Christopher Hammond


Christopher Hammond

Professor of Mathematics
Chair of the Mathematics and Statistics Department
Consultant to the Registrar's Office

Joined Connecticut College: 2003

Education
B.A., University of the South
M.S., Ph.D., University of Virginia


Specializations

Operator theory

Complex analysis

Series Convergence Tests

While pure mathematics occupies a great deal of Professor Hammond's attention, he also maintains an active interest in the liberal arts, particularly in topics relating to literature and religion. He is delighted whenever he can find connections between mathematics and the arts. He has given several talks on Dante's use of mathematical imagery in the Divine Comedy, as well as a lecture on the place of science and mathematics in Gulliver's Travels.

At Connecticut College, much of Professor Hammond's research belongs to an area of analysis known as function-theoretic operator theory. In essence, this subject seeks to relate problems of current interest in operator theory to questions in the more "classical" context of complex analysis. (This type of intersection is a common theme throughout mathematics, and greatly enriches the aesthetic dimension of the discipline.) Hammond's own work pertains to a particular class of vector spaces whose elements are analytic functions, and certain linear transformations on these spaces. In recent years, Hammond has also developed an interest in expanding the scope of certain series convergence tests, particularly Raabe's test and Jamet's test.

Professor Hammond's recent publications include the papers "Composition–differentiation operators on the Hardy space" and "Normality and self-adjointness of weighted composition–differentiation operators." He has given numerous talks on his research, most recently at the Northeastern Analysis Meeting (NEAM) in Syracuse, New York.

He has taught a variety of courses at Connecticut College, including calculus, discrete mathematics, differential equations, linear algebra, real analysis, complex analysis, abstract algebra, and topology. In the fall of 2005 he introduced an interdisciplinary freshman seminar entitled "Intimations of Infinity."

Professor Hammond has written The Art of Analysis, an introductory textbook in real analysis, which is freely available for anyone to use, either individually or in a classroom setting.

Hammond is the 2022 recipient of the Helen Brooks Regan Faculty Leadership Award, presented annually to a tenured faculty member whose outstanding service in a leadership role exemplifies the College's commitment to shared governance, democratic process, and campus community development.

View my CV.

View the Department of Mathematics and Statistics website.

Majoring in Mathematics.

Mathematics is a creative art. Words and symbols are used in its compositions and, like all art, it is limited only by the potentialities of its practitioners. Few people possess the gifts required to produce great mathematics, but almost every student can share the creative spark.

from "Mathematics: A Creative Art" by Julia Wells Bower

The mathematician's patterns, like the painter's or the poet's, must be beautiful; the ideas, like the colours or the words, must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.

from "A Mathematician's Apology" by G. H. Hardy

Contact Christopher Hammond

Mailing Address

Christopher Hammond
Connecticut College
Box # MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS/Fanning Hall
270 Mohegan Ave.
New London, CT 06320

Office

316 Fanning Hall