Satyan Devadoss, PhD
Fletcher Jones Professor of Applied Mathematics and Department Chair
Before arriving at USD, Satyan Devadoss was faculty at Williams College from 2002-2016, and has held visiting positions at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, The Ohio State University, Harvey Mudd, Université Nice, and Stanford. Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, and recipient of two national teaching awards from the Mathematical Association of America, his thoughts have appeared in venues such as NPR, the Washington Post, the Times of London, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. Over the years, he has been generously supported by the National Science Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Fletcher Jones Foundation, and the Department of Defense.
Scholarly Work
Motivated by numerous disciplines, including computational biology, theoretical physics, and foldable architecture, much of Devadoss's work revolves around discrete and combinatorial objects that can be studied through algebra, algorithms, combinatorics, geometry, and topology. Conveying results with visual clarity, accuracy, and simplicity is as important as the discovery of the ideas themselves, resulting in invited presentations from research universities, international centers, and design spaces (Pixar, Google, LucasFilm). He has published a few books, over 50 papers, and created digital courses for specialists, K-8 teachers, and the general public. His work with students have included projects on beer genetics, network spaces, unfolding cubes in higher dimensions, origami with sheet metal, and flexible architectural buildings.
Areas of Interest
Underneath this framework lies a strong desire for physical creations (drawings, photographs, models, paintings, sculptures), pointing to the larger belief that mathematics should be made incarnate and tangible, for the physical world matters. Humans care about how things look, taste, feel, and sound. And mathematics is part of this tapestry, dealing not just with the mind, but the body as well, extending to our tangible world. This has led to the creation of his Math Play Room, where digital technology is eschewed in favor of the human senses. Further collaborations have resulted in physical redesigns of college course catalogs, Burning Man sculptures, and art gallery openings in Berlin, Seattle, and San Diego.