Andrew Zimmer

Associate Professor
Department of Mathematics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Office: 611 Van Vleck
e-mail: amzimmer2[at]wisc.edu

For graduate students:

I primarily focus on problems involving discrete subgroups of Lie groups and several complex variables, but I use techniques from many different areas of mathematics such as: geometric group theory, Riemannian geometry, hyperbolic dynamics, ergodic theory, ...

Here is a nice survey about the types of problems I think about in discrete subgroups of Lie groups:

• Geometric structures and representations of discrete groups by F. Kassel.

Current/Past graduate students:

• Rou (Vicky) Wen (2022-2026)
• Aleksander Skenderi (2022-2026)

Advice:

Completing a Ph.D. in mathematics is a difficult task, but many people have done it and you can learn from their experiences. Your peers and professors are excellent sources of advice and a lot of great advice can be found online, for instance:

• Finding your Advisor from the Michigan mathematics department.
• Choosing an Advisor by Dan Margalit.
• This website contains a huge amount of general advice.

For undergraduate students:

Undergraduate research:

Recently I have been mentoring undergraduates through the Madison Experimental Mathematics Lab. If you are an undergraduate interested in working closely with a professor to solve non-trivial math problems, you should check it out!

Asking for Letters:

• This blog post contains great advice (and links to more great advice).

Last updated: September 03, 2026.