Tomás Guardia

As an experienced instructor with more than 20 years of teaching math between Venezuela and the United States, Dr. Guardia earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. at the Central University of Venezuela, where he reached the leading position of Chair of the Department of Mathematics and acting Director of the School of Mathematics. Dr. Guardia came to the United States as a lecturer at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, where he currently stands and has taught many core courses, ranging from Calculus to History of Mathematics. In Venezuela, he taught many undergraduate courses and as well as graduate classes. 

Along with educating, Dr. Guardia is also passionate about researching mathematical projects. With selected students, he leads the top worldwide research of mathematics through a medieval math board game of Rithmomachia, a sort of math-chess game with numbered pieces on a math battlefield. He was the founder and president of the Club Venezolano de Rithmomachia in Venezuela. 

Dr. Guardia joined Stanford in the fall of 2022. One of his long-term projects is to open the History of Mathematics course and the Stanford Rithmomachia Club. He wants to continue discovering the beauty of mathematics behind the math board game with the students at Stanford. Dr. Guardia likes reading, cooking, hiking, and traveling to new places in his free time. He loves to engage in lengthy and meaningful conversations with his family, students, colleagues, and friends.