Biography:Michael Thaddeus
Michael Thaddeus | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 12, 1967 New York City, U.S. |
| Education |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Algebraic geometry |
| Institutions | Harvard University University of Oxford Columbia University Institute for Advanced Study |
| Thesis | Algebraic Geometry and the Verlinde Formula (1992) |
| Doctoral advisor | Simon Donaldson |
| Website | math.columbia.edu/~thaddeus |
Michael Thaddeus (born January 12, 1967) is an American mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Columbia University.[1] He is best known for having been a whistleblower in exposing inaccurate data submitted by Columbia University to U.S. News & World Report (USNWR)'s Best Colleges Ranking to inflate the university's college ranking.[2][3]
Early life and education
Thaddeus was born on January 12, 1967, in New York City, and grew up in Morningside Heights. His father, Patrick, and his mother, Janice, both held doctorates from Columbia. Thaddeus was educated at St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School before enrolling at Hunter College High School in 1980, where he graduated in 1984.[4]
Thaddeus matriculated at Harvard University, where his sister was also a student, with the intent to study biology but switched to mathematics.[4] He graduated in 1988 and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at St John's College, Oxford, where he earned his Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil).[5][6] His dissertation, Algebraic Geometry and the Verlinde Formula, was published in 1992 under the supervision of Simon Donaldson.[7]
Academic career
In 1994, Thaddeus was elected a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows.[8] He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Mittag-Leffler Institute and the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute from 1994 and 1997.[4] In 1998, Thaddeus joined the mathematics faculty of Columbia University.[5] He has lectured at multiple institutions including Hunter College, Virginia Tech, and Creighton University, among others.[5] He specializes in algebraic geometry.[9]
Thaddeus was a member of the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in 2001.[8] From 2017 to 2020, he was the chair of the math department at Columbia University.[4]
Columbia rankings exposé
Thaddeus' exposé, An Investigation of the Facts Behind Columbia’s U.S. News Ranking,[10] was published in February 2022, identifying discrepancies such as shrunken class sizes and the exaggeration of faculty credentials.[9] Due to Thaddeus' analysis, Columbia later dropped from having been ranked 2nd to being ranked 18th, sparking speculation about the integrity of college rankings.[11][12][13]
Selected publications
- Thaddeus, Michael; Martens, Johan (October 30, 2012). "Variations on a theme of Grothendieck". arXiv:1210.8161 [math.AG].
References
- ↑ Diep, Francie (March 16, 2022). "Columbia Is Ranked No. 2 by 'U.S News.' A Professor Says Its Spot Is Based on False Data". https://www.chronicle.com/article/columbia-is-ranked-no-2-by-u-s-news-a-professor-says-its-spot-is-based-on-false-data.
- ↑ "Columbia whistleblower on exposing college rankings: 'They are worthless'" (in en). 2022-09-16. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/16/columbia-whistleblower-us-news-rankings-michael-thaddeus.
- ↑ Mendoza, Jordan (September 12, 2022). "Columbia University admits to reporting inaccurate data for US News college rankings" (in en-US). https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/09/12/columbia-university-incorrect-data-us-news-college-rankings/10358383002/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Bernstein, Noah (February 28, 2023). "'The loyal opposition': Meet Michael Thaddeus, the math professor who took on Columbia". https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2023/02/28/the-loyal-opposition-meet-michael-thaddeus-the-math-professor-who-took-on-columbia/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "PBK - Michael Thaddeus". https://www.pbk.org/Michael-Thaddeus.
- ↑ "32 FROM U.S. CHOSEN FOR RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS" (in en-US). The New York Times. 1987-12-07. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/07/us/32-from-us-chosen-for-rhodes-scholarships.html.
- ↑ Thaddeus, M. (2016). Algebraic geometry and the Verlinde formula (PhD thesis). University of Oxford.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Michael Thaddeus | Professor". Columbia University. https://columbia.discovery.academicanalytics.com/scholar/stack/48892/MICHAEL-THADDEUS?unitId=4442&unitType=2.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Hartocollis, Anemona (2022-03-17). "U.S. News Ranked Columbia No. 2, but a Math Professor Has His Doubts" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/us/columbia-university-rank.html.
- ↑ "Columbia and U.S. News". https://www.math.columbia.edu/~thaddeus/ranking/investigation.html.
- ↑ Barron, James (2022-09-13). "Columbia Loses A-Plus Status in U.S. News Rankings" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/nyregion/columbia-loses-a-plus-status-in-us-news-rankings.html.
- ↑ "Columbia professor questions university's #2 ranking on U.S. News". 2022-03-06. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-columbia-university-us-news-rankings-discrepancies-20220306-af7hbmmdwvbhrgxbh4g4in4anu-story.html.
- ↑ "Columbia University ranking scandal raises questions over sky-high value of an Ivy League education" (in en-US). 2022-09-12. https://money.yahoo.com/columbia-university-ranking-scandal-raises-130038574.html.
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