Hi! My name is Jim Belk, and this is my homepage. I'm currently a visiting assistant professor of mathematics at Cornell University. I'm interested in topology, algebra, geometry, and geometric group theory.
I just finished by Ph.D. this August at Cornell university, under the direction of Ken Brown. My dissertation concerns some new ways of understanding elements of Thompson's group F. You can download my thesis in Postscript or PDF format.
Much of the material in my thesis appears in two papers that I have submitted. The first paper, written with Ken Brown, is entitled Forest Diagrams for Elements of Thompson's group F. The second, written with Kai-Uwe Bux, is entitled Thompson's Group F is Maximally Nonconvex.
I am engaged to be married to Maria Sloughter, a graduate student (also in mathematics) here at Cornell. The wedding date is set for January 15, 2005. She will be finishing her Ph.D. this May, and we are hoping to find postdocs next fall at the same or nearby universities.
I am very interested in contract bridge. You can take a look at my bridge website, which contains a basic explanation of standard American bidding for beginners.
E-Mail: belk@math.cornell.edu
Cellphone: (607) 227-8780
Mailing Address: 100 Graham Rd, Apt 2F. Ithaca, NY 14850.