David A. Mix Barrington

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I am Professor of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

My primary research area is computational complexity, particularly boolean circuits, automata, and logic.

Currently I am the Chief Undergraduate Advisor for the Computer Science Department. Next semester I will be either CUA or Undergraduate Program Director, but in either case I should be a good source of academic advice.

Contact Info:

Course Web Sites:

Here is some information on an undergraduate textbook I am writing, called A Mathematical Foundation for Computer Science, under contract to McGraw-Hill. (This information was updated in December 2008.)

The latest complete (fourth) draft of a ten-chapter version of the book was used as the text for CMPSCI 250 in Spring 2006. I am now preparing a fifth draft of a new fifteen-chapter version. Parts of this fifth draft were used in CMPSCI 251 in Spring 2007, CMPSCI 250 in Fall 2007, and CMPSCI 291b in Spring 2008. Parts were used in CMPSCI 240 (taught by me) in Spring 2009, and will be used again for 240 in Fall 2009.

Here is a list of restaurants in Amherst and vicinity (updated July 2006).

Here are some lists of undirected graphs with various numbers of vertices.

I'm a member of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, where I have led and co-led several summer worship services and now serve on the Board of Trustees. Here is a page of links to material on all those services. My service last summer was on 6 July 2008, titled "Can We Change the World?", and I also co-led the service of 3 August 2008, titled "Remembering Knoxville", with Brit Albritton. I am planning another service this summer, and will post the date and title here when it is decided.

My wife Jessica Mix Barrington has posted some fine pictures from her 2005 trip to Italy here.

I was part of a group that has created the North Amherst Community Farm, and thus preserved farming on most of a 38-acre tract near my house.

I am a co-author of a collaborative alternate history, For All Nails, extending For Want of a Nail by Robert Sobel.

I'm a member of Valley Light Opera. I sang in the chorus of H.M.S. Pinafore (2003) Ruddigore (2004), and The Mikado (2007). In November 2005 I sang Pritschisch in VLO's production of Lehar's The Merry Widow and in November 2006 I sang Annibale in The Gondoliers. In November 2008 I was in the chorus of Princess Ida .

I'm also a member of the Hampshire Shakespeare Company, which among other activities puts on two Shakespeare plays each summer, outdoors at the Hartsbrook School in Hadley. Last summer (2008) I played Adam in As You Like It and this summer I am playing Westmoreland and Glendower in Henry IV: Part I. I am now studying how to call spirits from the vasty deep.

My prior HSC roles were in King Lear (2007, Burgundy, Ensemble), A Comedy of Errors (2007, Egeon)Macbeth (2006, the Doctor), Julius Caesar (2005, Cobbler, Metellus Cimber, Ensemble), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005, Egeus, Philostrate), Love's Labors Lost (2003, Nathaniel), and The Winter's Tale (2002, Shepherd).

I was co-chair (with Prof. Neil Immerman) of local arrangements for the Nineteenth Annual IEEE Conference on Computational Complexity, held in Amherst 21-24 June 2004. Here is the local arrangements page with information about the conference, a detailed program, and a page of photos of scenic Amherst and vicinity.

My occasional political blogging can be found at Blue Mass Group, Blue Hampshire, and MyDD -- there used to be more on the now-dormant John Edwards for President blog.

Some sites I read far too regularly:

Coming soon (?) -- a list of books I often recommend to people.

There are more things that ought to be on this site but who am I trying to kid...

Last modified 7 May 2009