Bahar Acu
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
With Pitzer Since: 2022
Field Group: Mathematics
Campus Address: Fletcher 205
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Contact Professor
Website: Academic Website
Related Information: Pitzer News — A Mathematics Village Transforms Pitzer Students’ Approach to STEM
Bahar Acu is Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Pitzer College and an extended Faculty at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences at Claremont Graduate University. Prior to joining the Claremont Colleges, Acu held positions at University of California Los Angeles, Northwestern University, ETH Zürich, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Acu’s primary research interests are in the field of geometric topology, specifically contact and symplectic topology in high dimensions and their relations with low-dimensional topology. Acu has led the efforts to organize the first Research Collaboration Conference for Women and Nonbinary in Symplectic and Contact Geometry and Topology and co-edited the peer-reviewed proceedings volume of this conference.
Education
Ph.D., University of Southern California
Ph.D. Researcher, University of California, Los Angeles
M.Sc., University of Southern California
B.Sc., Middle East Technical University
Research Interests
Contact Topology, Symplectic Geometry, Low-Dimensional Topology
Recent Courses
Shapes of Surfaces: Geometric Topology (MATH145A)
Limitless Boundaries: The Math and Art of Surfaces (MATH15B)
First Year Seminar: Political Geometry
Discrete Mathematics (MATH55)
Fellowships and Awards
Avery Fellowship, Claremont Graduate University
Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity Grant
Project NeXT Fellowship, Mathematical Association of America
Summer Collaborators Fellowship, the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Leibniz Fellowship, Oberwolfach Institute for Mathematics, Germany
Edward and Dolores Blum Research Prize, University of Southern California
Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Category of Mathematics, University of Southern California
Theodore E. Harris Teaching Prize in Mathematics, University of Southern California
Edited Volumes
Research Directions in Symplectic Geometry and Contact Topology, Springer
Proceedings of the 2019 AWM Research Symposium, Springer
