简介

My research focusses on discrete probability questions, involving the interplay of dependence and independence, and approximations of probabilities, sometimes for very unlikely events. Sometimes the description of the limit for discrete systems involves a continuum model; for example my thesis study of the voter model led to my definition of the system of coalescing Brownian motions on the real number line. Other specific topics of interest include pattern matching for sequences, and logarithmic combinatorial structures, which include permutations decomposed into cycles, and ordinary integers factored into primes; my book "Logarithmic combinatorial structures: a probabilistic approach," joint with Simon Tavare of USC and A. D. Barbour of University of Zurich, appeared in 2003. Another topic is interlacement in graphs, which involves linear algebra over a finite field. I have a large number of citations for a mathematician; the ISI Web of Knowledge as of October 2008 listed 921 citations total for 33 of my papers, with each of 17 different papers having more than 17 citations.