He juggles more than numbers
It’s no circus, it’s calculus. This maths professor can show you how to juggle school, life and balls
by Lester Hio / Photo & video: Hillary Tan
You might have seen him on TikTok casually keeping three balls up in the air while effortlessly explaining the mathematics behind it.
Asst Prof Gary Greaves from the School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences usually spends his day deep in advanced mathematical concepts.
But zoning out to juggle a few balls for just ten minutes in his office can spark fresh ideas.
It turns out that mathematicians have an affinity for juggling.
Asst Prof Greaves says: “I took up juggling as an undergrad. Some of my mathematics professors could juggle, and I wanted to be like them.”
“What started as a curiosity quickly became a hobby. I like that it combines focus, rhythm and a bit of flair.”
The maths of juggling
It even fuels his work.
“There are beautiful connections between mathematics and juggling,” the Englishman says. “I think of juggling as learning a repertoire of tricks that can be woven together creatively.”
For example, juggling balls to create a figure-of-eight effect can be done by alternating juggling clockwise and anti-clockwise.
One connection between maths and juggling is how some tricks are learnt by breaking them down into basic moves, much like solving complex mathematical equations step by step.
Teaching with flair
After completing his PhD in the UK, Asst Prof Greaves spent time in Japan doing postdoctoral studies before joining NTU as a lecturer in 2016. Last year, he became an Assistant Professor.
What drew him to NTU was its bold ambitions and the chance to teach and do research in a dynamic, international environment.
“Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate many things about life at NTU, from the energising interactions with students and colleagues, to small daily joys like freshly squeezed orange juice from IJOOZ machines,” he says.
Today, you’ll find him teaching courses in discrete mathematics and graph theory – challenging topics, but all in a day’s work for the puzzle-loving mathematician.
“There’s nothing quite like the thrill of solving a mathematical problem that no one has solved before. A career in mathematics and academia allows me to pursue that joy,” he says.
For his teaching dedication at the College of Science, Asst Prof Greaves received the Nanyang Education Award, a major honour from the university, last year.
His popularity is evident in the many supportive comments online from students, who say he’s a caring teacher with surprising talents.
The puzzle lover sees mathematical patterns in everyday life, and finds ways to show that to his students.
For instance, he once gave a talk on an algorithm to determine how a group of friends renting a place with very differently sized bedrooms could split the bill fairly.
“I’ve always enjoyed all kinds of puzzles, from programming challenges to Rubik’s Cubes, and I like finding the patterns and logic behind them,” he says.
Outside his office door hangs a printout of a heart made up of a string of 0s, 1s and 9s that forms a prime number with exactly 1,991 digits.
It was his entry to a mathematical art competition – one he is quite proud of as it showcases the close link between maths and beauty.
He adds: “That’s also how I remember NTU was founded in 1991, because that number pops up in here!”
Visual: Asst Prof Gary Greaves
This story was published in the Jul-Aug 2025 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
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