YAN ZHUANG
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Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28035
Office: Chambers 3040
Phone: 704-894-2317
E-Mail: yazhuang@davidson.edu
Pronouns: he / him
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Davidson College in Davidson, NC. Prior to my appointment at Davidson, I received my Ph.D. in mathematics from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA.
My research interests lie in the areas of enumerative combinatorics and algebraic combinatorics. Most of my work is in permutation enumeration and its connections to (quasi)symmetric function theory and combinatorial Hopf algebras. I seek to answer questions about counting permutations with certain nice properties or with respect to parameters called permutation statistics, and I develop general frameworks for investigating these kinds of questions, often drawing upon the rich interplay between combinatorics and abstract algebra.
Working with students is my greatest joy at Davidson. My style of teaching empowers students to become active participants in their own learning, and as an educator, I aim to instill self-confidence in my students, to foster a sense of belonging in my classroom, and to cultivate an appreciation for the beauty and power of mathematical abstraction. I supervise undergraduate research projects in combinatorics and I look forward to introducing future students to the excitement of mathematical discovery.
I am the Principal Investigator of NSF grant DMS-2316181 (Sept. 2023–Aug. 2025). This grant provides funding for DREAM (Discovering Research and Expanding Access to Mathematics), a new summer program for Davidson students integrating mathematics research, professional development, and educational outreach. The DREAM program will run in Summers 2024 and 2025; more information (including the application) will be available in early 2024.
When I am not exploring the mathematical wilderness or sharing my love for mathematics with my students, I like to play and listen to music, play board games, exercise, and try new food. I enjoy hearing people talk about things that they are passionate about and learning from the lived experiences of those from different backgrounds.
Recent News:
- 07/23: I was awarded an NSF LEAPS-MPS grant in support of my research and related professional activities.
- 07/23: My extended abstract “Cyclic shuffle-compatibility and cyclic quasisymmetric functions” was published in the Proceedings of FPSAC 2023.
- 07/23: A preprint of my paper “On the rix statistic and valley-hopping” appeared on the arXiv.
- 06/23: A preprint of my paper “Two-sided permutation statistics via symmetric functions” appeared on the arXiv.
- 06/23: A preprint of my paper “On kernels of descent statistics” appeared on the arXiv.
- 06/23: A preprint of my paper “A subfamily of skew Dyck paths related to k-ary trees” appeared on the arXiv.
- 05/23: My paper “Statistics on clusters and r-Stirling permutations” was accepted for publication in the Journal of Combinatorics.
- 04/23: I gave an invited talk at the Wake Forest Mathematics Colloquium.
- 04/23: I gave an invited talk at the Washington College Math Seminar.
- 04/23: I gave an invited talk at the SFSU Algebra, Geometry, and Combinatorics Seminar.
- 04/23: I gave an invited talk at the UC Berkeley Combinatorics Seminar.
- 01/23: I attended the 2023 Joint Mathematics Meetings.
- 01/23: A preprint of my paper “Cyclic shuffle-compatibility via cyclic shuffle algebras” appeared on the arXiv.
- 12/22: A preprint of my paper “A combinatorial proof of a tantalizing symmetry on Catalan objects” appeared on the arXiv.
- 12/22: My paper “A lifting of the Goulden–Jackson cluster method to the Malvenuto–Reutenauer algebra” was published in Algebraic Combinatorics.
- 12/22: I gave a plenary talk at the 21st Triangle Lectures in Combinatorics.
- 11/22: I attended College Board’s Higher Education Symposium on AP Precalculus.
- 10/22: I gave an invited talk at the Brandeis Combinatorics Seminar.
- 10/22: I gave an invited talk at the AMS Special Session Enumerative Combinatorics of the AMS Fall Southeastern Sectional Meeting.
- 10/22: My paper “Fibonacci numbers, consecutive patterns, and inverse peaks” was published in Advances in Applied Mathematics.
- 09/22: I attended ICECA 2022.
- 09/22: I gave an invited talk at the South Carolina Discrete Math and Combinatorics Seminar.
