Jeff Weeks is a freelance
mathematician living in Canton, NY. He has an A.B. from Dartmouth College and a
Ph.D. from Princeton University, both in mathematics. His thesis advisor was
William Thurston. His main interests are geometry, topology, cosmology and
education. After several years of teaching undergraduate mathematics, he
resigned to care for his newborn son. When his son began school, Jeff began
doing mathematical research and software development for the University of Minnesota’s
Geometry Center, designing and implementing software for creating and studying
possible shapes for 3-dimensional space. His program SnapPea
has been widely used by hyperbolic geometers and knot theorists.
A former MacArthur Fellow (1999-2004) and current National Science
Foundation award recipient (2005-2008), Jeff splits his time between research
and education. His present research centers on a collaboration with
cosmologists with whom he is testing the shape of the universe using data from
the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite. His educational activities
have led to a multimedia unit for middle schools on geometry and space. The
unit uses classroom activities, computer games and
video to let students explore universes that are finite yet have no boundaries.
Jeff is the author of the
book The Shape of Space (Marcel Dekker, 1985; second
edition 2002), the unit Exploring the Shape of Space (Key Curriculum Press,
2001) and numerous research and expository articles.