Tom ALBERTS

I am currently an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Utah. My main focus of research is in probability theory, with my most recent work focusing on two-dimensional conformally invariant systems. In a broad sense this is the study of two-dimensional random surfaces and their associated geometrical features. Sometimes it is easiest to understand by analogy: it is a natural extension of the theory of one-dimensional random paths, which was initiated 125 years ago by Einstein and others and has since seen tremendous applications in finance, engineering, chemistry, physics, diffusion modeling for artificial intelligence, and more. It is expected that the applications of random surfaces will be just as fruitful.

I also have interests in statistical mechanics, random walks in random environments, directed polymer models, last passage percolation, and random matrix theory. These are specific sub-areas within probability theory that derive interesting theory which, although often narrow in its motivation, has wide and unexpected application in practice.

I also have a previous research background in statistical methods, and much of my teaching is focused on the theory and application of statistics.