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Steven Simon

Visiting Assistant Professor

Steven Simon received his Ph.D. in mathematics in 2011 from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU, where he was a McCracken Fellow and is currently a Visiting Member. He received his Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Yale University in 2005, where he was awarded the Anthony D. Stanley Memorial Prize.

Steven is very happy to have joined the Cooper Union as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Fall 2011, and greatly enjoys teaching its talented students. One of his main goals in teaching any course is to demonstrate the depth and beauty of mathematics to his students. Pedagogically, Dr. Simon believes it is essential for students to acquire an intuitive understanding of the subject at hand, with this intuition first  acquired from studying simple examples. Students then have the motivation for the ensuing abstract definitions and theorems which naturally follow, as well as a firm foundation from which to understand them.

Steven is a pure mathematician; his research concentrates on applying geometric and algebraic topology to problems in combinatorial geometry and discrete mathematics. His main results establish links between group symmetries on Euclidian space and corresponding group symmetries on measures of these spaces, with the bridge between the two provided by the topology naturally associated to a certain class of manifolds.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.