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# discrete math
I’m TAing Discrete
Mathematics (CMSC 27100) this quarter, really enjoying teaching
students how to write proofs!
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# on my mind
I’ve been thinking a lot about how research projects tend to fall
into three consecutive phases.
- Study/Exploration: You are just learning about the
area, trying to develop intuition and learn techniques. This can take a
long time, and sometimes you explore for a while and ultimately realize
there is no path towards interesting results.
- Discovery: Now you have a lot of intuition for the
area and can prove things! This is a very exciting interval, but often
short (or you get stuck here and it never ends, until you decide to give
up).
- Communication: You’ve basically determined your
results but are trying to figure out how to communicate it —
paper-writing, developing talks, etc. This phase always takes longer
than I think, but I really enjoy it. It’s interesting to see how the act
of communicating can help you refine the results themselves.
With these phases in mind, here are the states of my various
projects:
- Optimization in random graphs: communication
- Multidimensional range-searchable encryption:
discovery/communication
- Redistricting - irreducibility: discovery
- Redistricting - enumeration: exploration/discovery
- Redistricting - mixing times: exploration
- Actuarially fair insurance pricing: exploration (on hold)
- Job scheduling lower bound: exploration (on hold)
- Impeaching “mayors” of universal covers: discovery (gave up for
now)
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# worried about things
Like ICE in Chicago, the CTA getting defunded, etc etc.
Last updated October 2025.
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