A Quarter-Life Crisis: From Commutative Ring Theory to Computational Redistricting
Ranthony A. Clark, Duke University
Quantitative Justice is an emerging interdisciplinary field that applies advanced mathematical, computational, and statistical analysis to address real-world social inequities. While quantitative methods in the social sciences are not new, the application of sophisticated mathematical tools to complex societal issues has gained significant traction in the past decade.
In this talk, I will discuss my journey pursuing a mathematical research career in quantitative justice, a path shaped significantly by a “quarter-life crisis.” Specifically, I will share how this period of intense self-reflection during the pandemic led me from theory—starting with abstract algebra and commutative ring theory—to practice, a recent shift to applied algebraic topology, metric geometry, data science, and computational redistricting.