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Patrick Headley, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
headley001@gannon.edu
(814) 871-7147

Office: Zurn Science Center, Room 401

Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan

Teaching Interests: Any course in which the students ask good questions - and all questions are good questions.

Research Interests: Algebraic combinatorics, especially the topics related to reflection groups. To start to understand the concept of "reflection group," think of a highly-symmetric object like a cube. There are many ways to rotate or reflect (that is, take a mirror-image of) a cube so that it occupies the same space as it did at the start. Rotations and reflections can be encoded as matrices, matrices can be multiplied, and now you have some algebra happening. The combinatorics part refers to the fact that questions about the algebra are often solved by counting some set of mathematical structures.

Other Interests: I have appeared on Jeopardy! and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire!, and I wrote articles on both for Math Horizons (April 1999 and February 2007 issues). I like to play the piano, sing in my church choir, and listen to many kinds of music. My daughter has me hooked on live theatre, especially when she is on the Erie Playhouse stage. I enjoy traveling to far-off places, but I think the Great Lakes are under-appreciated even by those of us living on their shores. I follow international soccer as a distraction from many years of disappointment following Cleveland sports, but my favorite soccer player is my son, who likes to play in the EYSA and YMCA leagues.