Steven Kay Butler
Birth dateMay 16, 1977 (age 49)
FieldsGraph theory and Combinatorics
WorkplacesIowa State University
University of California, Los Angeles
Alma materUniversity of California, San Diego
Brigham Young University
Doctoral advisorFan Chung

Steven Kay Butler (born May 16, 1977) is an American mathematician specializing in graph theory and combinatorics. He is a Morrill Professor and the Barbara J. Janson Professor in Mathematics at Iowa State University.

Education and career

Butler earned his master's degree at Brigham Young University in 2003. His master's thesis was titled Bounding the Number of Graphs Containing Very Long Induced Paths.[1] He completed a doctorate at the University of California, San Diego in 2008, authoring the dissertation Eigenvalues and Structures of Graphs, advised by Fan Chung.[2][3] Upon completing his postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, Butler joined the Iowa State University faculty in 2011.[4][5] In 2015, Butler became the 512th (and so far final) person to have an Erdős number of 1, when he published a paper with Paul Erdős and Ronald Graham on Egyptian fractions.[6] In 2017, Butler was named the Barbara J. Janson Professor in Mathematics,[4] and to a Morrill Professorship in 2022.[7]

Work with undergraduates

Butler has been a project lead for the Iowa State University Math REU in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and 2025.[8]

References

  1. ^ Butler, Steven Kay (February 7, 2003). Bounding the Number of Graphs Containing Very Long Induced Paths (Master's thesis). Brigham Young University. Archived October 6, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  2. ^
  3. ^ Butler, Steven Kay (2008). Eigenvalues and Structures of Graphs. University of California, San Diego. Archived August 30, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  4. ^ "Steve Butler receives Barbara J. Janson Professorship in Mathematics". Iowa State University. September 19, 2017. Archived December 7, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  5. ^ Bundlong, Jeff (November 3, 2022). "Walking to work: Good for the sole". Iowa State University. Archived April 21, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  6. ^ Roberts, Siobhan (December 10, 2015). "New Erdős Paper Solves Egyptian Fraction Problem". Simons Foundation. Archived November 18, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "More than 60 faculty and staff honored with university awards". Iowa State University. April 28, 2023. Archived April 15, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "ISU Math REU Past Participants". Archived April 21, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 2, 2024.