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Professor, Organizer of High School Outreach Program ablokh@math.uab.edu
(205) 934-2154
University Hall 4018

Research and Teaching Interests: Dynamical systems, Topology

Education:

  • B.S., Kharkiv University (Ukraine), Mathematics
  • M.S., Kharkiv University (Ukraine), Mathematics
  • Ph.D., Kharkiv University (Ukraine), Mathematics

I was born in Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union. My native language is Russian. I grew up in Kharkiv, a city of 1.5 million in Eastern Ukraine. My family and I moved to Moscow and lived there until 1991, when we moved to the U.S.

I mostly do research in Dynamical Systems. It uses maps applied over and over (iterations of maps as these are called) to model processes and investigate how the latter can develop. I like this field of math because it is beautiful. If you ever come across the concepts or pictures of Julia sets or the Mandelbrot set, these are closely related to my area of interest. I am also interested in Topology, mainly planar Topology.

I teach Calculus, including Honors Calculus I, as well as graduate courses and Honors seminars. I am a Red Cross donor. In the past I volunteered at Birmingham Humane Society and Children's Hospital and tutored at local middle schools; these days I support charitable efforts of the local Ukrainian community. With the help of Department of Mathematics at UAB I organize an annual UAB Math Talent Search contest that started in 2001.