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Dr. Alissa Crans

Dr. Alissa Crans

  • Email: acranslmu.edu
  • Website
  • Biosketch PDF
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • Status: Faculty
  • Department: Math,
  • Will Mentor: Doctoral students, Pre-doctoral students

Areas of Expertise

Pure Mathematics,

Research Interests

higher-dimensional algebra, categorifying algebraic structures called quandles with the goal of defining new knot and knotted surface invariants, interested in the connections between mathematics and music

Bio

Alissa S. Crans earned her B.S. in mathematics from the University of Redlands in 1999 and her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California at Riverside in 2004, under the guidance of John Baez. She is currently an Associate Professor of mathematics at Loyola Marymount University and has held positions at Pomona College, The Ohio State University, and the University of Chicago. Alissa's research is in the field of higher-dimensional algebra and her current work, funded by an NSA Young Investigator Grant, involves categorifying algebraic structures called quandles with the goal of defining new knot and knotted surface invariants. She is also interested in the connections between mathematics and music, and enjoys playing the clarinet with the Santa Monica College wind ensemble. Alissa is extremely active in helping students increase their appreciation and enthusiasm for mathematics through co-organizing the Pacific Coast Undergraduate Mathematics Conference together with Naiomi Cameron and Kendra Killpatrick, and her mentoring of young women in the Summer Mathematics Program (SMP) at Carleton College, the EDGE program, the Summer Program for Women in Mathematics at George Washington University, the Women in Mathematics Symposium, and the Career Mentoring Workshop. In addition, Alissa was an invited speaker at the MAA Sectional Meetings of the So Cal/Nevada and EPaDel Sections and the keynote speaker at the University of Oklahoma Math Day and the UCSD Undergraduate Math Day.