Clara Chan
Lecturer in Mathematics
Combinatorics of polyhedral complexes, cryptology, comparative genomics.
I have done mathematical research in very disparate fields, ranging from combinatorics of polyhedral complexes to cryptology to comparative genomics. My current research identifies and compares stop codon readthrough in the mosquito and fly genomes.
I have taught mathematics at MIT, Virginia Tech, and Wesleyan University, and coached both of my childrens' middle school math teams. I enjoyed all of these math teaching experiences very much and look forward to teaching at Wellesley this fall.
In my free time I enjoy playing piano trios, quartets, and quintets, and sometimes performing. I also organize a classical music concert series in Newton, MA.
Education
- B.A., Harvard University
- M.A., University of Chicago
- Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Current and upcoming courses
Topic for Spring 2025: Introduction to Cryptography
The goal of this course is to use modern public-key cryptography as a vehicle for learning various important concepts in advanced mathematics. Topics will include Diffie-Hellman key exchange, RSA cryptosystem, NTRU cryptosystem, elliptic curve cryptography, discrete logs, DES and AES, digital signatures, hash functions, error correcting codes and quantum cryptography. To understand these ideas, we will need to study ring theory, probability, number theory over a finite field, elliptic curves, linear algebra of lattices, and NP-Completeness. There will also be a computational component to the course - encryption, decryption, and attacks on cryptosystems using a computer.