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Thomas J. Wright
PERSONAL
Basic Information
Name: Thomas John Wright
Position: Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics
Wofford College
Spartanburg, SC 29302
Email: wrighttj(at)wofford.edu
Work Phone: 864-597-4546
Website: http://math.jhu.edu/~wright
Education
- BA in Mathematics and Economics with Government Minor, Bowdoin College,
May 2003. Graduated Magna Cum Laude.
- MS in Mathematics, Johns Hopkins University, May 2006.
- Ph.D. in Mathematics, Johns Hopkins University, May 2009.
Academic Employment
- Assistant Professor, Wofford College, Sept. 2011-.
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Lawrence University, Sept. 2010-May 2011.
- Lecturer in Mathematics, Johns Hopkins University, Sept. 2009-May 2010.
- Graduate Student and Teaching Assistant, Johns Hopkins University, Sept. 2003-May
2009.
RESEARCH
Research Interests
Number theory: prime gaps, Diophantine equations, adeles, p-adic analysis, elliptic
curves, Galois cohomology, quadratic forms
Algebraic Geometry: Hasse principle and Brauer-Manin obstructions.
Papers
Published
On Cantor’s First Uncountability Proof, Pick’s Theorem, and the Irrationality of the
Golden Ratio (joint with Mike Krebs), Appears in Amer. Math. Monthly, Volume 117,
Issue 7 (2010), 633-637.
Appearing in an Online Periodical
If I Could Do It Over, Inside Higher Ed, October 27, 2010.
Just One Question, Inside Higher Ed, February, 9, 2011.
The Money Round, Inside Higher Ed, May 2, 2011.
Refereed
On the Connection Between Igusa Local Zeta Functions and Generalized Exponential
Sums, submitted to Proceedings of the AMS, revised and resubmitted.
Submitted/In Preparation
Adeles and Prime Sums (joint with Benjamin Weiss), in preparation.
The Impossibility of Certain Types of Carmichael Numbers II, in preparation.
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Thomas J. Wright
An Elementary Approach to Euler’s Concordant Forms, submitted.
On Convergence of Singular Series for a Pair of Quadratic Forms, submitted.
The Impossibility of Certain Types of Carmichael Numbers, submitted.
Thesis
On Convergence of Singular Series for a Pair of Quadratic Forms, Ph.D. thesis for Johns
Hopkins University.
Talks Given/Posters Presented
Invited Talks
Primes Sums and the Adeles, University of South Carolina, November 2011.
Prime Sums and p-adics, Clemson University, September 2011.
Primes and the Adeles, Kansas State University, April 2011.
The Riemann Hypothesis, Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Math Club, December 2010.
Germain Primes, Twin Primes, and Adeles, Johns Hopkins University, December 2010.
Primes and p-adics, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, May 2010.
Are Primes Random?, Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Math Club, March 2010.
Are Primes Random?, Muhlenberg College, February 2010.
Triangles and Elliptic Curves: The Congruent Number Problem, Johns Hopkins
Undergraduate Math Club, November 2009.
Diophantine Questions and the Adeles. Graduate Student Arithmetic Seminar,
University of Michigan, September 2009.
Waring’s Problem and the p-adics, VIGRE Departmental Seminar, University of Georgia,
March 2009.
Triangles and Elliptic Curves: The Congruent Number Problem, Kenyon College,
February 2009.
Triangles and Elliptic Curves: The Congruent Number Problem, Mt. Holyoke REU
program, July 2008.
Triangles and Elliptic Curves: The Congruent Number Problem, Mt. Holyoke REU
program, July 2007.
An Elementary Approach to Euler’s Concordant Forms, KIAS Number Theory
Conference, Korean Institute for Advanced Studies, Seoul, South Korea, June 2006.
The ABC Conjecture and Related Conjectures, Mt. Holyoke REU program, July 2005.
The p-adic Integers, Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics, July 2002.
Contributed Talks and Posters
Prime Gaps and Trigonometric Sums. Joint Meetings of the AMS/MAA, New Orleans,
LA, January 2011.
Diophantine Questions and the Adeles. Joint Meetings of the AMS/MAA, San Francisco,
CA, January 2010.
Adelic Singular Series and the Goldbach Conjecture, Fields Institute Conference in
Number Theory, Fields Institute at Carleton University, June 2009.
Convergence of Singular Series for a Pair of Quadratic Forms, Joint Meetings of the
AMS/MAA, Washington, D.C., January 2009.
Convergence of Singular Series for a Pair of Quadratic Forms, Departmental seminar,
Johns Hopkins University, December 2008.
Waring’s Problem and the Adeles, Departmental “Slow-Pitch” Seminar for Graduate
Students, Johns Hopkins University, November 2008.
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Thomas J. Wright
A Stationary Phase Formula for Generalized Exponential Sums, poster presented, Joint
Meetings of the AMS/MAA, Baltimore, MD, January 2003.
A Stationary Phase Formula for Generalized Exponential Sums, Mathfest, University of
Vermont, August 2002.
Igusa Local Zeta Functions, MAA Northeast Sectional Meetings, Williams College, July
2002.
Conferences Attended
- Palmetto Number Theory Series XVIII, Clemson University, December 2011.
- Palmetto Number Theory Series XVII, Emory University, September 2011.
- Joint Meetings of the AMS/MAA, New Orleans, January 2011.
- Canadian Number Theory Association Meeting XII, Acadia University, July 2010.
- Number Theory and Representation Theory, Harvard University, June 2010.
- Joint Meetings of the AMS/MAA, San Francisco, January 2010.
- Fields Institute Conference in Number Theory, Fields Institute at Carleton University,
June 2009.
- Conference on Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory VII, City University of New
York, May 2009.
- Arizona Winter School on Quadratic Forms, University of Arizona, March 2009.
- Joint Meetings of the AMS/MAA, Washington, D.C., January 2009.
- Summer School in Analytic Number Theory and Diophantine Approximation, Fields
Institute at University of Ottawa, June-July 2008.
- Analytic Number Theory and Higher Rank Groups, New York University, May 2008.
- Summer School in Iwasawa Theory, Fields Institute at McMaster University, August
2007.
- L-Functions and Automorphic Forms, Columbia University, May 2007.
- Joint Meetings of the AMS/MAA, New Orleans, LA, January 2007.
- KIAS Number Theory Conference, Korean Institute for Advanced Studies, Seoul,
Korea, June 2006.
- Open Questions and Recent Developments in Iwasawa Theory, Boston University,
June 2005.
- Joint Meetings of the AMS/MAA, Baltimore, MD, January 2003.
- Mathfest, University of Vermont, August 2002.
- MAA Northeast Sectional Meetings, Williams College, July 2002.
TEACHING
Teaching Awards:
- Mathematics Excellence in Teaching Award, May 2009.
- Finalist for Teaching Assistant of the Year, Johns Hopkins University, March
2008.
- William Kelso Morrill Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, May 2006.
Courses Taught:
- Introduction to Calculus: Fall 2006.
- Calculus I: Summer 2008, Spring 2010, Fall 2010.
- Calculus II: Winter 2011
- Applied Calculus I: Winter 2011
- Number Theory: Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2012
- Elementary Statistics: Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011
- Study of Patterns: Fall 2011
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Thomas J. Wright
Courses TA’ed (ran recitation sections and graded):
- Calculus I: Fall 2007, Spring 2008.
- Calculus II: Fall 2009.
- Calculus III: Fall 2004, Spring 2005, Fall 2008.
- Linear Algebra: Fall 2005, Spring 2006, Spring 2007.
- Microeconomics: Fall 2000, Spring 2001, Spring 2002, Fall 2002, Spring 2003.
Courses Graded:
- Probability: Fall 2000.
- Statistics: Spring 2001.
- Number Theory: Fall 2002.
Other Teaching Experience:
- Instructor for Cryptology at Center for Talented Youth, Summer 2007.
- Assistant Director, Johns Hopkins Concert Band, 2005-2008.
- Assistant Director, Johns Hopkins Jazz Ensemble, 2006-2010.
- Special Assistant, Westminster High School Bands, Westminster, MD, 2005-06.
- Counselor and Music Teacher, Camp Encore/Coda, Summer 1998 and 1999.
- Special Assistant, Easton Middle School Bands, Easton, MA, 1997-99.
MISCELLANEOUS
Committees and Service
- Organizer for Wofford Putnam Competition Team, 2011- Organizer of Departmental Number Theory/Algebraic Geometry Seminars, 2008-2010:
invited speakers and planned for their attendance.
- Chair of a Contributed Paper Session at the Joint Meetings of the AMS-MAA, January
2009.
- Co-Organizer of Slow Pitch Seminars, 2008-2009.
- Member, Graduate Representative Organization (GRO), 2006-2009.
- Member, Search Committee for New Johns Hopkins Jazz Band Director, Summer
2008.
- Member, Search Committee for New Johns Hopkins Wind Ensemble Director, Summer
2008.
- Judge, Undergraduate Poster Session, Joint Meetings of the AMS-MAA, January 2010.
Grants, Honors, and Memberships
- Owen Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University, 2003-2006.
- Teaching Assistantship, Johns Hopkins University, 2004-.
- William Sanford Hammond prize for outstanding senior thesis in mathematics,
Bowdoin College, May 2003.
- Sarah and James Bowdoin Scholar, 1999-2000.
- Member, AMS, 2002-.
- Member, MAA, 2002-.
- Student at Budapest Semesters in Mathematics, Fall 2001.
Additional Information
- Took several years of Spanish, a few semesters of Hungarian and Russian, and have
independently studied German and Korean.
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Thomas J. Wright
- Professional musician in the Greenville area, specializing in saxophone and trumpet.