Jason Cantarella

Welcome to my webpage! I am a professor of mathematics at the University of Georgia. My research focuses on the shapes of random curves and polygons. I’m particularly interested in questions like How likely is it that a random curve is knotted?, or What can we expect from a random diagram of a random space curve?. My research is in the general area of geometric knot theory. An introduction to the subject is contained in this short course (and part II of the course) which I gave at the ICTP in Trieste, Italy in 2009. I am also interested in the arts, especially in computer graphics and in sculpture. 

I live in the beautiful town of Athens, Georgia with my wife Tammy, our daughter Violet, and a small herd of cats that seem to keep wandering in off the streets and not leaving. We live in a 1953 ranch house that we’re slowly renovating, and at at our current speed we anticipate the renovations will be completed by 2053. (Maybe.) I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and moved to Georgia by way of Massachusetts in 2000. Before Massachusetts, where I worked at the University of Massachusetts GANG lab, I was a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate at Vassar College.

I teach the Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces (MATH 4250) course every spring, which I’m gradually rewriting to include more physical models and some aspects of computational and discrete geometry. I also specialize in teaching the Multivariable Mathematics (MATH 3500-3510) course sequence, which runs every year, fall and spring. 

My office is Boyd 405. Email: (my full name) at gmail.com. Mailing address: Prof. Jason Cantarella, UGA Mathematics Department, Athens GA 30602.

My cv is available as well as my Google Scholar profile. I’ve contributed a number of math-related models for 3d printing to Thingiverse. Some movies of tightening knots are available on my web page from an old research project.

Current Projects

The content and opinions expressed on this web page do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the University of Georgia or the University System of Georgia. This webpage is not financially or technically supported or provided by the University of Georgia and is not a university resource.