# Terrence Richard Blackman

My office is Room AB1-L08E
Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Telephone: 718-270-6417
E-mail: tblackman (at) mec (dot) cuny (dot) edu
Bio
CV

## Acknowledgements

I have emulated the style and feel of the home page of David Vogan

## Research

### Mathematics

I am a number theorist. I work on aspects of the Jacquet-Langlands correspondence in the Langlands program. To be specific: I study the discrete spectrum and the eigenfunctions of the Laplacian for a special class of arithmetic'' surfaces, namely those with constant negative curvature, finite area and a finite number of punctures'' or cusps''. These are of fundamental interest in mathematics and physics. Such surfaces are called hyperbolic and when we puncture'' them we have essentially removed a point from the surface and pulled it away to infinity. The arithmeticity'' of the surface relates to its association with subgroups of the modular group. The eigenfunctions are called Maass waveforms and they remain a mystery some now sixty years after their discovery. No explicit construction exists for any of these functions on the full modular group. Their existence and information about their eigenvalues come mostly from the Selberg trace formula and from conjectures supported by exhaustive numerical computations. Maass wave forms, non-Euclidean sine waves, arise naturally in such seemingly diverse fields as number theory, dynamical systems, statistical mechanics, quantum chaos in theoretical physics and cosmology. I investigate spectral correspondences predicted by the Jacquet Langlands Correspondence between the spectra of some finite area arithmetic surfaces without punctures'' and a related class of finite area surfaces with punctures". Please see my most recent paper, in the Journal of Number Theory , with Stefan Lemurell, on spectral correspondences for Maass waveforms on quaternion groups.

### Mathematics Education

I also work on promoting diversity in mathematics and science. My research agenda is grounded in the pedagogical, content, soccio-economic, cultural and structural issues which inform the low rates of mathematics achievement by students of color. My work aims to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in mathematics and science from grade school to graduate school. I focus on: (i) Strategies which enhance the mathematical preparedness of underrepresented students for college level mathematics and those which support access to meaningful mathematics while in college;(ii) Understanding and implementing strategies which foster retention and persistence in mathematics for all students but particularly those from underrepresented communities;(iii)Developing and understanding meaningful and innovative uses of emerging instructional technologies in support of mathematics instruction. (iv) Community/Social infrastructure that supports mathematics achievement in underrepresented communities, in particular, the challenges and opportunities for the development of institutional partnerships aimed at connecting mathematics to the community specifically the creating and sustaining of links between Middle Schools, High Schools, Two and four year College and Research Institutions in a particular geographic region. (v) Strategies to support the participation of members of underrepresented communities in research mathematics. (vi) The use of number theory in the teaching and learning of mathematics and in mathematics education research. (vii) Here are three resources that inform my thinking on mathematics and mathematics education: (i) The Mathematical Sciences in 2025 (ii) Fueling Innovation and Discovery: The Mathematical Sciences in 21st Century. and (iii) Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads (2011). Please see some recent work, with John Belcher, in the Proceedings of Bridges 2013: Mathematics, Music Art, Architecture, Culture, on the potential of the use of music to build intuitions about deep mathematical questions.

## Of Interest

• Here is a link to the MLK Scholars @ MIT Page. There is a small mention of our recently funded NSF Project: "Access to Mathematics For All".

• MLK Scholars @ MIT

## Media

• Here is a radio interview that Larry Martin, the Executive Director of the Male Development and Empowerment Center at Medgar Evers College, and I did with Hugh Hamilton on WBAI Radio on the success of the Math Masters Initiative: An effort we conceived and implemented to prepare inner city students in the Central Brooklyn community for the New York City Specialized High School Exams(Our segment begins at the one hour mark. Enjoy!).

• Professor Terrence Blackman and Dr. Dexter McKenzie, president of the Provident Clinical Society of Brooklyn, argue that science and society benefit when the scientific community nurtures and mentors African Americans in the sciences.
• March 20, 2007 | CUNY Lecture Series:

## The Frank Ragland Math Masters Institute(FRMMI)

The Frank Ragland Math Masters Institute is an initiative designed to engage middle school students in Central Brooklyn in the development of their mathematical interests and talents. It is a weekly program for over 50 elementary and middle school students. Sessions are held on Saturday at the Medgar Evers College campus of the City University of New York. The program is supported by the Medgar Evers College Mathematics Department, The Male Development and Empowerment Center at Medgar Evers College, MDEC, and by contributions from parents and Community organizations. FRMMI

## The Queens College Alumni Association of New York Summer Math and Coding Initiative (QCAANYSMCI)

The Queens College Alumni Association of New York(QCAANY) Summer Mathematics and Coding Initiative is designed to engage first through third form students in Guyana in the development of their mathematical interests and talents. It is a two week program for twenty-eight (28) students who will enter the third form in September, 2016. The initiative aims to design, develop and sustainably implement developmentally--appropriate and culturally resonant middle school, i.e., a first through third form learning environment that engages Guyanese students in cognitively rich STEM learning experiences that affirm and align with their cultural and social identities and place them securely on pathways to STEM excellence. These learning environments will integrate: digital and other technologies, multi-modal embodied learning, active areas of STEM research, and elements from Guyanese arts and cultural practices. Daily sessions will be held at Queens College in Guyana from July 18-July 29, 2016. The program is supported by QCAANY, Medgar Evers College Mathematics Department and by contributions from parents and Community organizations. QCAANYSMCI

## Teaching

• Spring 2016
• (i) Probability and Staistics(MTH 237)

(ii) Integral Calculus of a Single Variable: Calculus II(MTH 203)

• Spring 2016
• (i) Number Theory(MTH 305)

(ii) The History of Mathematics (MTH 330)

• Spring 2015
• Analysis of Teaching(CUI 4032), Tuesdays 4:00 pm-6:20 pm (March 23-June 02), Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall 302

• Winter 2015
• (i) Math in Secondary School(TEP 4640), Monday 4:00-7:00pm, KRH 134

(ii) History and Philosophy in Mathematics Education (CUI 4600); Monday 7:00-9:20pm; KRH 134

• Autumn 2014
• Curriculum and Instruction Research Seminar( CUI 4050); Thursday 4:00-6:20pm; KRH 335

• Summer 2014
• (i) Math For Elementary School Teachers I

(ii) Math For Elementary School Teachers II

(iii) Math For Secondary School Teachers

• Spring 2014
• Curriculum and Instruction Research Seminar( CUI 5994); Wednesday 4:30-6:50pm; KRH 409

• Winter 2014
• (1) Math in Secondary School, Monday 4:30-7:20pm, KRH 203
(2)Models of Curriculum, Wednesday 4:30 pm - 6:50 pm, KRH 435
• Autumn 2013
• Introduction To Secondary Methods (Math & Science), Monday 4:30-6:50pm, KRH 134
• Spring 2013
• Calculus (18.01), Tuesday and Thursday 11:00-12:00, and Friday 2:00-3:00, 2-142.

## Seminars

• Five College Number Theory Seminar
• MIT number theory seminar
• BC-MIT number theory seminar
• MIT Lie Groups Seminar.

• ## Of Interest

• Math Overflow
• Math Arxiv
• Mathscinet
• Mathematicians of the African Diaspora
• The Mathematics Genealogy Project.
• CAARMS
• NAM
• MathLynx
• Math For America
• Bridges Proposal