Sharon McCathern, PhD

Sharon McCathern, PhD, teaches many mathematics courses at all levels, primarily on the algebraic side of pure math. She loves making personal and intellectual connections with her students at APU and helping them expand their ideas of what math really is. Her favorite part of teaching is seeing students make connections between new and old ideas, so that they understand both even better!

McCathern studied finite group theory in graduate school; her thesis is about the relationship between p-groups and Lie p-algebras. At APU, she has worked with colleagues and students on research in combinatorial matrix theory. She is also working on projects in the scholarship of teaching and learning mathematics (SoTL). She is interested in innovative pedagogy and developing students' writing abilities.

Her other interests include reading anything and everything, playing the violin, and trying to keep up with her husband and three sons (especially in the realm of video games).