Mark Ronan's website
Biography
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After leaving university, and
working in the commercial world for several years, Mark went to the west
coast of America for graduate study, and finished his Ph.D. at Oxford. From
there he took a position at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and spent
time in Germany (at the University of Braunschweig and the Free University of
Berlin). In 1989 he moved from Chicago to England where he took up the Mason
Chair of Mathematics at the University of Birmingham, returning three years
later to his old position in Chicago. He now lives in London where he is
honorary professor of mathematics at University College, as well as retaining
his association with Chicago. In addition to his mathematical
research, Mark has taught mathematics at all levels, from basic undergraduate
to advanced graduate courses. He has also taught university courses on the
ancient literature of Mesopotamia, including the Epic
of Gilgamesh. These courses are based on Mark's detailed knowledge of
ancient languages written in cuneiform. Mark's recent book Symmetry and the Monster describes the quest to find all the basic building
blocks for symmetry, and his four BBC Radio 3 broadcasts on this subject
in April and May 2008 were chosen for Pick of the Week on Radio 4. |
