Lawrence J. Peterson

University of North Dakota

Academic Degrees

• Ph.D., University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (1998)
            Major: Mathematics
            Adviser: Thomas P. Branson
            Dissertation: “Conformally Covariant Pseudo-Differential Operators”
• M.S., University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (1991)
            Major: Mathematics
• B.A., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (1981)
            Majors: (1) Computer Science and (2) Arabic Language and Literature

• Associate Professor, University of North Dakota (2004-present)
• Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota (1998-2004)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), Berkeley, CA, Spring 2001
• Teaching Assistant, University of Iowa (1992-1998)
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of North Dakota (1990-1991)
• Programmer/Analyst, NCR Comten, St. Paul, MN (1983-1989)

• Theory of Arithmetic
• Introduction to Mathematical Thought
• Algebra I & II
• Finite Mathematics
• Basic Geometry
• Trigonometry
• College Algebra
• Precalculus
• Transition to Calculus
• Applied Calculus I
• Calculus I, II, & III
• Discrete Mathematics (Math 208)
• Elementary Differential Equations
• Applied Statistical Methods
• Set Theory and Logic
• Introduction to Partial Differential Equations
• Theory of Probability
• Geometry (Math 409)
• Abstract Algebra
• Linear Algebra
• Modern Analysis I & II

Mathematics Department Assessment Committee

Mathematics Department Learning Center Committee

Mathematics Department Library Committee

Arts and Sciences ad hoc undergraduate program evaluation committee for Geography Department

Arts and Sciences Elections Committee

Mathematics Department Executive Committee (Chair)

Mathematics Department Pure Math Committee

University Senate General Education Requirements Committee

University Senate Library Committee (Chair)

Differential geometry, geometric analysis, and symbolic computation with computer algebra systems

• “Tools for Conformal Geometry,” Mathematics Colloquium, University of North Dakota, February 23, 2006.

• “Formulas for the Fefferman-Graham Ambient Obstruction Tensor,” Workshop on Conformal Geometry, Banff International Research Station, Banff, Alberta, August 1, 2004.

• “A Mathematica-Based Approach to Conformal Geometry,” Department of Mathematics Seminar, University of Auckland, July 2, 2003.

• “Tensor Calculus with Mathematica,” Mathematics Colloquium, University of Iowa, October 21, 2002.

• “Foundations of Modern Geometry,” Undergraduate Colloquium Series, University of North Dakota, April 18 and April 23, 2002.

• “Intrinsic Geometric Structures,” Undergraduate Colloquium Series, University of North Dakota, September 14, 2000.

• “Conformally Covariant Pseudo-Differential Operators,”
  • Spectral Invariants Seminar, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Berkeley, California (February 7, 2001),
  • University of Washington, Seattle (April 2, 1999),
  • North Dakota State University, Fargo (February 4, 1999).

• “Conformally Covariant Pseudo-Differential Symbols,” Joint Mathematics Meetings, Baltimore, Maryland (January 8, 1998).

• “Series with Weights Tending to Infinity,” North Central Section meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, Bemidji, Minnesota (October 19, 1991).

• Scientific committee member for the 2007 Midwest Geometry Conference, May 18-20, 2007, Iowa City, Iowa.

• Attended a portion of the workshop “Symmetries and Overdetermined Systems of Partial Differential Equations” at the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications, Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 17-August 4, 2006.

• Attended 2006 Midwest Geometry Conference, Norman, Oklahoma, May 5-7, 2006.

• Attended 2005 Midwest Geometry Conference, Columbus, Ohio, April 29-May 1, 2005. Moderator for special session on Future Directions of Geometry.

• Invited participant at workshop on “Conformal Geometry” held at the Banff International Research Station, Banff, Alberta, July 31-August 5, 2004.

• Attended 2004 Midwest Geometry Conference, Fayetteville, Arkansas, March 25-27, 2004. Co-moderator for special session on Future Directions of Geometry.

• Invited participant at workshop on “Conformal Structure in Geometry, Analysis, and Physics” held at the American Institute of Mathematics, Palo Alto, California, August 12-16, 2003.

• Managing organizer for the Twelfth Midwest Geometry Conference, Grand Forks, North Dakota, April 26-28, 2002.

• Organizing committee member for the Tenth Midwest Geometry Conference, Iowa City, Iowa, November 17-19, 2000.

• Attended four-week workshop on harmonic analysis at University of Wisconsin-Madison sponsored by the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (summer 1996).

• Attended similar four-week IMA workshop on differential geometry at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (summer 1995).

Principal Investigator, NSF grant DMS-0202812 (Midwest Geometry Conference: 2002-2004).

• L.J. Peterson, Conformally covariant pseudo-differential operators. Differential Geom. Appl. 13 (2000) 197-211.

• A.R. Gover and L.J. Peterson, Conformally invariant powers of the Laplacian, Q-curvature, and tractor calculus. Comm. Math. Phys. 235 (2003) no. 2, 339-378. Preprint available at http://arxiv.org/abs/math-ph/0201030. Published version available at http://link.springer.de or http://link.springer-ny.com.

• A.R. Gover and L.J. Peterson, The ambient obstruction tensor and the conformal deformation complex. Pacific J. Math. 226 (2006) no. 2, 309-351. Preprint available at http://arxiv.org/abs/math/0408229. Published version available at http://pjm.math.berkeley.edu/pjm.

• A. Chang, M. Eastwood, R. Gover, P. Jorgensen, G. Ólafsson, B. Ørsted, P. Yang, L. Peterson, O. Svidersky, W. Ugalde, and D. Hong, "Thomas P. Branson (1953-2006): Professor of Mathematics, University of Iowa." Acta Appl. Math. 102 (2008), 127-129. Published version available at http://www.springerlink.com/content/1572-9036.

Future directions of research in geometry: a summary of the panel discussion at the 2007 Midwest Geometry Conference.  Edited by Lawrence J. Peterson.   SIGMA Symmetry Integrability Geom. Methods Appl. 3 (2007), Paper 081, 7 pp.  Published version available at http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA.

Lawrence J. Peterson home page

Department of Mathematics home page

University of North Dakota home page

Contact Person: Larry Peterson
E-mail: lawrence.peterson@und.nodak.edu
Phone: (701) 777-4609
Date of most recent update: 6 August 2009
University of North Dakota home page