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Asaf Ferber Associate Professor in Mathematics 410K Rowland Hall asaff@uci.edu |
5th Grade Math Club
As part of my love for teaching, I’m running the 5th-grade math club at my son’s school this year—and it’s an absolute joy! Engaging with young students and seeing their curiosity bloom is truly rewarding. Here, I share the material I cover with these budding mathematicians. (Feel free to download the activities and join in the fun!)
The Math Pro
Based on my experinces in the math clun, I created TheMathPro.com to inspire curiosity and a love for mathematics in people of all ages. It’s an online math club and forum where students, parents, and lifelong learners can come together to explore engaging discussions, tackle challenging problems, and refresh or expand their math skills. My goal is to make math accessible, exciting, and a shared adventure for everyone.
Research Areas
My research spans the fascinating field of Discrete Mathematics—or as I like to call it, the study of “anything that can be counted!” I enjoy diving into complex problems that combine mathematical elegance and real-world applications. Here are some of my main interests:
- Combinatorial Games: a rich domain that blends strategic insight with rigorous mathematical analysis.
- Extremal (Hyper)graph Theory: Exploring the boundaries of what’s possible in graph structures.
- Random Graphs and Random Matrices: Investigating randomness in structured systems.
- Quantum Computation and Information: Venturing into the exciting and emerging field of quantum algorithms and their applications in combinatorics.
Academic Journey
- PhD in Mathematics, Tel Aviv University (2013)
- Postdoctoral Fellow, ETH Zurich (1.5 years)
- Gibbs Assistant Professor, Yale University (1.5 years)
- Instructor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3 years)
My experiences at these prestigious institutions have shaped my approach to research and teaching, and I’m thrilled to continue growing here at UCI.
Highlights & Awards
- Distinguished Early Career Faculty Award for Research (2022-2023), UCI
- Two Papers Featured in Quanta Magazine:
- Ramsey Theory: A deep dive into the connections within mathematics.
- Large Odd Subgraphs: A unique exploration of graph theory.
Current Grants:
- Air Force Grant
- NSF CAREER Award
Previous Notable Fellowships & Grants:
- Sloan Fellowship
- NSF-BSF Grant
- NSF Grant
Selected Talks
I’ve had the pleasure of presenting my research at conferences and colloquia across the country. Here are a few recent highlights:
- Quantum Algorithms on Graphs PDF
Joint Combinatorics Colloquium, Atlanta, 2024
Exploring the intersection of quantum computing and combinatorial structures. - When Combinatorics Meets Littlewood-Offord Theory
SoCal20 Symposium
A look at some innovative research bridging combinatorics with probability. - Robustness of Properties of Graphs
Graduate Student Seminar, UCI
Discussing the stability of graph properties and what this means for combinatorial research.
Conferences & Workshops Organized
Collaborating and sharing knowledge is at the heart of math research. Here are some events I’ve organized to bring together great minds in combinatorics and discrete mathematics:
- SoCalDM 2021 Symposium
Co-organized with Swee Hong in April 2021. Here is the outcome - DDMW1 (Desert Discrete Math Workshop 1)