Francis Su

Professor Francis Su

Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, a former president of the Mathematical Association of America, and a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. In 2013, he received the Haimo Award, a nationwide teaching prize in the U.S. for college math faculty. His work has been profiled in Quanta Magazine, Wired, and The New York Times. His book Mathematics for Human Flourishing (2020), winner of the 2021 Euler Book Prize, offers an inclusive vision of what math is, who it’s for, and why anyone should learn it.

Keynote: Mathematics for Human Flourishing: Building Virtues Not Just Skills

People often see math as just a set of skills, like doing arithmetic or factoring a quadratic, rather than as an opening to joy and wonder. Yet math is a deeply human enterprise that can meet basic human longings, such as for beauty and truth, and can build virtues like persistence, creativity, and an expectation of enchantment. Such virtues are more important than skills, especially in an AI era. An incarcerated man—now my friend–has helped me see this more clearly than ever before.

Date: Friday 2 July 13:45-14:45