David Ben-Zvi

Apprentice Alumnus, The Geometry Center

Distinguished as the only Geometry Center alum without a rudimentary understanding of computers, David Ben-Zvi is an incoming math grad student at Harvard, having just graduated from Princeton. At the Geometry Center, David was involved with the creation of the video blockbuster Outside In, with work on the dynamics of cubic polynomials, and with keeping summer institute participants entertained. This summer a major project was understanding carrying in addition with the invaluable assistance of mathematical co-conspirators Paul Burchard and Dylan Thurston.

Notorious for content-free explanations of math, stringing together catch phrases and knowing the names of math theorems he doesn't know, David is currently trying to overcome his inborn fear of physics, analysis and computations of all sorts. His interests include Riemann surfaces in their various guises and funky new mathematical notions that expand the reach of geometry, in particular noncommutative geometry. Also trying to understand the notion of a "correct" boundary for geometric spaces and the definition of dynamical systems.

Favorite works include:

• Atiyah - The Geometry and Physics of Knots
• Bartok - String Quartets
• Beethoven - Grosse Fuge
• Connes - Geometrie Noncommutative
• Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Mathematics
• Kafka - Collected Short Stories
• Kandinsky - Works
• Mackey - Harmonic Analysis as the Exploitation of Symmetry
• Mann - The Magic Mountain
• Alice in Chains - Dirt
• Shostakovich - Violin Concerto

• Geometry is the User Interface to Mathematics -- William Thurston
• The surface was invented by the devil -- Wolfgang Pauli
• It wasn't my surface most defiled -- Pearl Jam

The Geometry Center
1300 South Second Street
Minneapolis, MN 55454

benzvi@geom.umn.edu

The Geometry Center Home Page

Comments to: webmaster@www.geom.uiuc.edu
Created: Feb 19 1996 --- Last modified: Feb 19 1996