Professor Steve Harris of the Department of Mathematics specializes in differential geometry, the study of the mathematics behind curved surfaces. However, many on campus no doubt recognize Harris for his clothing. Yet, like a geodesic, a line that connects two points on a surface, Harris connects his male gender and feminine fashion sense.

He said, simply, that it fits his personality.

“Gender is the most salient feature of the human species on a social level,” he said. “It’s very difficult to put into words.”

Harris quickly dismissed the rumor that he wears women’s clothing in mourning for his deceased wife. Not only is Harris’ wife alive, but the two have been married for more than 15 years.

And with the possible exception to a pair of winter boots, none of his clothes belong, or have ever belonged, to his wife.

Harris, a St. Louis native, met his wife upon his return here after teaching for a year at Coastal Carolina College. He has also previously taught at Oregon State University, Brown University, Bonn University in Germany and the University of Missouri.

Harris noted that Coastal Carolina College was the only time he did not live within biking distance of his job.

“Every day is a good day for bike riding,” he said. “You just have to wear the right clothes.”

Harris said he enjoys bike riding because you get to interact with the weather and the cityscape. He also participates in mountain hiking and white-water canoeing and has climbed all 14,000 feet of Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park.

“Being outdoors is a goodness,” he said.

Harris also has some indoor hobbies as well. He plays the flute in a concert band and the recorder with the St. Louis branch of the American Recorder Society. He also sings in a community choir.

“Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve found a concert band to play in,” Harris said.

In addition, he and his wife host regular role-playing gaming sessions at their home.

“I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons from the beginning,” he said.

Harris even played a game of Dungeons & Dragons with Gary Gygax, co-creator of the game, at the General Convention II in 1978-one of the biggest gaming conferences in the United States.

He also plays a Japanese medieval game called Heroes of Rokugan. Harris said that he has been fascinated by Japanese culture since he was young.

“I like the aesthetic,” he said. “The art is pretty neat and has a very relaxing feel.”

Harris has visited Japan several times, enjoys anime and Japanese cinema and has had his work published in a Japanese physics journal. He also speaks a little Japanese.

“I studied it for two years, but didn’t get really far,” he said. “Studying Japanese for two years is like studying a European language for one.”

In all of his passions-cultural, artistic and mathematical-Harris operates according to the laws of his own geometry.