# Selected Publications

### $(k,l)$-universality of ternary quadratic forms $ax^2 + by^2+ cz^2$

Let $\mathbb{N}$ denote the set of positive integers and $\mathbb{N}_0 = \mathbb{N} \cup \lbrace 0\rbrace$. The positive diagonal integral ternary quadratic form $ax^2+by^2+cz^2 \, \, (a, b, c \in \mathbb{N})$ is said to be $(k,l)$-universal if it represents every integer in the arithmetic progression $\lbrace kn+l \, \, | \, \, n \in \mathbb{N}_0 \rbrace$, where $k, l \in \mathbb{N}$ are such that $l \leq k.$ We show that there are only finitely many $(k,l)$-universal positive integral ternary quadratic forms $ax^2+by^2+cz^2$ for a fixed pair $(k,l) \in \mathbb{N}^2$ with $l \leq k$. We also prove the existence of a finite set $S=S(k,l)$ of positive integers $\equiv l \pmod{k}$ such that if $ax^2+by^2+cz^2$ represents every integer in $S$ then $ax^2+by^2+cz^2$ is $(k,l)$-universal. Assuming that certain ternaries are $(k,l)$-universal we determine all the $(k,l)$-universal ternaries $ax^2+by^2+cz^2$ $(a, b, c \in \mathbb{N}),$ as well as the sets $S(k,l),$ for all $k,l \in \mathbb{N}$ with $1 \leq l \leq k \leq 11$.
In INTEGERS, 2018

### Large deviations for permutations avoiding monotone patterns

For a given permutation $\tau$, let $P_N^{\tau}$ be the uniform probability distribution on the set of $N$-element permutations $\sigma$ that avoid the pattern $\tau$. For $\tau=\mu_k:=123\ldots k$, we consider $P_N^{\mu_k}(\sigma_I=J)$ where $I\sim \gamma N$ and $J\sim \delta N$ for $\gamma,\delta\in (0,1)$. If $\gamma+\delta\neq 1$, then we are in the large deviations regime with the probability decaying exponentially, and we calculate the limiting value of $P_N^{\mu_k}(\sigma_I=J)^{1/N}$.
In The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics, 2016

### Structure of random 312-avoiding permutations

We evaluate the probabilities of various events under the uniform distribution on the set of $312$-avoiding permutations of $1,\ldots,N$. We derive exact formulas for the probability that the $i^{th}$ element of a random permutation is a specific value less than $i$, and for joint probabilities of two such events. In addition, we obtain asymptotic approximations to these probabilities for large $N$ when the elements are not close to the boundaries or to each other. We also evaluate the probability that the graph of a random $312$-avoiding permutation has $k$ specified decreasing points, and we show that for large $N$ the points below the diagonal look like trajectories of a random walk.
In Random Structures & Algorithms, 2015

### Some new evaluations of the Legendre symbol $\left( \frac{a+b\sqrt{q}}{p}\right)$

We give some new evaluations of the Legendre symbol $\left(\frac{a + b\sqrt{q}}{p} \right)$ for certain integers $a$ and $b$ and certain primes $q$, where $p$ is an odd prime such that $\left(\frac{q}{p}\right) = 1,$ and $\sqrt{q}$ denotes an integer whose square is $q \pmod p$. For example it is shown that if $p$ is a prime $\equiv 1, 19, 25, 31, 37, 55 \pmod{84}$ then $$\left(\frac{-5-2\sqrt{7}}{p} \right) = \left(\frac{x-2y}{7}\right) = \begin{cases} +1 & \text{if } x-2y \equiv 1,2,4 \pmod 7, \cr -1 & \text{if } x-2y \equiv 3,5,6 \pmod 7, \end{cases}$$ where $x$ and $y$ are the unique integers satisfying $p=x^2+xy+y^2$, $x \equiv 1 \pmod 4$, $y \equiv 3(p-1) \pmod 8$ and $\left(1-(-1)^{(p-1)/2}\right)x+y>0.$
In Acta Arithmetica, 2015

### What Does It Take to Teach Non-Majors Effectively?

In MAA FOCUS, 2013

# Recent Publications

. Positive-definite ternary quadratic forms which are (4,1)-universal and (4,3)-universal. Accepted for publication INTEGERS, 2018.

. $(k,l)$-universality of ternary quadratic forms $ax^2 + by^2+ cz^2$. In INTEGERS, 2018.

. Large deviations for permutations avoiding monotone patterns. In The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics, 2016.

. Structure of random 312-avoiding permutations. In Random Structures & Algorithms, 2015.

. Some new evaluations of the Legendre symbol $\left( \frac{a+b\sqrt{q}}{p}\right)$. In Acta Arithmetica, 2015.

. On the number of representations of a positive integer as a sum of two binary quadratic forms. In International Journal of Number Theory, 2014.

. What Does It Take to Teach Non-Majors Effectively?. In MAA FOCUS, 2013.

. Some product-to-sum identities. In Journal of Combinatorics and Number Theory, 2012.

# Teaching

I previously taught

• Abstract Algebra I & II
• Differential Equations
• Statistics I & II
• Matrix Algebra
• Discrete Mathematics
• Applied Multivariate and Vector Calculus
• Calculus I & II
• Precalculus I & II

# Contact

• lr608779@dal.ca
• Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada