# Michael Thaddeus

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{{Short description|American mathematician}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Michael Thaddeus
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1967|1|12}}
| birth_place       = [New York City](/source/New_York_City),  U.S.
| fields            = [Algebraic geometry](/source/Algebraic_geometry)
| workplaces        = [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University)<br />[University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford)<br />[Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University)<br />[Institute for Advanced Study](/source/Institute_for_Advanced_Study)
| education         = {{ubl||[Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))|[St John's College, Oxford](/source/St_John's_College%2C_Oxford) ([DPhil](/source/DPhil))}}
| thesis_title      = Algebraic Geometry and the Verlinde Formula
| thesis_url        = https://www.worldcat.org/title/48597263
| thesis_year       = 1992
| doctoral_advisor  = [Simon Donaldson](/source/Simon_Donaldson)
| website           = {{URL|http://www.math.columbia.edu/~thaddeus/|math.columbia.edu/~thaddeus}}
| father            = [Patrick Thaddeus](/source/Patrick_Thaddeus)
}}

'''Michael Thaddeus''' (born January 12, 1967) is an American mathematician and a professor of mathematics at [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Diep |first=Francie |date=March 16, 2022 |title=Columbia Is Ranked No. 2 by 'U.S News.' A Professor Says Its Spot Is Based on False Data |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/columbia-is-ranked-no-2-by-u-s-news-a-professor-says-its-spot-is-based-on-false-data |access-date=August 23, 2023 |website=[The Chronicle of Higher Education](/source/The_Chronicle_of_Higher_Education)}}</ref> He is best known for having been a [whistleblower](/source/whistleblower) in exposing inaccurate data submitted by Columbia University to ''[U.S. News & World Report](/source/U.S._News_%26_World_Report)'' (USNWR)'s [Best Colleges Ranking](/source/U.S._News_%26_World_Report_Best_Colleges_Ranking) to inflate the university's [college ranking](/source/college_ranking).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-16 |title=Columbia whistleblower on exposing college rankings: 'They are worthless' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/16/columbia-whistleblower-us-news-rankings-michael-thaddeus |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mendoza |first=Jordan |date=September 12, 2022 |title=Columbia University admits to reporting inaccurate data for US News college rankings |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/09/12/columbia-university-incorrect-data-us-news-college-rankings/10358383002/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=[USA Today](/source/USA_Today) |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Thaddeus was born on January 12, 1967, in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), and grew up in [Morningside Heights](/source/Morningside_Heights). His father, [Patrick](/source/Patrick_Thaddeus), and his mother, Janice, both held doctorates from Columbia. Thaddeus was educated at [St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School](/source/St._Hilda's_%26_St._Hugh's_School) before enrolling at [Hunter College High School](/source/Hunter_College_High_School) in 1980, where he graduated in 1984.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Bernstein |first=Noah |date=February 28, 2023 |title='The loyal opposition': Meet Michael Thaddeus, the math professor who took on Columbia |url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2023/02/28/the-loyal-opposition-meet-michael-thaddeus-the-math-professor-who-took-on-columbia/ |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=[Columbia Daily Spectator](/source/Columbia_Daily_Spectator)}}</ref>

Thaddeus matriculated at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University), where his sister was also a student, with the intent to study biology but switched to mathematics.<ref name=":3" /> He graduated in 1988 and was awarded a [Rhodes Scholarship](/source/Rhodes_Scholarship) to study at [St John's College, Oxford](/source/St_John's_College%2C_Oxford), where he earned his [Doctor of Philosophy](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) (DPhil).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=PBK - Michael Thaddeus |url=https://www.pbk.org/Michael-Thaddeus |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=www.pbk.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1987-12-07 |title=32 FROM U.S. CHOSEN FOR RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/07/us/32-from-us-chosen-for-rhodes-scholarships.html |access-date=2023-08-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His dissertation, ''Algebraic Geometry and the Verlinde Formula'', was published in 1992 under the supervision of [Simon Donaldson](/source/Simon_Donaldson).<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Algebraic geometry and the Verlinde formula |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:12af7dda-26f7-44ec-b335-74193ce1c538 |publisher=University of Oxford |date=2016 |degree=PhD |language=English |first=M. |last=Thaddeus}}</ref>

== Academic career ==
In 1994, Thaddeus was elected a Junior Fellow of the [Harvard Society of Fellows](/source/Harvard_Society_of_Fellows).<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Michael Thaddeus {{!}} Professor |url=https://columbia.discovery.academicanalytics.com/scholar/stack/48892/MICHAEL-THADDEUS?unitId=4442&unitType=2 |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=Arcade - Public Access |publisher=[Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University)}}</ref> He was a postdoctoral researcher at the [Mittag-Leffler Institute](/source/Mittag-Leffler_Institute) and the [Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute](/source/Simons_Laufer_Mathematical_Sciences_Institute) from 1994 and 1997.<ref name=":3" /> In 1998, Thaddeus joined the mathematics faculty of Columbia University.<ref name=":0" /> He has lectured at multiple institutions including [Hunter College](/source/Hunter_College), [Virginia Tech](/source/Virginia_Tech), and [Creighton University](/source/Creighton_University), among others.<ref name=":0" /> He specializes in [algebraic geometry](/source/algebraic_geometry).<ref name=":1" />

Thaddeus was a member of the School of Mathematics at the [Institute for Advanced Study](/source/Institute_for_Advanced_Study) in 2001.<ref name=":2" /> From 2017 to 2020, he was the chair of the math department at Columbia University.<ref name=":3" />

=== Columbia rankings exposé ===
Thaddeus' exposé, "An Investigation of the Facts Behind Columbia’s U.S. News Ranking,"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbia and U.S. News |url=https://www.math.columbia.edu/~thaddeus/ranking/investigation.html |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=www.math.columbia.edu}}</ref> was published in February 2022, identifying discrepancies such as shrunken class sizes and the exaggeration of faculty credentials.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Hartocollis |first=Anemona |date=2022-03-17 |title=U.S. News Ranked Columbia No. 2, but a Math Professor Has His Doubts |language=en-US |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/us/columbia-university-rank.html |access-date=2022-09-17 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Due to Thaddeus' analysis, Columbia later dropped from having been ranked 2nd to being ranked 18th, [sparking speculation](/source/Criticism_of_college_and_university_rankings_(North_America)) about the integrity of college rankings.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barron |first=James |date=2022-09-13 |title=Columbia Loses A-Plus Status in U.S. News Rankings |language=en-US |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/nyregion/columbia-loses-a-plus-status-in-us-news-rankings.html |access-date=2022-09-17 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-06 |title=Columbia professor questions university's #2 ranking on U.S. News |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-columbia-university-us-news-rankings-discrepancies-20220306-af7hbmmdwvbhrgxbh4g4in4anu-story.html |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=[New York Daily News](/source/New_York_Daily_News)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-12 |title=Columbia University ranking scandal raises questions over sky-high value of an Ivy League education |url=https://money.yahoo.com/columbia-university-ranking-scandal-raises-130038574.html |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=money.yahoo.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Selected publications ==

* {{Cite arXiv |last1=Thaddeus |first1=Michael |last2=Martens |first2=Johan |date=October 30, 2012 |title=Variations on a theme of Grothendieck |class=math.AG |eprint=1210.8161 }}

== References ==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thaddeus, Michael}}
Category:1967 births
Category:Living people
Category:Harvard College alumni
Category:Columbia University faculty
Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford

{{US-mathematician-stub}}
Category:Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
Category:Algebraic geometers
Category:Mathematicians from New York City
Category:Scientists from Manhattan

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Thaddeus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Thaddeus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Thaddeus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.