W. Patrick Hooper

W. Patrick Hooper serves as Professor, Chair, and Majors Advisor in the Department of Mathematics at City College of New York, part of the City University of New York system. He maintains a dual appointment as Math Doctoral Faculty at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he holds office in Room 4217.02 and can be reached at 212-817-8567.

Hooper completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics at the University of Maryland, where he participated in the Experimental Geometry Lab. He earned his PhD in 2006 from Stony Brook University under Yair Minsky, focusing on billiards in polygons and their connections to Teichmüller theory. Following approximately three years as a Boas Assistant Professor at Northwestern University, he joined City College in spring 2010.

His research centers on dynamical systems defined by piecewise continuous maps that preserve geometric structure away from discontinuities. By studying piecewise continuous isometries, Hooper explores richer classes of dynamical systems that reveal novel phenomena beyond the constraints of continuous isometry groups. His work frequently connects to geometry through interval exchange maps and their relationship to Teichmüller theory, examining how discretization creates new dynamical behaviors bridging geometric and dynamical perspectives.

Analysis of Hooper's publication record shows consistent advancement in understanding infinite translation surfaces and their ergodic properties, with recent work extending to prism geometries and stellar foliation structures. His research demonstrates increasing sophistication in connecting abstract dynamical systems to concrete geometric constructions, particularly through the lens of cube surfaces and periodic structures.

Professor Hooper has mentored students including Kadar He, who recently advanced to the PhD program at CUNY's Graduate Center. His research has been presented at numerous international conferences including at the Hausdorff Institute in Bonn, Germany, and the Fields Institute in Toronto. The IT-ROCS REU program at CCNY, mentioned in August 2025 news, likely represents current undergraduate research initiatives he oversees.

His mathematical image gallery showcases the visual dimension of his research, featuring eigenfunction curves, quasi-periodic truchet tilings, and the Necker cube surface, demonstrating how geometric visualization informs his theoretical work in dynamical systems.