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Mathematician John Terilla knows that the chase for breakthroughs has no guarantees, that others have spent their lives on similar problems with varying degrees of success. So how does this City University New York professor stay so driven? We talked to the Cabernet lover about his passion for mathematics and how he navigates uncertainty.
I’ve always been interested in mathematics. My mom tells stories of me when I was a little kid, that I did mathematical things from an early age. I always liked looking at clocks, figuring out things like 5 x 12 is 60, and so is 4 x 15 and 2 x 30. I liked that type of arithmetic as a kid.
I was interested in mathematics in high school. I entered college as a math major, I studied math and went to graduate school. I know it's not uncommon for students to be undecided and explore different subjects but I’ve always been really interested in math.
I usually arrange it so I give my lectures two days a week and spend the rest of the week on research. In summertime, I don’t teach and just do research. So that’s a really productive time.
I was working on a problem I call ‘homotopy probability theory’. In a really surprising development, it looks like there’s a relationship between homotopy probability theory and fluid flow – the flow of air or blood through blood vessels. It turns out there’s a connection between the two and I was working on some analytic details of that connection.
I always try to understand things I don’t understand. There’s this idea that mathematicians walk around in a state of confusion all the time. You wander around and you’re always confused about something and, little by little, you start to understand more and more. There’s always more to understand. So trying to understand the things that I don’t understand is what I expect to get out of it.
There are breakthroughs of different sizes. You can have small breakthroughs once a year. But really great ideas come less frequently.
Sometimes there are long periods where you’re not really making progress. You can always work on things, but then breakthrough moments happen unexpectedly – when you’re walking in the park or taking a shower. Sometimes it hits you and it’s a little bit unexpected.
That’s a good question, especially because you don’t know how long these periods will be. You don’t know whether it’s going to be two weeks, where you’re not inspired or have any progress, or whether it’s going to be two years. But there’s always things to do – write a paper, referee an article, teach a class, go for a run. That keeps you busy. You never know when you’re going to hear some idea, possibly in a different context, that’s going to make a small adjustment to the way you see things or plumb your intuition in a certain way.
I remember proving a theorem while I was visiting a research institute in France, called IHES, one January. I was thinking about some aspect of quantum physics and I was treating it in a certain mathematical way, which I had been for years. I finally understood that it was incorrect and I understood why it was incorrect and that was kind of a turning point for me.
It was a very personal kind of triumph. It wasn't a medal-winning theorem. It didn’t land me a new prestigious professorship. It wasn’t that kind of triumph that makes a line on your resume. It was a personal triumph. I was chasing something in one direction and it really changed the direction of how I was thinking about things and put me back on course.
This work I’m doing with fluids and homotopy probability – I’ve applied for a research grant which I’d really like to get. Because if I get it, I can get results faster. The grant would enable me to hire some post-docs who really know fluids and someone with expertise in programming large-scale supercomputers with parallel processing. I’d make much more progress on this problem than I could by myself.
I think intuition is really important. If someone is training to become a mathematician, part of their training is very vigorous thinking that has a lot to do with logic. That kind of training is useful, but be careful that it doesn’t kill the really poetic part of mathematics, where it’s really driven by vision and intuition. I think vigorous proving of problems is slightly overrated, even though most mathematicians would agree it’s part of their job. Don’t kill vision and intuition with adherence to logic and proof.
It helps if you like what you do. If you love it, it’s kind of easy. My wife, for instance, she works in business and I think she probably has some idea of retiring some day. I don’t see myself retiring for any reason. Why would I? This is what I do. This is what I do because I like doing it.
Wolf Blass Wines was established in 1966 when Wolf began making small parcels of his own wine. The first Wolf Blass Yellow Label was made from the 1966 vintage. The first wine to bear the Wolf Blass name was the 1967 Grey Label Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz, which carried all the Langhorne Creek hallmarks of softness, drinkability and concentrated flavours of eucalypt and mint. Two years later, Wolf Blass acquired the 3 hectare 'Bilyara' site, 4kms from Nuriootpa in South Australia's Barossa Valley. Upon learning Bilyara is the Aboriginal word for Eaglehawk, and with the eagle being the national emblem of Germany, Wolf decided Wolf Blass wines would carry the eagle emblem.
Wolf hires his first winemaker, John Glaetzer, in 1970. John is later appointed to the role of Senior Winemaker in 1974, and the two form a formidable partnership and one of Australia’s most successful winemaking teams. The iconic Black Label is launched in 1973, the first a blend of 80% Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Eden Valley Shiraz matured in American and French oak for over 16 months.
Just eight years after making his first wine, Wolf Blass wins the Jimmy Watson Trophy at the 1974 Royal Melbourne Wine Show for the 1973 Wolf Blass Black Label. Wolf would go on to win the award again in 1975 and 1976.
Chris Hatcher joins Wolf Blass as Senior Winemaker in 1987. Chris would go on to become Chief Winemaker, a role he still holds today. Five years later, Chris would win his first major accolade, when the winery was awarded the Robert Mondavi Trophy for the Winemaker of the Year at the 1992 International Wine and Spirits Competition.
In 1997, Caroline Dunn was hired as a red winemaker: she would be instrumental in creating Platinum Label Shiraz and the Gold Label range. She went on to become a highly respected and influential Senior Winemaker.
In 1999, Caroline became the first female to win the Jimmy Watson Trophy, for the 1998 Black Label which she made with John Glaetzer. Just two years later, the 1998 Wolf Blass Black Label won the winery a fifth Jimmy Watson Trophy – a astonishing feat unmatched by any other producer.
In 2000, Wolfgang Blass was awarded the Maurice O'Shea Award, one of the Australian wine industry's highest honours, for his enormous contribution to the industry during his 35-year career. The following year saw the opening of the new $30 million Wolf Blass winery.
From 2008 to 2016, Wolf Blass would go on to win a slew of awards, including IWC International Red Winemaker of the Year (2008, 2013, 2016), the IWSC International Winemaker of the Year (2013), Intervin Winery of the Year (2013), CWSA Australian Wine Producer of the Year (2013), and the Australian Export Hero Award (2008).
In 2019, Wolf Blass took a bold step into the future, launching the Makers Project, a range of wines which celebrate the artistry and wine making innovation at the heart of Wolf Blass since 1966.
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