Desmond Coles
Hello! I'm a Mathematician, currently working as an Assistant Prof. of Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin. I completed my PhD in Mathematics in summer 2025 under the supervision of Sam Payne. I did my undergraduate degree in Mathematics at The Ohio State Unviersity.
I have a lot of different interests, my background is in pure mathematics which a focus on combinatorics, algebraic geometry, and representation theory, though I also have a soft spot for number theory. My thesis work is concerned with applying tools from Berkovich geometry and tropical geometry to the study of algebro-geometric objects arising from algebraic groups and representation theory, such as spherical varieties. My applied math interests include data science, machine learning, cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs, and formal verification of software. See the research tab for my academic work in pure mathematics and the projects tab so some of my ventures into other areas like programming and data science.
I am always happy to talk math; please feel welcome to reach out.
Download my Resume or my CVIf you are my student looking for course materials please go to Canvas!
Office: PMA 13.146
Email: dcoles (at) utexas (dot) edu