Hal Canary

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Graduate Student, Computer Science Department, August 2011–present
    • Focusing on scientific visualization, computer graphics, and scientific computing

Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, 2010–2011
    • Took five undergraduate-level computer science courses in preparation for graduate school
    • GPA 4.0.

Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, 2004–2005
    • Pursued a teaching certificate in secondary mathematics.
    • Worked as a supervised student teacher in middle and high schools.

University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2003–2004
    • Took upper-level math classes while evaluating the possibility of graduate school in mathematics.
    • Continued as a student researcher and freelance tutor.

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bachelor of Science, May 2001
    • Majors in Physics and Math, GPA 3.52, Major GPA 3.70
    • Student jobs in physics research, tutoring, and mathematics research.

Hal Canary. Aztec Diamonds and Baxter Permutations. The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics 17 (2010), #R105

Abstract

We present a proof of a conjecture about the relationship between Baxter permutations and pairs of alternating sign matrices that are produced from domino tilings of Aztec diamonds. It is shown that a tiling corresponds to a pair of ASMs that are both permutation matrices if and only if the larger permutation matrix corresponds to a Baxter permutation.

There has been a thriving literature on both pattern-avoiding permutations of various kinds [Baxter 1964, Dulucq and Guibert 1988] and tilings of regions using dominoes or rhombuses as tiles [Elkies et al. 1992, Kuo 2004]. However, there have not as of yet been many links between these two areas of enumerative combinatorics. This paper gives one such link.

Steffen A. Bass, Hannah Petersen, Cory Quammen, Hal Canary, Christopher G. Healey, Russell M. Taylor II. Probing the QCD Critical Point with Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions. arXiv:1202.0076v1 [nucl-th]. Preprint, 1 Feb 2012.

Abstract

We utilize an event-by-event relativistic hydrodynamic calculation performed at a number of different incident beam energies to investigate the creation of hot and dense QCD matter near the critical point. Using state-of-the-art analysis and visualization tools we demonstrate that each collision event probes QCD matter characterized by a wide range of temperatures and baryo-chemical potentials, making a dynamical response of the system to the vicinity of the critical point very difficult to isolate above the background.

(I wrote parts of the software used for visualization.)

Research Assistant, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Computer Science Department. May 2011–present.
    • Worked on MADAI project.

Programmer and Student Researcher, UW-Madison Math Department.
September 2003–May 2004 and January–May 2001:
    • Wrote software that explains aspects of the research.
    • Proved theorem about Baxter permutations and alternating sign matrices.
    • Collaborated with other students on combinatorics research.
    • Wrote papers summarizing our research. (See arXiv:math.CO/0309135 and arXiv:math.CO/0407115)

Interface Analyst and Programmer, Epic Systems Corporation.
September 2001–December 2002:
    • Wrote database interface software.
    • Worked with customers to install and configure our software.
    • Troubleshot customer issues.
    • Wrote custom software for customers.

System Administrator, UW-Madison Physics Department Computational Physics Lab, Fall 2000–Spring 2001:
    • Installed programs and set up user accounts for Linux network.

Undergraduate Researcher, UW-Madison Physics Department Magnetohydrodynamic Dynamo Experiment. Summer 1999–Summer 2000:
    • Designed group web site.
    • Built equipment in the machine shop.
    • Wrote software to control experiment machinery.
    • Ran computer simulations of the experiment.