Catherine PFAFF, PhD (she/her)
@pfaffcatherine.bsky.social
I love beauty, adventure, order in chaos, & the search for understanding. Thus, I'm a mathematician. Math prof
@queensu, topologist, soccer addict. Views my own
@queensu, topologist, soccer addict. Views my own
I'm really fascinated right now with how sufaces, foliations, Culler-Vogtmann outer space, tropical geometry, & physics all fit together. So we have a surfaces, tropical geometry, & physics working group. Today I talked about the CP coordinates.
October 22, 2025 at 1:44 AM
I'm really fascinated right now with how sufaces, foliations, Culler-Vogtmann outer space, tropical geometry, & physics all fit together. So we have a surfaces, tropical geometry, & physics working group. Today I talked about the CP coordinates.
I have a new webpage with a research image carousel: www.catherinepfaff.com . Click on an image & see what happens!
Catherine Eva Pfaff, PhD - Queen's University
www.catherinepfaff.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I have a new webpage with a research image carousel: www.catherinepfaff.com . Click on an image & see what happens!
I'm in Hawaii this week giving a minicourse! sites.google.com/hawaii.edu/s...
Home
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
July 28-August 1, 2025
sites.google.com
July 28, 2025 at 6:44 PM
I'm in Hawaii this week giving a minicourse! sites.google.com/hawaii.edu/s...
Something extraordinary for me about the IAS is the intergenerationality & inclusion of "wise elders." I will always treasure the special bond Pierre & I developed with the greatests of greats, Karen Uhlenbeck. Our many meals, math & life conversations, something very special...
July 24, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Something extraordinary for me about the IAS is the intergenerationality & inclusion of "wise elders." I will always treasure the special bond Pierre & I developed with the greatests of greats, Karen Uhlenbeck. Our many meals, math & life conversations, something very special...
Always wonderful to see a former student thriving & sharing that they'll be at your location! Howie Hong at IAS!
July 24, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Always wonderful to see a former student thriving & sharing that they'll be at your location! Howie Hong at IAS!
It's somehow not the most flattering video of me, but here I am talking about talking about simplicial complexes at the Institute: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhcm...
Constructing Mathematical Objects | Institute Instances – Catherine Eva Pfaff
YouTube video by Institute for Advanced Study
www.youtube.com
July 8, 2025 at 2:39 PM
It's somehow not the most flattering video of me, but here I am talking about talking about simplicial complexes at the Institute: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhcm...
I'm excited that I'll be spending 2 months at l'Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in Orsay (right outside Paris) Spring 2026!
July 5, 2025 at 2:26 PM
I'm excited that I'll be spending 2 months at l'Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in Orsay (right outside Paris) Spring 2026!
Reading a book from 1989 that refers to a book from 1985 as an up-to-date reference. Perhaps that wording doesn't quite stand the test of time...
June 8, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Reading a book from 1989 that refers to a book from 1985 as an up-to-date reference. Perhaps that wording doesn't quite stand the test of time...
Among last week's IAS shenanigans was trying to reenact an Oppenheimer scene with Professor Flores. I chose to asssume that in reality there was actually a dog present in that moment of history.
June 4, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Among last week's IAS shenanigans was trying to reenact an Oppenheimer scene with Professor Flores. I chose to asssume that in reality there was actually a dog present in that moment of history.
Last Groups & Dynamics Seminar talk of the year. It's been lovely, thank you to everyone for your time & generosity! youtu.be/Q9Y1AReegNg?...
Linear Flows on Translation Prisms - Jayadev Athreya
YouTube video by Institute for Advanced Study
youtu.be
May 14, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Last Groups & Dynamics Seminar talk of the year. It's been lovely, thank you to everyone for your time & generosity! youtu.be/Q9Y1AReegNg?...
PhD advisor Lee Mosher & his current student Sarasi Jayasekara visited me at IAS today for Lee's talk. Really wonderful talk & day!
May 7, 2025 at 3:51 AM
PhD advisor Lee Mosher & his current student Sarasi Jayasekara visited me at IAS today for Lee's talk. Really wonderful talk & day!
Pierre enjoyed learning about buildings this week from Petra Schwer!
May 3, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Pierre enjoyed learning about buildings this week from Petra Schwer!
Great talk by Joseph Maher this week!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaKc...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaKc...
Thurston Elements in the Mapping Class Group - Joseph Maher
YouTube video by Institute for Advanced Study
www.youtube.com
May 2, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Great talk by Joseph Maher this week!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaKc...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaKc...
This beautiful mathematical story was a highlight of the week for sure! Thanks Rob Silversmith!
April 27, 2025 at 3:35 PM
This beautiful mathematical story was a highlight of the week for sure! Thanks Rob Silversmith!
Really great visiting Yale earlier this week & chatting with Eduardo Reyes there!
April 17, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Really great visiting Yale earlier this week & chatting with Eduardo Reyes there!
Episode 2 today with her collaborator also. Very fun & exciting conversations!
April 10, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Episode 2 today with her collaborator also. Very fun & exciting conversations!
Dr. Brandis Whitfield defended her thesis last week & spoke at IAS this week! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjtt...
Short Curves of End-Periodic Mapping Tori - Brandis Whitfield
YouTube video by Institute for Advanced Study
www.youtube.com
April 10, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Dr. Brandis Whitfield defended her thesis last week & spoke at IAS this week! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjtt...
Thomas Koberda's excellent talk here at the Institute for Advanced Study! www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKNj...
Using Logic to Investigate Homeomorphism Groups of Manifolds - Thomas Koberda
YouTube video by Institute for Advanced Study
www.youtube.com
April 6, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Thomas Koberda's excellent talk here at the Institute for Advanced Study! www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKNj...
So much going on that I forgot to share that Chi Cheuk Tsang & I have a new preprint! Really fun project, where we give a "cubist" decomposition of the collection of axes for a fully irreducible & use it for the conjugacy problem. arxiv.org/abs/2503.16360
March 31, 2025 at 1:24 PM
So much going on that I forgot to share that Chi Cheuk Tsang & I have a new preprint! Really fun project, where we give a "cubist" decomposition of the collection of axes for a fully irreducible & use it for the conjugacy problem. arxiv.org/abs/2503.16360
There's a new Dr. in the house! Lee Mosher's final PhD student (Dr. Sarasi Jay, @sarasi.bsky.social ) has successfully defended her formidable thesis!
March 27, 2025 at 12:12 AM
There's a new Dr. in the house! Lee Mosher's final PhD student (Dr. Sarasi Jay, @sarasi.bsky.social ) has successfully defended her formidable thesis!
I'm on instagram without being on instagram! www.instagram.com/p/DHJBafZRXWs/
March 13, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I'm on instagram without being on instagram! www.instagram.com/p/DHJBafZRXWs/
The turtles in Princeton have come out of brumation! It must be spring!
March 13, 2025 at 1:26 PM
The turtles in Princeton have come out of brumation! It must be spring!
Confession: I still have an X account & at some point I'd curated my feed so that it's basically all cute animal videos.
March 11, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Confession: I still have an X account & at some point I'd curated my feed so that it's basically all cute animal videos.
Eduardo Reyes gave a wonderful talk at IAS yesterday! Fantastic visit overall too!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfw3...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfw3...
Approximating Hyperbolic Lattices by Cubulations - Eduardo Reyes
YouTube video by Institute for Advanced Study
www.youtube.com
March 5, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Eduardo Reyes gave a wonderful talk at IAS yesterday! Fantastic visit overall too!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfw3...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfw3...
Very special treat to get to tell Karen Uhlenbeck about geodesics in Culler-Vogtmann outer space today & for her to share some of her wisdom in return. Some heros are even better in real life.
March 1, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Very special treat to get to tell Karen Uhlenbeck about geodesics in Culler-Vogtmann outer space today & for her to share some of her wisdom in return. Some heros are even better in real life.