Frank Farris

American mathematician

For the Missouri politician, see Frank H. Farris.

Frank Farris

Farris in 2021

Born|

Frank A. Farris

Santa Monica, California, U.S.

Alma mater| Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known for| Visual mathematics
Spouse| William O. Beeman
Awards| Trevor Evans Award, Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award
Scientific career
Fields| Symmetry
Institutions| Santa Clara University
Thesis|  Spiralling Chains in CR Manifolds
Doctoral advisor| Richard Burt Melrose
Website| www.scu.edu/cas/mathcs/faculty-and-staff/frank-farris

Frank A. Farris is an American mathematician. He is a professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Santa Clara University.[1] He is also an editor, author, and artist whose work concerns mathematical topics. Farris is known primarily for mathematical exposition, his creation of visual mathematics through computer science, and advocacy for mathematical art as a discipline.[2]

## Education

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Farris was born in Santa Monica, California. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Covina, a suburb of Los Angeles. He showed interest and proficiency in a large variety of subjects such as astronomy. At age 15, he enrolled in the NSF summer science training program, designed to enrich mathematical talent in America.[1]

Farris studied mathematics as an undergraduate at Pomona College and received his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His dissertation Spiralling Chains in CR Manifolds was supervised by Richard Burt Melrose.[3] His time at MIT led him to pursue pure mathematics with a focus on geometry.[1]

## Career

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Farris taught at Brown University for three years, before becoming an assistant professor in Santa Clara University in 1984. He was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 1988 and was promoted to full professor in 2017.[1] He was awarded the Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching by the Golden Section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) in 2018.[4]

Farris was the editor of Mathematics Magazine from 2001 to 2005, and then again in 2009.[5][6] His article "The Edge of the Universe" for Math Horizons received the Trevor Adams Award from the MAA.[7]

In 2015, his book Creating Symmetry: The Artful Mathematics of Wallpaper Patterns, which conveys his artistic method, was published by the Princeton University Press.[1][8] It was awarded the PROSE Award in Mathematics from the Association of American Publishers, Honorable Mention, in 2016, and the Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award in 2018.[9][10] It is profiled in numerous periodicals including Quanta and Scientific American.[11][12]

## Work method

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Farris generates organic mathematical art using symmetry, patterns, and wave functions.[13] He commonly works with wallpaper patterns using photographs as source material.[14] The wallpaper often exhibit translational symmetry across two independent axes.[15] He has created work that gives the illusion of five-fold rotational symmetry in the Wallpaper group.[11] His award-winning[16] artwork has been profiled by the American Mathematical Society,[17]

He promotes a visual and computational perspective of math through his art, seminars, writing, etc. typically aimed towards undergraduates and mathematicians.[18]

## LGBTQIA+ Community

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Farris is an active member of the LGBTQIA+ community.[19][20] He has worked for the advancement of LGBTQIA+ mathematicians, for instance, in the formation of Spectra (mathematical association).[21] In 2014, he married William O. Beeman; they had been a couple since 1984.[19] In 2021, he was profiled in the podcast "Count Me In with Della and Deanna".[22]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e "An Interview with Frank Farris | Mathematical Association of America". www.maa.org. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
2. ^ "Mathematical Art as a Discipline" (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 68: 980–986.
3. ^ "Frank Farris - The Mathematics Genealogy Project". www.mathgenealogy.org. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
4. ^ "Teaching Awards" (PDF). Mini Focus. 2019. p. 3.
5. ^ "Editors of Mathematics Magazine | Mathematical Association of America". www.maa.org. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
6. ^ "Five Years at the Magazine | Mathematical Association of America". www.maa.org. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
7. ^ "The Edge of the Universe | Mathematical Association of America". www.maa.org. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
8. ^ Farris, Frank A. (2015-06-02). Creating Symmetry. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-16173-0.
9. ^ "2016 Award Winners". PROSE Awards. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
10. ^ "2018 Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award Winners". issuu. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
11. ^ a b Klarreich, Erica (5 March 2013). "How to Make Impossible Wallpaper". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
12. ^ Lamb, Evelyn. "Impossible Wallpaper and Mystery Curves: Exploring Symmetry in Mathematics and Art". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
13. ^ Dobbins, Elizabeth. "Off the Cuff: Frank A. Farris, professor of mathematics and computer science at Santa Clara University". The Oberlin Review. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
14. ^ "A p4/p2 of Puzzle Pieces, 2012 | Viz | Carleton College". apps.carleton.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
15. ^ "Creating Symmetry: The Artful Mathematics of Wallpaper Patterns" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
16. ^ "News from the AMS". American Mathematical Society. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
17. ^ "Mathematical Imagery: Frank Farris: Seeing Symmetry". American Mathematical Society. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
18. ^ "SCU Personal Homepage for Farris, Frank". math.scu.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
19. ^ a b "MAA Focus February/March 2019". digitaleditions.walsworthprintgroup.com. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
20. ^ "Spectra Out and Ally Lists".
21. ^ "The Origins of Spectra, an Organization for LGBT Mathematicians" (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 66: 875–882.
22. ^ "MAA Blog: Count Me In". MATH VALUES. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-06.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

Academics|

* Mathematics Genealogy Project
* MathSciNet