Benjamin Burrington

Background

About Benjamin Burrington

My background is in theoretical and mathematical physics, emphasis in quantum gravity, paticularly specializing in applications to field theories via AdS/CFT and gauge/gravity duality. I earned my Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. My postdoctoral appointments were at Tel Aviv University for two years, and then four years at University of Toronto. At Toronto, in addition to research, I designed and taught 3 courses: one mini course on string theory focusing on problem solving, one full length string theory course, and one advanced techniques in field theory course where I taught introductory representation theory and basics of solitons and instantons. I then held a faculty appointment for two years at Troy University, where I taught General Physics I, Physics with calculus I and II, the associated labs of these courses, an optics course, and an advanced mechanics course. Since September 2014, I have been a faculty member at Hofstra University, and have taught calculus based physics I, the associated lab, statistical mechanics, and advanced mechanics, as well as a host of special topics courses, ranging from group theory to general relativity. My experiences have given me a deep sense of how valuable good education can be. Education should be an empowering experience, particularly in science and mathematics, where the tools are both elegant and powerful. This can be conveyed in classes, using modern techniques and technologies, however, many traditional approaches are extremely effective as well. Further, I have held on to my personal experiences of learning to inform how I communicate, both in research and in teaching: I focus on how to convey ideas to the audience at hand. Specialties: proficiency with analytic/mathematical thinking and problem solving, string theory focusing on AdS/CFT, communication, writing, teaching, education materials, Maple (programming and analytic mathematical manipulation software).