My name is Sarah Bockting-Conrad. I am a visiting assistant professor at Oberlin College. I am very excited about my new position. This spring I am teaching Math 132: Calculus 1b, Math 231: Multivariable Calculus, and Math 220: Discrete Mathematics. All course information, including homework assignments and handouts, can be found on the course Blackboard page.

I earned my Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2014. I worked under the advisement of Paul Terwilliger. My research lies in the intersection of algebraic combinatorics, quantum groups, and representation theory. My results concern a linear algebraic object known as a tridiagonal pair. Very roughly speaking, it is a generalization of a Q-polynomial distance-regular graph (aka P- and Q-polynomial association schemes). I am currently exploring the connections between tridiagonal pairs of q-Racah type and the quantum enveloping algebra U_q(sl₂).

I am originally from southern Indiana and still have a lot of family living there. When I'm not doing math, I spend my time gardening, cooking, bowling, watching Badger football, and enjoying all the wonderful things Oberlin has to offer.

When I am not working on my own math, you will often find me teaching math to undergraduates. While at UW-Madison, I was fortunate enough to be awarded a teaching position each semester. During my final semesters there, I was involved with the WisCEL program and the Math 95/101/112 redesign project. If you are a new TA at the UW and are interested in the WisCEL concept or have questions about what it's like to teach these courses, I would be happy to talk about it with you.