Affiliation History

I've been a student, employee, or visiting researcher at nine different universities: University of Mary Washington, Virginia Tech, University of Maryland, Macquarie University, National University of Singapore, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Edinburgh, University of Cincinnati, and Penn State University. Those cover four continents (North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia), and I am interested in visiting positions to include additional contients. I explain my affiliation history in My Academic Journey.

Speaking About Academic Careers

On December 6, 2024, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at Penn State's 17th Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium. I spoke about my experiences finding a postdoc position, being a postdoc for several years, and searching for a tenure-track position. Here's a video of my speech, with a link to my slides in the caption.

On May 18, 2019, I was honored to be the invited speaker at the graduation ceremony for the Philosophy Department at Virginia Tech. I talked about my experiences on the academic job market, including diverted flights, vaporware, misanthropic questions, and ponies. You can watch a video of my speech. I was introduced by Jim Klagge, a professor in the department. I've also posted the script that I read from.

Photography and Digital Art

With my camera.

In my free time I am a photographer and digital artist. You can browse some samples of my creations or read my Thoughts on Photography.

In October 2018, a Penn State News article included a section about my photography. The picture at the top of the article is mine, and the section about me is toward the bottom.

My camera is a Canon R5, and I carry with it an unapologetically heavy assortment of lenses.

Travel

All the air routes I have traveled, as of 2024-11-25. Map generated with the help of OpenFlights.org and Google Maps.

I enjoy travel, and international collaboration has become a significant part of my career. I have performed professional activities (research and/or teaching) at universities on five continents.

In March 2018 I taught a week-long course on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence at the Future University in Egypt, as part of its partnership with the University of Cincinnati.

In 2013 and 2014 I spent a year at the University of Edinburgh thanks to the NSF's International Research Fellowship Program (IRFP).

I spent winter 2009 at Macquarie University in Australia and summer 2010 at the National University of Singapore thanks to the NSF's East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI).

I have visited 44 countries. I have lived in four countries (USA, UK, Australia, Singapore), to the extent that in each of them I paid rent for a dwelling, bought groceries on a regular basis, and had a workplace.

Other Interests

I am particularly fond of the artwork of Edward Hopper. In literature, I've especially enjoyed the works of Sinclair Lewis and Kurt Vonnegut.

I occasionally go geocaching, and I am an amateur radio operator (license KG4LFD, technician class).

Social Networks

You can find me on Bluesky, Google Scholar, and LinkedIn.

I am also listed in the Mathematics Genealogy Project. Here's a chart of my academic ancestry, i.e., the advising relationships that preceded mine.

My Erdös Number is four:

Paul Erdös→Melvin Henriksen→Richard Gordon Wilson→Donald R. Perlis→Shomir Wilson