![Bruce Sagan Head Shot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Bruce_Sagan_Head_Shot.jpg)
Bruce E. Sagan (born March 29, 1954,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, United States) is an American Professor of Mathematics at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
. He specializes in enumerative, algebraic, and topological
combinatorics
Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many appl ...
. He is also known as a musician, playing music from
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
and the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
.
Early life
Bruce Eli Sagan is the son of Eugene Benjamin Sagan and Arlene Kaufmann Sagan. He grew up in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
. He started playing classical violin at a young age under the influence of his mother who was a music teacher and conductor. He received his B.S. in mathematics (1974) from
California State University, East Bay
California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...
(then called California State University, Hayward). He received his Ph.D. in mathematics (1979) from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. His doctoral thesis "Partially Ordered Sets with Hooklengths – an Algorithmic Approach" was supervised by
Richard P. Stanley
Richard Peter Stanley (born June 23, 1944) is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From 2000 to 2010, he was the Norman Levinson Professor of Applied Mathematics. He r ...
.
He was Stanley's third doctoral student. During his graduate school years he also joined and became music director of the
Mandala Folkdance Ensemble.
Mathematical career
Sagan held postdoctoral positions at
Université Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur University (''Université Louis-Pasteur''), also known as Strasbourg I or ULP was a large university in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. As of 15 January 2007, there were 18,847 students enrolled at the university, including around 3, ...
(1979–1980), the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
(1980–1983),
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
, mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all
, established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'')
, former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth
, type = Public
, endowment = ...
,
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
(1984–1985), the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, and
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...
(Fall, 1985), before becoming a faculty member at MSU in the Spring of 1986. He has held visiting positions at the
Institute for Mathematics and its Applications
The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications located at the University of Minnesota is an organization established in 1982 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States.
Mission
The primary mission of the IMA is to increase ...
(Spring, 1988),
UCSD
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
(Spring, 1991), the
Royal Institute of Technology (1993–1994),
MSRI (Winter, 1997), the
Isaac Newton Institute
The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences is an international research institute for mathematics and its many applications at the University of Cambridge. It is named after one of the university's most illustrious figures, the mathema ...
(Winter, 2001),
Mittag-Leffler Institute
The Mittag-Leffler Institute is a mathematical research institute located in Djursholm, a suburb of Stockholm. It invites scholars to participate in half-year programs in specialized mathematical subjects. The Institute is run by the Royal Swe ...
(Spring, 2005), and
DIMACS
The Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS) is a collaboration between Rutgers University, Princeton University, and the research firms AT&T, Bell Labs, Applied Communication Sciences, and NEC. It was founded in ...
(2005–2006). He was also a rotating Program Officer at the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
(2007–2010).
[Bruce Sagan]
professional CV
Sagan has published over 100 research papers. He has given over 300 talks in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. These have included keynote addresses at the Conference on Formal Power Series and Algebraic Combinatorics (2006) and the British Combinatorial Conference (2011). He has graduated 15 Ph.D. students.
[ During his time at Michigan State University, he has won two awards for teaching excellence.
Sagan has been an Editor-in-Chief for the ]Electronic Journal of Combinatorics
The ''Electronic Journal of Combinatorics'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering research in combinatorial mathematics.
The journal was established in 1994 by Herbert Wilf (University of Pennsylvania) and Neil Calkin (Georgi ...
since 2004.
Books
Mathematical Essays in Honor of Gian-Carlo Rota
(co-edited with Richard P. Stanley), Birkhäuser, Cambridge, 1998, .
The Symmetric Group: Representations, Combinatorial Algorithms, and Symmetric Functions
2nd edition, Springer-Verlag, New York, 2001, .
Festschrift in Honor of Richard Stanley
(special editor), Electronic Journal of Combinatorics, 2004–2006.
Selected papers
*
*
*
* .
Musical career
Sagan plays music from the Scandinavian countries and the Balkans on fiddle and native instruments. These include the Swedish nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa (, "keyed fiddle", or literally "key harp", plural ) is the national musical instrument of Sweden. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to cha ...
, the Norwegian hardingfele
A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than fo ...
, and the Bulgarian gadulka
The gadulka ( bg, гъдулка) is a traditional Bulgarian bowed string instrument. Alternate spellings are "gǎdulka", "gudulka" and "g'dulka". Its name comes from a root meaning "to make noise, hum or buzz". The gadulka is an integral part o ...
. In 1985 he and his then wife, Judy Barlas, founded the music and dance camp Scandinavian Week at Buffalo Gap (now known as Nordic Fiddles and Feet). He is currently a regular staff member at Northern Week at Ashokan run by Jay Ungar
Jay Ungar (born November 14, 1946) is an American folk musician and composer.
Life and career
Ungar was born in the Bronx, New York City. He frequented Greenwich Village music venues during his formative period in the 1960s. In the late 1960s, ...
and Molly Mason. In 1994 he was awarded the Zorn Medal in Bronze for his playing in front of a jury of Swedish musicians. He has performed and given workshops in North America, Europe, and Australia. He plays Swedish music as a duo with Brad Battey and also with Lydia Ievens. His trio Veselba, with Nan Nelson and Chris Rietz, performs music from Bulgaria.
Discography
* Andrea Hoag (fiddle, vocals) and Bruce Sagan (fiddle, hardingfele, nyckelharpa) with Larry Robinson (bouzouki
The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...
), Spelstundarna, E. Thomas ETD 102, 1993. 20 tunes in Scandinavian style.[Bruce Saga]
recordings
/ref>
* Bruce Sagan (fiddle, hardingfele, nyckelharpa, gâdulka) with Brad Battey (fiddle), Nan Nelson (bass, tambura) and Chris Rietz (guitar, kaval
The kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans (in Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Greece, and elsewhere) and Anatolia (including Turkey and Armenia). The ka ...
), With Friends, 2002. 15 tunes in Scandinavian and Bulgarian styles.[ In a review of this album, the Swedish folkmusic magazine Spelmannen wrote that Sagan plays "som en inföding," i.e., "like a native."Peter Ahlbom, review in Spelmann, 1994]
* lydia ievins (fiddle, nyckelharpa) and Bruce Sagan (fiddle, nyckelharpa, hardingfele), Northlands, 2010. 18 tunes composed mainly by the performers in Scandinavian style.[ In a review of this album, ]Sing Out!
''Sing Out!'' was a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that was published from May 1950 through spring 2014. It was originally based in New York City, with a national circulation of approximately 10,000 by 1960.
Background
''Sing Out ...
wrote that it is "a delightful recording of two highly talented players."[
* Brad Battey (fiddle, nyckelharpa) and Bruce Sagan (fiddle, nyckelharpa), Letter from America, 2020. 17 tunes composed by American musicians in Scandinavian style.][Bruce Saga]
recordings
/ref>
External links
Mathematical home page
Musical home page
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagan, Bruce
20th-century American mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
Michigan State University faculty
Combinatorialists
1954 births
Living people
American folk musicians
American multi-instrumentalists
University of Michigan fellows
California State University, East Bay alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni
People from Berkeley, California
Mathematicians from California