Kiran is a professor of mathematics and the Stefan E. Warschawski chair in mathematics at the University of California, San Diego. He will be spending the 2018-19 academic year at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. 

As he reflects on his time at GDS, he notes how valuable it was for him to achieve exposure to a wide variety of subjects that interested and challenged him. Balancing his passion and talent for math with immersion in the humanities was crucial in shaping his identity as the educator, researcher, and theorist he is today: 

“Although I teach one particular subject (mathematics), I definitely feel like my GDS education prepared me to take a much broader intellectual view. Moreover, the conducive intellectual environment was not solely a product of the teachers and classes, although they definitely set the tone. It was also partly due to my fellow students, a number of whom have themselves gone on to illustrious careers in their own right.”

Now as a respected educator himself, as well as a member of the USA Mathematical Olympiad committee, Kiran wants his students to have the same palette of skills to draw from in their work as he does. “Even in mathematics, verbal communication (both written and oral) is an important professional skill,” he notes. “Many of my students struggle to accept this; but coming from an environment in which these tasks were highly valued, for me this point of view was entirely natural.” 

With a strong and well-rounded curriculum, GDS encourages students to fully explore their genius in any field, be it mathematics or science, dance or literature—and be able to pursue an education that proves their horizons are limitless.