometry, and topology. I specifically grew from the Directed Reading Program at the University of Chicago, which I thus established a
duplicate
of at
Rutgers University and at Queen's University ( Queen's Directed Reading Program in Mathematics). I earned my PhD from
Rutgers University (New Brunswick)
under the advisement of
Lee Mosher.
During these years my primary focus shifted.
My oral qualifying exam topics were manifolds, algebraic geometry, and coarse geometry. Through my study of coarse geometry, I became interested in geometric group theory.
Working with Lee Mosher, this interest in geometric group theory focused into the rich subjects of mapping class groups and outer automorphisms of free groups (the Out(F_r)). I have newer interests in topological data analysis and geometric sports analytics.
My passion for research is heavily rivaled by my passion for teaching. My students are one of the greatest joys in my life. This past year I taught Introduction to Topology (Math 499), Calculus (Math 121B), and Rings and Fields (Math 210). I am excited to be advising Damara Gagnier (USRA Summer Research Student), Luke Steverango (PhD), and Troy Zeier (Masters).
