Shanna Dobson

Shanna Dobson
College of Natural and Social Sciences
Mathematics
Office ST213
Phone
3233432150
Email
Shanna.Dobson@calstatela.edu

 

I am a PhD Candidate in Mathematics at the University of California, Riverside. My doctoral advisor is Dr. Michel L. Lapidus, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Riverside. 

I am an NSF Mathematical Sciences Graduate Research Fellow, UCR Chancellor Distinguished Fellow, Caltech SURF Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study Women and Mathematics Ambassador, Associate Member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society, USC CUE & CETL Faculty Equity Fellow, and Mellon Foundation grantee.   

Research Interests. Arithmetic Geometry, Topos Theory

Professional Appointments.  I am a mathematics lecturer at California State University, Los Angeles. I am an Assistant Professor of mathematics at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.

National and Institute Committees.  I am the Past Section Chair of the Southern California-Nevada Section of the MAA, Associate Editor of the Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library, President of the AWM Chapter at UCR, Member at Large of the AMS Committee on Meetings and Conferences, and Co-Organizer of the SLMath (formerly MSRI) May 12th Celebration of Women in Mathematics. I am the former Section Chair of the Southern California-Nevada Section of the MAA, the former Chair of the AWM-MAA Liaison Committee, and former Member of the MathFest and SIGMAA MAA Committees. 

I am Chair of the Faculty Council at ArtCenter College of Design. I am a member of the Executive Cabinet's Strategic Plan Steering Committee. I am the creator of the Faculty Institute at ArtCenter College of Design, and the Co-Creator of the Redesigning the Future Series.

I am a Member of the 2024 Scientific Advisory Board at the Active Inference Institute. I am the creator and facilitator of the MathArt Conversations Educational Project.

Guest Editor.  I am the Lead Guest Editor of the EDGE Special Collection, Cutting EDGE Mathematics: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education Program, to appear in the Springer Journal, Research in the Mathematical Sciences.

Pedagogy and Scholarship.  I am a strong advocate of multimodal learning, Universal Design for Learning, and making mathematics instruction universally accessible to all learners in a way that compliments their unique life circumstances, at the undergraduate and graduate level.

MathArt.  I am the creator of Women, Art, and Mathematics (WAAM), a new AWM Research Network. The aim of the network is to amplify variations in mathematical thinking, and highlight research and pedagogy at the intersections of mathematics and the arts.

I explore creativity and innovation in the scholarship of teaching and learning. I survey the intersections of mathematics and continental philosophy, mathematics and neuroscience, and mathematics and the arts, primarily the literary arts. 

Organization: Upcoming Conferences.  I am the Lead Organizer of the JMM 2025 AMS Special Session: Rethinking Number Theory: Highlighting the Research of the RNT Workshops. I am the Lead Organizer of the JMM 2025 AWM Special Session: Exploring Mathematics through the Arts and Pedagogy in Creative Settings. I am a Co-Organizer of the 4th Applied Active Inference Symposium. 

 

Selected Articles/Preprints

Dobson, Shanna (2024). Diamonds in the Langlands Program: a Comprehensive Review, Ramanujan Journal, DOI 10.1007/s11139-024-00899-2, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11139-024-00899-2

John Cullinan, Shanna Dobson, Linda Frey, Asimina Hamakiotes, Roberto Hernandez, Nathan Kaplan, Jorge Mello, and Gabrielle Scullard (2025). The Probability of Non-Isomorphic Group Structures of Isogenous Elliptic Curves in Finite Field Extensions, II, Journal of Number Theory, Volume 266, Pages 131-165, ISSN 0022-314X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnt.2024.07.013.     https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022314X24001720

Dobson, Shanna (2024). Mathematical Graffiti: Bridges 2023 Clerihew Collection, Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 14 Issue 2 (July 2024), pages 602-611. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol14/iss2/22

Dobson, Shanna (2024). Literary Incarnations of Topology, Teaching Mathematics Through Cross-Curricular Projects, AMS/MAA Classroom Resource Materials, Volume 72, American Mathematical Society, MAA Press.

Dobson, Shanna, Lutken E.R. (2024). To Look on Beauty Bare: Mathematics as Metaphor in Poetry, Proceedings of Bridges 2024: Mathematics, Art, Music, Architecture, Culture. Pages 581 - 586. https://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2024/bridges2024-581.html#gsc.tab=0

Dobson, Shanna (2024). Categorical Colors in Diamonds: Sight as Site: Categorical Ozma and Cinderella, Women in MathArt, Springer. In press. https://philpapers.org/rec/DOBCCI 

Manrique, Hector M., Dobson, Shanna, and Walker, Michael J. (2024). Time-warps, PsyArXiv.  https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2yvja

Dobson, Shanna, Zhong Jim (2024). Categorical Mental Imagery: Visualizing the 4th Spatial Dimension, https://philarchive.org/rec/DOBVTT  

Dobson, Shanna (2023). Constructing Agentive Inference as a Universal property: Strange Functorial Things and Categorical Red Queen Dynamics: Comment on “Path integrals, particular kinds, and strange things” by K. Friston, L. Da Costa, D. Sakthivadivel, C. Heins, G. Pavliotis, M. Ramstead, and T. Parr, Physics of Life Reviews, 2023, ISSN 1571-0645, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plrev.2023.10.032

Dobson, Shanna, and Fields, Chris (2023). Constructing Condensed Memories in Functorial Time, Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, DOI: 10.1080/0952813X.2023.222237

Dobson, Shanna (2023). Dark Imaginarium: Infinity-Curiosityhttps://philpapers.org/rec/DOBDII 

Dobson, Shanna, and Scaff, Julian (2023). Qurio: Meta-Learning Curiosity Algorithm: Women in MathArt, Springer

Dobson, Shanna, and Prentner, Robert (2023). Artistic Mediation in Mathematical Phenomenology, Women in MathArt, Springer.

Dobson, Shanna, and Scaff, Julian (2023). Quantum Intrinsic Curiosity Algorithms, https://philarchive.org/rec/DOBQIC

Dobson, Shanna, and Fields, Chris (2022). Making Up Our Minds: Imaginative Deconstruction in MathArt, 1920 – Present, Women in MathArt, Springer. In press.

Dobson, Shanna (2021). Efimov K-theory of Diamonds, 3rd BYMAT Conference Proceedings, TEMat Monograficos ISBN 2660-6003. 

Dobson, Shanna and Prentner, Robert (2021). Perfectoid Diamonds and n-Awareness. A Meta-Model of Subjective Experience      arXiv:2102.07620 [math.GM]. 

Dobson, Shanna, and Spruijt, Gershom (2022). Imagination as Mathematics, Women in MathArt, Springer. In press.

Dobson, Shanna (2021). Curating Metacognitive Conversations to Address Imposter Syndrome, Read to Learn Cal State LA Practitioner Perspectives https://readtolearn.calstate.edu/practitioner-perspectives.

Dobson, Shanna (2021). Sophie Germain: Revolutionary Mathematician, AWM Book Review.

 

Selected Talks

Light Condensed Fractal Cohomology, JMM 2025 AMS Special Session: Fractal Geometry with Applications to Analysis, Number Theory and Mathematical Physics, January 10, 2025

Descent Conditions on Phantasia, JMM 2025 AWM Special Session: Exploring Mathematics Through the Arts and Pedagogy in Creative Settings, January 9, 2025. 

Quantum Weirdness, Palm Springs Art Museum: Public Lecture Series, December 7, 2024

Hyperphantasia and Categorical Surprisal, 4th Applied Active Inference Symposium, Active Inference Institute, November 14, 2024

Qurio: Quantum Thinking for Artists and Designers, AICAD Symposium 2024: “Teach for Tomorrow: ReDesigning the Future”, ArtCenter College of Design, November 14, 2024

Cohomological Infinitesimals as Condensed Sets, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, November 7, 2024

Condensed Fractality + Fractal Cohomology, Pitzer College: MAA SoCal-Nevada Fall Sectional Meeting CPS, October 5, 2024

Condensed Enhancement of the Extended Theory of Fractality, Fractal Dynamics Seminar, UCR, October 3, 2024

Mathematical Creativity, Research in Graduate Mathematics Education Seminar, Virginia Tech, July 29, 2024

Particles and Waves: Southern California Abstraction and Science, 1945 - 1990,  Palm Springs Art Museum: Getty Museum Pacific Standard Time ART Initiative: Art & Science Collide, May 31, 2024

MathArt Conversations: MathArt Streams 1-8, Active Inference Institute, May 17, 2024 - December 31, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DNxiBDYLzg&list=PLNm0u2n1Iwdp8i_e24LKV2DJWZKfW9Jrl&index=7

Functorial Harp and 2-Category of Complex Dimensions, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, May 2024

The Chronicles of Fractal Geometry: Fractal Strings, and Functorial Harps, Claremont Colleges Analysis Seminar, Pomona College, April 2024

Diamond Fractal, WiMSoCal 2024, Pomona College, the Claremont Colleges, February 2024

Intuition and MathArt in Mathematics Graduate Curriculum: Multimodal Learning, Research in Graduate Mathematics Education Conference, February 2024

Diamond Fractal & the Moduli Space of Fractals, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, January 2024

K-Theoretic Time Crystals, JMM 2024 AMS Special Session: Mathematical Physics & Future Directions, January 2024

Diamond Fractal: Geometric Oscillations as Profinite Reflections, Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, 2023

Six Operations on Topos and Infinity-Categorical Adjunction Theorem for Topoi, Fractal Dynamics Seminar, UCR, 2023

Moduli Space of Fractals and Modular Flow of Zeta Functions: a Comprehensive Review, Fractal Dynamics Seminar, UCR, 2023

Six Operations on Diamond Topos, JMM 2023 AMS Special Session: Langlands Program

Coniveau Spectral Sequence, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, 2023

MathArt Deconstruction, Active Inference Institute  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuXAjY9Wgdg, 2023

K-Theory of Schemes, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, 2023

Special Primes, Rethinking Number Theory, 2023

Diamond Langlands Functoriality, UCR Grad Slam Competition   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzvoB2leL78&t=32s , 2022

Six Operations on Topos, West Coast Number Theory, 2022

Langlands Correspondence and Conformal Field Theory: A Comprehensive Review, Fractal Dynamics Seminar, UCR, 2022

Geometric Langlands and Geometric Stake Equivalence: A Comprehensive Review, Fractal Dynamics Seminar, UCR, 2022

Modular Curves at Infinite Level and Perfectoid Modular Curves, Fractal Dynamics Seminar, UCR, 2022

Condensed Sets: a Comprehensive Review, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, 2022

Perfectoid Spaces: a Comprehensive Review, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, 2021

M-Theory and F-Theory: a Review, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR

Motivic Homotopy Theory: a Review, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR

Geometric Langlands and Mirror Symmetry: a Comprehensive Review, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, 2021

Infinity Categories and Factorization Homology: a Comprehensive Review, Fractal Dynamics & Mathematical Physics Seminar, UCR, 2021

Crystalline Topos + Fargues-Fontaine Curve, Women in Mathematics CSUCI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWwIax_Jmys&t=2s 

 

 

Selected MathArt Works

Mathematical Poetry

Time's Homeomorphism @Shanna Dobson 2022

https://www2.math.uconn.edu/~glaz/Mathematical_Poetry_at_Bridges/Bridges_2022/ShannaDobson_TimesHomeomorphism.pdf

https://www2.math.uconn.edu/~glaz/Mathematical_Poetry_at_Bridges/Bridges_2022/The-program-and-the-poets-2022.html

 

Mathematical Clerihews @Shanna Dobson 2023

 

Alexander Grothendieck

Crystalline motivic chic

Became a universal topos

Dandelion erose

 

 

My Mobius Poem

 

Mobius Poem

© 2022 Shanna Dobson

 

My Klein Bottle Poem

Klein Bottle

© 2022 Shanna Dobson

The concept of sidedness

Enchants my mindedness

Must language have a side?

I am enchanted by

Dimensionality.

How wonderfully peculiar it must be

To be realized a dimension higher.

 

Fantastical Fiction Novels

The Artemis Chronicles of Imaginarium @Shanna Dobson 2021 - 2024

 

Mathematical Plays

A Unicorn's Infinity-Christmas: Christmas Eve at the Imaginarium Institute, @Shanna Dobson 2021

Cinderella Ozma @Shanna Dobson 2021

 

Community Events

5/10/24: SL Math Celebration of Women in Mathematics 

1/21/24: SoCal-Nevada MAA Section: Welcome Back Event at the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM Caltech)

12/13/23: A Winter Evening of Mathematical Holiday Poetry