From Magic to Math

“I've been practicing card magic since I was 10. So a little boy. And at some point, I was going to be like a full-time card magician because I was convinced. But then I thought about it. I was like… maybe the future is not so secure being a magician,” said Prof. Ali Raad, an Assistant Professor in Mathematics who joined the AUBG academic faculty in 2024.

 

That did not stop him from performing in shows and events and becoming a member of Magicians of the UK between 2012 and 2015.

 

He did not hide his excitement when talking about his other hobbies, such as reading poetry. For him, reading a nice proof in math brings the same kind of magic as reading a nice poem.

 

“Poetry has a beauty. And I think math also has a beauty. There are patterns in poetry still. And math has a pattern,” he said.

 

What so special then did he find in mathematics that made him pursue an academic career?

 

“The challenge, the fact that you can be stuck on a problem, and you have to think about it, and the amazing feeling when you solve it.”

 

He shared that the challenge was only the first aspect of his favorite part of the job. The second one was to make students love the subject. When teaching he enjoys if he manages to influence people to “see the beauty that he sees in it”.

 

Prof. Raad is a functional analyst or more precisely, an operator algebraist. He studies infinite dimensional spaces and operators between them. His exact field of research is called C*-algebra. He explains his field as simply as he can:

 

“So, we know about finite-dimensional spaces. You know, this like this room, it's a finite-dimensional type of space. And we know about functions between finite-dimensional spaces. Now, when you let the dimension of this space grow to infinity, so you're imagining an infinite dimensional space, if you can, then you're studying kind of functions in that setting,” he said.

 

He added that this is the tool that people need to study quantum physics.

 

 

He fully believes that somebody rarely is just not interested in math for no reason and there is always a way to engage them.

 

“Maybe they need to see more kind of real-life examples or where you illustrate the power of math through some examples. And they're like: ‘Oh, wow, didn't know this could happen!’”

 

He likes that at AUBG teachers can connect with students on a more individual level which is possible because it is a smaller university.

 

Prof. Raad had not known about this place before 2023 when the International Mathematics Competition was held at the university. At that time completing his postdoctoral fellowship at KU Leuven, he attended as a leader of a team of undergraduate students from there. A year later, when looking for a permanent position after his post-doctorate, he decided to try here as he already knew the place and liked Bulgaria.

 

When he saw the offer, he started exploring AUBG more and was impressed by the strong mathematical faculty.

 

“It's like a hidden gem somehow, you know, that not many people know about it, but there are some really strong people here.”

 

For him, his colleagues are like family. From the people in Bulgaria that he has met so far, everyone has behaved friendly. The weather also is a pleasant factor for Prof. Raad as in Sweden as well as in the UK and Belgium it is rainy and cold most of the time.

 

The other main difference from his previous workplaces is that AUBG is more focused on teaching while the others are research-oriented. However, outside the blocks of teaching during the semesters, he is most of the time free to do research.

 

Prof. Raad does not forget to take a break, too. Going to the cinema and being in nature are his relaxing activities, but mathematics also can be relaxing.

 

“So sometimes I want to switch from the research-type problems that I'm focused on. And then I think about a competition math problem. And to me, this is like a break.”

 

Inventing problems is also something he enjoys. He is fascinated though by the all-time unresolved problems in math.

 

“There is one problem I've been obsessed with since I was young and it's an unsolved problem. It's called the Collatz conjecture.”

 

He explained simply:

 

“It's basically a problem about… if you start at a natural number and then there's an algorithm. (…) So yeah, whether it always goes to one.”

 

Even though he thinks about this problem when he needs a break, he said it is good to be realistic about the big problems in math. Many great mathematicians have tried to solve them for years and have not managed, he added.

 

Prof. Raad is convinced that he loves math so much that he would have been involved in it even if he did not work in that field. He gave a similar advice to students:

 

“Do something first or study something that you're really passionate about. Because when you're really passionate about something, then it's not really work for you.”

 

This article has been written by Maria Hristova, an AUBG student. It is part of the collaboration between AUBG Daily and the Newsroom course led by Prof. Laura Kelly.