Steve Butler

Steve Butler is a Morrill Professor and the Barbara J. Janson Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Iowa State University. He received his doctorate from UC San Diego under Fan Chung and completed an NSF PostDoc at UCLA with Benny Sudakov. His work bridges theoretical mathematics and recreational applications, particularly in spectral graph theory and juggling mathematics.

• Education: PhD in Mathematics (UC San Diego, advisor: Fan Chung), NSF PostDoc (UCLA, advisor: Benny Sudakov)

Research Interests: Spectral graph theory, where he explores eigenvalues of graph matrices and their implications for network properties. His combinatorial work includes generalizations of Eulerian numbers and equitable graph partitions. He also pioneers mathematical models for juggling patterns and card shuffling, merging algebraic techniques with playful applications.

Scientific Contributions: Notable for his spectral graph theory lectures and upcoming book Juggling Counts (Princeton University Press). His articles span adjacency matrices, normalized Laplacian properties, Hadamard diagonalizable graphs, and Kemeny's constant applications in random walks.

• Scientific Awards: NSF PostDoc Fellowship, Erdős Number 1 (2015)

Collaborations: Extensive work with Ron Graham (archival proprietor) and mentorship of students through creative projects like the Iowa State LAS holiday card cameo and the Humans of Iowa State video series.