Forrest Glebe is a new postdoc in our department.

DE:  Let me first say: welcome to our department! What type of mathematics are you interested in?

FG: I am interested in operator algebras and group theory. So far I have studied so-called “stability properties” of groups. My research has been to come up with explicit “almost representations” of the group that are “far” from actual representations.

DE: Do you have a favorite open problem?

FG: One open question I’m interested in is whether or not all groups are MF (matricial field). Roughly the MF condition says that all groups have enough “almost representations” to separate points in the group. This is the operator norm version of the more famous problems, “Are all groups hyperlinear?” and “Are all groups sofic?”

 DE: What’s your opinion? Do you think this could be true or are you looking for counterexamples?

FG: I think this is probably too good to be true, but who knows?

DE: What types of courses are you most excited to teach?

FG: When I first took an intro to proofs class it really changed the way I thought about math. I’m teaching 331 next semester, and I’m excited about it!

DE: What have you liked the most about Hawai’i so far?

FG: I’ve really enjoyed the sunrise and sunsets so far!

DE: Can you tell us something about yourself that might be surprising?

FG: In high school I was a theatre kid.  I was Professor Plum in our school’s adaptation of the film Clue.

DE: Thank you!