About Me

Welcome! My name is Joseph Compton (he/him) and I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Mathematics Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am originally from the small town of Martinsville, Virginia. In 2013 I graduated from Averett University with a Bachelor’s in Secondary Education in Mathematics. After graduating from Averett I taught math at a high school in Bassett, Virginia for two years. I then applied to Wake Forest University where I later earned a Master’s Degree in Mathematics in 2018. Now I work with Dr. Shrawan Kumar in the areas of algebraic geometry and geometric representation theory with a special interest in the K-theory of Kac-Moody groups. I am passionate about teaching and look for opportunities at UNC to mentor students interested in math as either a career or just for fun!

If you ever want to have a non-math related conversation, my interests include competitive swimming (which I coached for six years), golf, or RuPaul’s Drag Race. I also began taking ballet classes in August 2023.

Contact Information:
Phillips Hall Room 366
120 E. Cameron Avenue
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Email | compja@live.unc.edu