Math-Life Balance

Max Karoubi is a Professor Emmeritus at the University of Paris 7, working in K-theory and algebraic topology. In this interview, Max shares warm memories about Grothendieck and the Bourbaki group, discusses math studies in Northern Africa and highly recommends doing research in collaborations. 

Max' webpage: https://webusers.imj-prg.fr/~max.karoubi/

Photo: from Max' webpage

0:00​ teaser

0:43​ getting into math in Northern Africa

5:33​ getting a family helped to do math

9:12​ PhD under Cartan and Grothendieck

13:05​ Grothendieck: naive genius 

16:53​ Karoubi as a name for math terminology

19:18​ new foundations of hermitian K-theory

22:20​ why write math in french

26:33​ founding European Congress of Mathematics

29:30​ collaborators are the best

34:35​ the importance of teaching

38:53​ why french people are arrogant

42:26​ RIP good jobmarket times

44:33​ how we can help math in developing countries 

46:44​ traveling to USSR in 1961

48:58​ please don’t boycott ICM!

51:35​ you cannot do math alone

55:58​ wish for young mathematicians

Mariana Smit Vega Garcia is an Assistant Professor at Western Washington University, working in geometric analysis and partial differential equations. In this interview, Mariana speaks, among other things, about her math-life balance, the experience of representing different minorities and the joy of teaching mathematics. In addition: lots of friendly advice for undergrads!

Mariana's webpage: http://faculty.wwu.edu/smitvem/​

Photo: from Mariana's webpage

0:00​ teaser

0:44​ didn’t want to be a professor

3:28​ trying to find math-life balance

9:10​ collaborators are friends

13:06​ mathematician-extrovert

16:05​ experiencing sexism

19:10​ burden of representing a minority

21:38​ insecurities in math

27:09​ joy of teaching

30:07​ motivation to do research

34:28​ algebraic vs analytic worlds

38:35​ pessimism in research

40:31​ we are more than our math

44:22​ moving around the world

49:35​ advice for students from faraway

52:32​ initiatives for minorities

58:32​ what students have to know

1:00:08​ final advice

Richard Thomas is a professor at Imperial College London, working in algebraic geometry and mirror symmetry. In this interview, Richard speaks about math education for kids, contemplates the process of doing research and gives plenty of good advice for PhD students. 

Richard's webpage: http://wwwf.imperial.ac.uk/~rpwt/​

Photo: Richard's wikipedia page

Interview with Richard Thomas

0:00​ teaser

0:30​ non-linear way in math

3:14​ the mystery of mathematicians

6:55​ kids' attitude to math problems

11:40​ boys vs girls math approach

16:26​ me being triggered (clickbait!)

21:32​ what made Richard a mathematician

26:40​ insights vs dull proofs

29:06​ math is subjective 

30:08​ process of doing math research

35:16​ obstructions to enjoying research

37:53​ what students should know

43:53​ hardest part of research

47:36​ insecurities of mathematicians

51:19​ psychology of doing math

54:55​ minorities in math

1:01:14​ math during an earthquake

This video is dedicated to my teacher of mathematics in the middle school, Andrey Yurjevich Alexeev. Time for stories about my first encounter with "abstract math" and my first math talk!

My school: https://610.ru/en/​

Photo of A. Yu. Alexeev: from Vasily Baev's private collection

Marc Levine is a professor at Duisburg-Essen University, working in algebraic geometry and motivic homotopy theory, and my PhD advisor! In this interview, Marc contemplates how to look for research problems, learn new research areas and move from USA to Germany with your family.

Marc's webpage: https://www.esaga.uni-due.de/marc.levine/

Photo: Marc's private photo collection

0:00​ teaser

0:48​ becoming a mathematician

2:51​ family’s reaction

4:48​ moving from USA to Germany

6:55​ bilingualism and jokes

10:40​ skills for doing research

14:15​ encouraging to stay in academia

17:06​ PhD advising 

18:55​ what is work

20:20​ mysterious time-management

23:00​ not being judgmental

25:08​ geometric intuition

27:55​ thinking too fast

29:03​ challenge of moving forward

32:24​ finding math problems

35:26​ independence after graduation

38:21​ serious research mistakes

43:09​ how to learn motivic homotopy theory

45:45​ learning math backwards

47:28​ changes in the math community

51:31​ mathematical inspiration

53:21​ funny conference encounter

55:12​ my gratitude and R. Kipling

59:13​ advice to young mathematicians

Dustin Clausen is an associate professor in Copenhagen university, working in algebraic K-theory, homotopy theory and number theory. In this interview, Dustin shares controversial opinions on publishing and grant system, tells about his view on leaving academia, and reproduces very vividly a Tarantino style plot of an interrogation in Moscow, for stealing cookies! P.S. Dustin would like to assure the viewers that he did not steal any cookies. 

Dustin's homepage: https://www.math.ku.dk/english/staff/faculty/?pure=en%2Fpersons%2F467008

Photo: from Copenhagen University webpage

0:00​ teasing teaser

0:40​ French high school shock

5:04​ being grandson of John Tate

8:00​ doubts about academic career

9:38​ alternative career options

11:01​ opinions too negative to share

13:41​ disappointments of grad school

15:01​ giving a satisfying math talk is impossible

17:01​ decision to stay in academia

19:56​ publishing is a rotten enterprise

23:51​ struggles of refereeing 

26:27​ mistakes in talks and papers

31:10​ my first impression of Dustin

33:17​ numbers and homotopies

36:25​ Mike Hopkins is the best

40:40​ Jacob Lurie as PhD advisor

44:11​ not understanding is great

47:44​ reading and writing math papers

51:17​ “Math in Moscow”: thrilling story

57:00​ doing math when you have babies

59:04​ distributing grants equally

01:01:02​ how to not be afraid of job market

01:03:18​ funny reaction to saying you’re doing math

01:05:23​ kind words for those who feel demotivated

In this episode I’m telling about my reasons for making interviews with mathematicians and about the process of doing it. Please leave your feedback for the project in the comments on the Youtube channel! I really appreciate it :)

My personal webpage: https://www.muramatik.com​

0:00​ Comments and feedback are welcome!

0:40​ How to help the channel?

01:09​ Why I am making the interviews?

02:50​ Was I afraid to start the channel?

05:18​ Did I have experience with interviews before?

06:17​ How do I choose interviewees?

08:20​ What are the main rules of interviewing?

10:16​ How I prepare questions?

13:33​ How I prepare interviewees?

14:58​ How I am trying to show that interviewees are relateable?

15:48​ What goes wrong during an interview?

18:03​ What are the happiest moments?

18:53​ What's the hardest about making interviews? 

19:44​ What are my main tools?

Olga Paris-Romaskevich is a CNRS researcher at Marseille Institute of Mathematics, working in dynamical systems. In this interview Olga talks about the joy of popularizing mathematics and shares a truly inspiring story of how she (almost) quit math!

Olga's webpage: https://romaskevich.carrd.co​

https://marielhuissier.carrd.co​ (Marie Lhuissier, mathematical storyteller)

https://www.mathematiquesvagabondes.fr​ (French association Mathématiques Vagabondes created by Olga Paris-Romaskevich and Marie Lhuissier, to foster exchange between arts and mathematics)

https://matematika.mathematiquesvagab...​ (site of the MАТЕМАТИКА project — exchanging with women in mathematics in Russia)

http://ciel.mmi-lyon.fr/​ Exhibition Mathematics of the sky

0:00​ teaser

00:30​ unexpected interview outcome

01:16​ when math research became a choice

04:45​ why you choose math

8:44​ what being a mathematician means 

10:43​ how math changed you

12:50​ which skills math research gives you

17:16​ desired changes in the math community

21:21​ what’s included in “inclusivity”

25:48​ young mathematicians feeling included

28:14​ math as an instrument in life

32:28​ why popularize math

36:15​ traveling through Russia to collect math stories

38:28​ how Olya inspired me to start “Math-life balance”

39:19​ the importance of dreaming

40:10​ how Olya quit academia (not clickbait:) )

44:28​ what happens when you decide to stop doing math

47:30​ don’t change how you are, change the world around

49:57​ not working when you don’t have motivation

51:38​ how to learn a TED talk

53:24​ cool metaphor of math research

56:12​ advice to those who feel lost these days

Rahul Pandharipande is a professor in ETH Zurich, working in algebraic geometry. In this interview, Rahul talks about advising PhD students and maintaining a big research group, the role of mathematics in the world and the intuition behind mathematical problems. 

Rahul's webpage: https://people.math.ethz.ch/~rahul/

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0:25

4:38

6:55

9:46

12:32

13:28

17:25

19:31

20:53

24:47

26:59

28:35

29:55

32:48

35:55

39:08

40:14

43:56

45:53

47:58

50:33

52:03

53:54

54:20

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55:39

Adebisi Agboola is a professor in UCSB, working in number theory and arithmetic geometry. In this interview you get to hear non-standard opinions  on many questions, such as encouragement to do math among minorities, working on a Millenium problem and the rules of doing mathematics. 

Bisi's homepage: https://web.math.ucsb.edu/~agboola/​

0:00​ teaser

0:43​ hating math

5:45​ teaching math to small kids

9:38​ explaining your research to non-mathematicians

13:11​ following math talks

15:21​ the comfort of not understanding

20:33​ confronted with a problem you have no clue about

22:02​ lists of black mathematicians

26:41​ diversity measures in mathematics

32:46​ whether you have drive for math

35:29​ the only rule of doing math

38:01​ escaping math in a cinema

42:24​ weird reason for doing a job

44:46​ unexpected outcome of giving up

46:33​ working around a Millenium problem

49:39​ writing a research statement

53:24​ biggest misconception about math research

56:00​ people think mathematicians are crazy

58:36​ why mathematicians lack social skills

1:00:00​ find your own way