Snapshots From My Mathematical Career

Student Science Training Program, San Diego State, Summer, 1971

This was a summer math program for HS students. My first exposure to real mathematical thinking and what made me want to become a mathematician.
I'm in 3rd row up, 9th from left! Professor Deaton is in second row, far right. He taught us Euclidean geometry using Hilbert's Axioms, and did it
Texas Style, a la R.L. Moore.

HOMFLY, Berkeley, 1985

Left to Right: Vaughan Jones, Jim Hoste, Adrian Ocneanu, Ken Millett, Peter Freyd, Ray Lickorish, David Yetter.

The HOMFLY polynomial is an invariant of knots and links which generalizes both the classical Alexander polynonmial as well as the Jones polynonmial. It was independently discovered by five different groups (Hoste; Ocneanu; Millett and Lickorish; Freyd and Yetter; Przytycki and Traczyk) in 1984, shortly after Vaughan Jones announced the discovery of his new knot invariant. Unfortunately, because of martial law in Poland, word of the discovery by Przytycki and Traczyk was slow in reaching the United States. Thus the acronym, HOMFLY, (coined by David Yetter) does not include the initials P and T. The more inclusive acronym HOMFLYPT is now in general use.

Southern California Topology Colloquium, Pomona College, April 21, 2018

1st Row: J. Scott Carter, Cornelia Van Cott, Sam Nelson, Matt Rathbun, Jozef Przytycki, Yi Ni, Terry Fuller, Ron Stern, Bob Brown

Stairs: Dan Gottlieb, Jim Hoste, Daryl Cooper, Dave Bachman, Stephen Bigelow, Danny Ruberman, Blake Mellor, Patrick Shanahan, Aaron Bagheri, Mark Huber, Ryan Blair

Three Mathematical Generations

Bob Brown, Ron Stern, Jim Hoste. Pitzer College, April 21, 2018

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