This is what I look like.
I got my Ph D in mathematics from the University
of Minnesota in June, 1998. My area of specialization within mathematics
is algebra, and within algebra, the representation theory of
finite groups (mostly the symmetric groups). Now I'm a postdoc
at the University of Georgia at Athens, where I'm studying
cohomology of finite groups. I'll be in Athens until June 2001
Sports: My favourite sport is by far table tennis
(also known as "ping-pong"). I'm just an intermediate
player: I'm trying to master the basic strokes and to
understand some elements of strategy.
I also play badminton, and I like it very much.
It's very different from table tennis, because spin is not
a factor and the court is much bigger, so footwork is
extremely important. And just recently, I started playing
racquetball. This is similar to both badminton and table tennis
in some ways, but it's clearly different in many others.
Games: My favourite game is chess. I was really
into it as a teenager (I even worked as a chess instructor
for a year) until table tennis came along. I still play
a few games once in a while, but I don't study it
anymore. I like solving chess problems, but I don't have
enough time for that now. There was a time when I even
created my own chess problems.
Music: I like many kinds of music, but my favourites are
easy listening, (soft) rock and folk. Some of my favourite artists
are Simon and Garfunkel, Mecano, Jean-Jacques Goldman,
Jim Croce, the Beatles,
Abba, Joan Manuel Serrat, Daniela Romo,
Barenaked Ladies, Christine Lavin, and Judy Collins,
to name a few.
Reading: Thanks to an excellent literature teacher
that I had in high school, I enjoy reading very much.
My favourite genres are science-fiction and fantasy
(particularly the latter). Some of my favourite authors are
J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Brooks and David Eddings.
Occasionally I read more classical books, such
as Dostoyevky's "Crime and punishment" and Flaubert's
"Madame Bovary".
Recently I started learning French. I am just a beginner,
and it's probably going to be a while before I can have
an intelligible conversation, but I hope someday I'll
be able to master this wonderful language.
Here's a collection of interesting sites:
The Icon Browser
This is where I found most
of the icons that I used.
Mikhail Foursov's Home Page Mike is a very good friend of mine. He has a really nice web site, with plenty of French related material and links.
The badminton club at the University of Georgia If you want to learn how to play badminton, or if you already know how to play and just want people to play with, this is the place to go.
The racquetball club at the University of Georgia A great place to learn the game and have fun.
The table tennis club at the University of Georgia Another great place to enjoy a fast-paced sport that's also a lot of fun.
The Web Design Resource An excellent introduction to HTML.
USA Table Tennis The USA Table Tennis Association.