Research His research interests include
algebraic number theory,
Diophantine analysis,
p-adic analysis,
geometry of numbers, and the theory of
continued fractions. He teaches
abstract algebra, "The Art of Creating Mathematics", and Diophantine analysis. Together with Thinkwell, Burger "crafted the first-ever virtual, CD-ROM video, interactive, mathematics texts/courses" published over the World Wide Web. Additionally, his lesson tutorial videos earned publisher Holt, Rinehart and Winston one of the 2007
Awards of Excellence from
Technology & Learning, an academic publication. Burger has written and starred in number of educational videos, including the 24-lecture video series
Zero to Infinity: A History of Numbers and
An Introduction to Number Theory. He has delivered more than 400 lectures worldwide and has appeared on more than 40 radio and TV programs including
ABC News Now on
WABC-TV in New York and
National Public Radio. Burger feels that "math trauma" is commonly inflicted upon America's elementary and middle-school students, particularly girls, having received a seventh-grade report card stating: "Eddie is a nice boy, but he'll never do well in math." For example, when teaching students about
topology, he asked students if it is "possible to take a cord of rope long and tie it snugly around your right ankle and your left ankle, take off your pants, turn them inside out, and put your pants back on without ever cutting the rope?" He proceeded to demonstrate the solution to that challenge, wearing huge
Boston Red Sox boxer shorts under his trousers, at the
Boston Public Library in the summer of 2005. In addition to his math courses, Burger teaches a short course in comedy writing during the winter study program at Williams. Combining math with comedy comes from his days as a stand-up comic at the Laff Stop Comedy Club in
Austin in the late-1980s. With
Michael Starbird, he coauthored
The Heart of Mathematics: An invitation to effective thinking, for which they won a 2001
Robert W. Hamilton Book Award, and
Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz,, a humorous look at mathematics filed under both
math and
humor in the
Library of Congress catalog. • , 1993 • "Pleasures vs. Problems", February 2000 •
Exploring the Number Jungle: A Journey into Diophantine Analysis (Student Mathematical Library, V. 8), , July 2000 • "'Math Forum'—I couldn't keep my distance: A mathematical seduction, February 2002 •
The Joy of Thinking: The Beauty and Power of Classical Mathematical Ideas: Part 1 & 2 (The Great Courses – Science & Mathematics), •
Making Transcendence Transparent: An intuitive approach to classical transcendental number theory, , July 2004 • , , 2004 •
Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz: Making Light of Weighty Ideas, , August 2005 •
Matematicas, , 2007 •
Mathematics: Course 2, Holt, , January 2007 •
Algebra 1, Holt, , January 2007 •
Extending the Frontiers of Mathematics: Inquiries into proof and argumentation, , March 2007 •
Algebra 2, Holt, , August 2007 •
The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, (with Michael Starbird) published by Princeton University Press in September 2012, Additionally, Burger has created virtual video textbooks on CD-ROM and on the web for Thinkwell on the topics of "College Algebra", 2000; "Pre-Calculus", 2000; "Calculus", 2001; "Intermediate Algebra", 2001; "Beginning Algebra", 2004; "Trigonometry", 2006; "Prealgebra", 2007; and "Algebra II", 2011.
Professional positions Burger has held the following professional positions: ;
University of Texas at Austin : Visiting lecturer, Summer 1990; Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 1994; Visiting Scholar, Summer 1997 ;
University of Waterloo,
Canada : Postdoctoral fellow, 1990–1991 ;
Williams College : Assistant professor, 1990–1996; associate professor, 1997–2000; professor of mathematics, 2001–2013; chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, 2003–2006; Gaudino Scholar, 2008–2010; Lissack Professor for Social Responsibility and Personal Ethics, 2010–2012; Francis Christopher Oakley Third Century Professor of Mathematics, 2012–2013 ;
James Madison University;
Macquarie University,
Australia : Visiting fellow, summer 1999 ;
Westminster College : Genevieve W. Gore Distinguished Resident, March 2001 ; Mass Interaction : Mathematics consultant, summer 2001 ;
Texas Christian University : Cecil and Ida Green Honors Professor, fall 2001 ;
American Mathematical Monthly : Associate editor, 2002–present ; The Educational Advancement Foundation : Member of the board of trustees, 2004–2008 ; AK Peters Publishing : Member of the editorial board, 2005–present ;
NUMB3RS in the Classroom Project, CBS-TV/Paramount Studios/Texas Instruments : Mathematics advisor, 2005–2007 ;
The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts :Member of the board, 2009–present ;
Baylor University :Robert Foster Cherry Professor for Great Teaching, 2010–2012 :Vice provost for strategic educational initiatives, 2011–2012 ;
Southwestern University :15th president, 2013–2020 ;St. David's Foundation :President and CEO == Selected honors and awards ==