If you happen to detect an Australian accent while wandering about the offices of Bromfield-Pearson, the voice can probably be traced to Assistant Professor of Mathematics Adam Piggott. Having lived in Australia, Canada and England before settling in the United States, Piggott brings a worldly perspective to his students on the Hill.
"I'm having a fabulous time," he said of his experiences since coming to campus just over a year ago. "Between the size of the [mathematics] department, the mix of disciplines and the location, I have a good setup for success."
When Piggott is not explaining differentials in his Calculus I or teaching primitive roots in Number Theory, he enjoys being with his family.
"I try to spend a lot of time with my wife and son," he said. "I get home at the end of the day in time to spend about two hours a night with [my son] Cooper. We'll kick a soccer ball or do a puzzle. I realize that not every working parent gets to do that."
On weekends, Piggott and his family like to explore their surroundings. In each of the four countries he has called home, Piggott has made such tourism a priority. "We try to get out of the place we're in," he said. "We try to go to towns or cities nearby."
In addition to his interests in mathematics and traveling, Piggott also has a passion for music. "Somewhat disgracefully, I've discovered new country here," he said. "I'm also into folk-rock and singer-songwriters. I worship Bruce Springsteen and anything related to him."
At Tufts, Piggott has found a way to merge his love for math and music. "In my Number Theory class, we have a break in the middle, and I usually play a song," he said. "It breaks down a barrier; it's the start of a dialogue that you might not have otherwise."
Unfortunately for Piggott, most Number Theory students do not share his musical tastes. Still, Piggott embraces the ritual.
"It's nice to have music just so people have a chance to say, 'Your music taste is awful.' Each time they say it, I play more new country," he said with a smile.
In the past few years, Piggott has had the opportunity to assume several different teaching roles. As a tutorial assistant and tutor at the University of Oxford (where he also earned his D.Phil, the British equivalent of a Ph.D.), he would instruct one or two students at a time. As a lecturer at the University of Wollongong in Australia, his class sizes could reach 200. Now, as an assistant professor at Tufts, Piggott is experiencing a balance between the two extremes.
"It's early in my career, and I'm happy to see different ways of teaching," he said. "The teaching is fun because it's different."
Piggott has also learned about other differences between foreign education systems and the American one. "At Wollongong and Oxford, you take a degree in a subject, and almost all the classes you take are related to that degree," Piggott said. "After university, you're ready for a vocation, but you've paid the price that you've not experienced anything else."
As a professor at a liberal arts institution like Tufts, in which students take math to meet distribution requirements, Piggott's role involves not only teaching math but also convincing his students to like it.
"The Tufts style is a liberal arts education, so I'm dealing with students who have not declared math as a focus. I feel much more like a representative of the math community," Piggott said.
But with such varied teaching experiences, does one educational arrangement - liberal arts or vocation - work better than the other?
"I haven't decided which one is better," Piggott said. "What is clear to me is that different kinds of students benefit from different systems."
Piggott chose to pursue mathematics after a negative experience in the field of law made him rethink his career plans. Since then, he has conducted a number of research projects and published several mathematical papers.
For Piggott, math is a source of great joy and excitement.
"Math is inherently beautiful," he said. "In a sense, it's an ideal universe in which you can answer questions about what is true and why it's true."
According to Piggott, the beauty in mathematics does not derive just from the subject's capacity to reveal absolute truths. Instead, he said, "the beauty comes from understanding what is true. It's the 'a-ha' moment. Math is full of those moments, and it's about those moments."
Sadly, Piggott said, most people's perceptions of math are based on their experiences in high school, which fail to do justice to all that the subject has to offer.
"It's hard to equate slugging through high school math with beautiful ideas," he said. "Many people don't realize that at the high school level, you are using math but not doing math."
If, in high school, students only "use" math, then what qualifies as "doing" it? To do math, Piggott said, is to uncover the truth for yourself.
"The most interesting part of teaching is trying to take students from thinking about math as a series of algorithms for solving specific problems to considering an abstract but precise situation and trying to understand what's happening," he said. "And the moment the student gets it is wonderful."
As passionate as Piggott is about his field, he said his goal is not to convert the Tufts campus to an army of fervent math majors.
"Because you're taking a liberal arts degree, give everything a chance," he said. "Every subject is going to have something at its heart that's interesting to a large number of people."
And what's most impressive about Piggott? After traveling the world, watching his mathematical discoveries become published, and teaching at three premiere universities, he's only 30 years old.
"I like being 30," he said. "It's pretty cool to know that you're no longer 'cool' and also not care. There's that awkward period around 27 where you're trying to be a 'bright young thing.' I'm over that."
