Dr. Lam Laurent Pham

Lam Pham earned his PhD in Pure Mathematics from Yale, where he focused on understanding properties of discrete subgroups of linear algebraic groups, studying their action on appropriate spaces, and uncovering the interplay between dynamics, geometry, algebra, and number theory.

In collaboration with fellow mathematicians at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Department of Mathematics, Dr. Pham focuses on fundamental questions raised by previous studies on invariants of infinite discrete groups, such as exponential growth rates and isoperimetric constants.  With little known about unitary representations of finitely generated groups, this question has become  intimately related to all discrete, dense subgroups of algebraic groups and arithmetic subgroups. Citing previous researchers who have closely linked approximate groups to geometric group theory, Dr. Pham hopes to gain a better understanding of the connections between these concepts.

Dr. Pham’s interests in geometry and spectral theory of discrete subgroups of algebraic groups, in particular, those of infinite co-volume, are in a very actively developing area with deep connections to homogeneous dynamics (actions of subgroups of Lie groups on homogeneous spaces,) and to Diophantine approximation.