I was born in Dallas, Texas. My family is my mom, my dad, me, my brother Alan, and my sister Rachel. I went to the Texas Academy of Math and Science at the University of North Texas in Denton for my junior and senior years of high school. I did my undergraduate work at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where I did an interdisciplinary program focusing on math, music theory, and viola performance. I graduated in May 2005 and started my graduate work in math in the fall.

Music is my favorite non-math activity. I started playing the viola when I was in fourth grade, and I play recreational violin and piano as well. While I was at Baylor, I had many performance opportunities. I played with the Baylor Symphony Orchestra all four years. I also played in string quartets and in the Collegium Musicum, an early music ensemble, where I played Baroque violin. I also performed a solo senior recital on viola. When I moved to Houston, I joined the Houston Civic Symphony. I had to take last year off, but I hope to re-join them in the fall. The most unusual instrument I play is the carillon. If you have never heard of it, you are not alone. It is a bell tower instrument. The bells sit up in the bell tower with sturdy wires attached to their clappers. The wires are attached to large wooden keys that are arranged like a huge piano. When the carillonneur strikes the keys with her fists, the clappers hit the bells and pretty music comes out. It is a very fun, very physical instrument to play. Unfortunately, I do not play in Houston, but when I lived in Waco, I played at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Waco and at Baylor. My third year at Baylor, I discovered Sacred Harp singing. It is currently my favorite music to make. I currently sing with the choir at Palmer Church in Houston.

My other favorite hobby is travel. I have been to Greece, Italy (twice), Canada, Bermuda, Mexico (a few times), China, Costa Rica, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. This summer I will go to Greece, Turkey, and Israel, and I might also make transactions in Switzerland and Jordan. (A transaction is the way in which we measure whether one has visited a place or not. A transaction could be buying a postcard, a trip to the restroom, taking a picture, or something like that. Transactions made in airports do not count.) I have not yet been to all fifty states, but I hope to someday. I also have a postcard habit, both receiving and sending. My address is on the front page of my website. If you send me one, not only will you receive one in return, but I will also put yours on a wall somewhere in my apartment or office.

I also love cooking. I even have a food blog. I would list my favorite foods, but that list is too long. I like Mediterranean and Indian food an awful lot, and most fruits and vegetables are my favorite. Cumin, pineapple, and red bell peppers should probably get mentioned. I make my own yogurt. It's pretty good. I have a garden on the balcony of my apartment where I grow lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, eggplants, peppers, and a bunch of herbs. You can see pictures of it here.

I enjoy reading, crossword puzzles, and sewing. I would like to learn to knit and weave as well.