{"id":2,"date":"2019-05-30T21:27:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T21:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/francis-su.104.42.120.246.xip.io\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-07-30T18:44:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:44:42","slug":"bio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/bio\/","title":{"rendered":"Biography &amp; CV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"bio-top\" class=\"wp-block-group fs-page fs-bio\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns fs-bio-intro is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:30%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium fs-bio-photo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/03\/su-lake-louise-tight-square-300x300.jpeg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Francis Su\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<p class=\"fs-kicker wp-block-paragraph\">Mathematician, teacher, author, and former president of the Mathematical Association of America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"fs-lede fs-bio-lede wp-block-paragraph\">Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, and a former president of the Mathematical Association of America. He received his B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. His research is in topological combinatorics and applications to the social sciences, including game theory, voting theory, triangulations of polytopes, and the mathematics of fair decisions. He has co-authored numerous papers with undergraduates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Su also has a passion for teaching and popularizing mathematics through writing and public engagement. His work has been profiled in&nbsp;<em>Quanta Magazine<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Wired<\/em>, and the&nbsp;<em>New York Times<\/em>. Three of his articles have been featured in Princeton Press&#8217; <em>Best Writing on Mathematics<\/em> in 2011, 2014, and 2018.&nbsp;<br><br>Su is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. He served as president of the Mathematical Association of America from 2015 to 2017 and as vice-president of the American Mathematical Society from 2020 to 2023. His honors include the Haimo Award for distinguished teaching, the Halmos\u2013Ford Award and Hasse Prize for mathematical exposition, and the Euler Book Prize. His book&nbsp;<em>Mathematics for Human Flourishing<\/em>&nbsp;(2020), published by Yale University Press, won the 2021 Euler Book Prize, and has been translated into 9 languages. It offers an inclusive vision of what math is, whom it\u2019s for, and why anyone should learn it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"fs-jump wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Jump to:<\/strong> <a href=\"#short-bio\">short bio<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"#curriculum-vitae\">curriculum vitae<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"#selected-background\">selected background<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"#contact\">contact<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"curriculum-vitae\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Curriculum vitae<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group fs-directory fs-cv-links\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group fs-directory-item\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/francissu.com\/cv-short.pdf\">Short CV \u2197<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A four-page overview of appointments, honors, leadership, selected talks, books, and publications.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group fs-directory fs-cv-links\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group fs-directory-item\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/francissu.com\/cv.pdf\">Full CV \u2197<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A full account of my academic history.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"academic-profiles\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Academic profiles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?hl=en&amp;oi=sra&amp;user=Av1e9qQAAAAJ\">Google Scholar<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3986-4052\">ORCID<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hmc.edu\/mathematics\/faculty-staff\/su\/\">Harvey Mudd faculty profile<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/research-papers-and-preprints\/\">Research &amp; Publications<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"selected-background\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Selected background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns fs-two-column is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Education &amp; appointment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list fs-plain-list\">\n<li><strong>Harvey Mudd College:<\/strong> Benediktsson\u2013Karwa Professor of Mathematics, faculty member since 1996<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harvard University:<\/strong> Ph.D. in Mathematics, 1995; advisor Persi Diaconis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>University of Texas at Austin:<\/strong> B.S. in Mathematics, 1989, with Highest Honors and Special Honors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leadership<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list fs-plain-list\">\n<li>President, Mathematical Association of America, 2015\u20132017<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vice-President, American Mathematical Society, 2020\u20132023<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Co-chair, AMS Task Force on the historical role of the AMS in racial discrimination<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Research Director, ICERM Research Experiences for Undergraduate Faculty, 2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Research Director, MSRI-UP, Geometric Combinatorics, 2015.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Selected honors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list fs-plain-list\">\n<li><strong>2025:<\/strong> Fellow of the American Mathematical Society<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2021:<\/strong> Euler Book Prize, for <em>Mathematics for Human Flourishing<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2018:<\/strong> Paul R. Halmos\u2013Lester R. Ford Award<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2013:<\/strong> Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for distinguished teaching<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2001:<\/strong> Merten M. Hasse Prize<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Books<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list fs-plain-list\">\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/francissu.com\/flourishing\/\">Mathematics for Human Flourishing<\/a><\/em>, Yale University Press, 2020<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/topology-through-inquiry\/\"><em>Topology Through Inquiry<\/em><\/a>, with Michael Starbird, AMS\/MAA Press, 2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"contact\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Email:<\/strong> [my last name] @math.hmc.edu<br><strong>Mail:<\/strong> Department of Mathematics, Harvey Mudd College, 301 Platt Boulevard, Claremont, CA 91711<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mathematician, teacher, author, and former president of the Mathematical Association of America. Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, and a former president of the Mathematical Association of America. He received his B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. His research [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1658,"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/1658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/math.hmc.edu\/su\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}