diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/d/actors5.d b/M2/Macaulay2/d/actors5.d
index fdde6bcd9ae..1c15f103dae 100644
--- a/M2/Macaulay2/d/actors5.d
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/d/actors5.d
@@ -198,6 +198,15 @@ setup(AmpersandS,ampersandfun);
 hathatfun(lhs:Code,rhs:Code):Expr := binarymethod(lhs,rhs,HatHatS);
 setup(HatHatS,hathatfun);
 
+interpunctfun(lhs:Code, rhs:Code):Expr := binarymethod(lhs, rhs, InterpunctS);
+setup(InterpunctS, interpunctfun);
+
+boxtimesfun(lhs:Code, rhs:Code):Expr := binarymethod(lhs, rhs, BoxTimesS);
+setup(BoxTimesS, boxtimesfun);
+
+shuffleproductfun(lhs:Code, rhs:Code):Expr := binarymethod(lhs, rhs, ShuffleProductS);
+setup(ShuffleProductS, shuffleproductfun);
+
 Tildefun(rhs:Code):Expr := unarymethod(rhs,TildeS);
 setuppostfix(TildeS,Tildefun);
 
@@ -1578,23 +1587,24 @@ fillnodes(n:LexNode):void := (
 fillnodes(baseLexNode);
 setupconst("operatorNames",Expr(operatorNames));
 
+createSymbol(w:Word, d:Dictionary, s:string):Expr := (
+    if !isvalidsymbol(s) then buildErrorPacket("invalid symbol")
+    else if d.Protected then (
+	buildErrorPacket("attempted to create symbol in protected dictionary"))
+    else (
+	t := makeSymbol(w, tempPosition, d);
+	globalFrame.values.(t.frameindex)));
+
 getglobalsym(d:Dictionary,s:string):Expr := (
      w := makeUniqueWord(s,parseWORD);
      when lookup(w,d.symboltable) is x:Symbol do Expr(SymbolClosure(globalFrame,x))
-     is null do (
-          if !isvalidsymbol(s) then return buildErrorPacket("invalid symbol");
-	  if d.Protected then return buildErrorPacket("attempted to create symbol in protected dictionary");
-	  t := makeSymbol(w,tempPosition,d);
-	  globalFrame.values.(t.frameindex)));
+     is null do createSymbol(w, d, s));
 
 getglobalsym(s:string):Expr := (
      w := makeUniqueWord(s,parseWORD);
      when globalLookup(w)
      is x:Symbol do Expr(SymbolClosure(if x.thread then threadFrame else globalFrame,x))
-     is null do (
-	  if globalDictionary.Protected then return buildErrorPacket("attempted to create symbol in protected dictionary");
-	  t := makeSymbol(w,tempPosition,globalDictionary);
-	  globalFrame.values.(t.frameindex)));
+     is null do createSymbol(w, globalDictionary, s));
 
 getGlobalSymbol(e:Expr):Expr := (
      when e 
diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/d/binding.d b/M2/Macaulay2/d/binding.d
index 7276cf35803..f4b4985e516 100644
--- a/M2/Macaulay2/d/binding.d
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/d/binding.d
@@ -285,8 +285,12 @@ bumpPrecedence();
      export MinusS := makeKeyword(unarybinaryleft("-"));	    -- also binary
      export PlusS := makeKeyword(unarybinaryleft("+"));	    -- also binary
      export PlusPlusS := makeKeyword(binaryleft("++"));
+bumpPrecedence();
+     export InterpunctS := makeKeyword(binaryleft("·"));
 bumpPrecedence();
      export StarStarS := makeKeyword(binaryleft("**"));
+     export BoxTimesS := makeKeyword(binaryleft("⊠"));
+     export ShuffleProductS := makeKeyword(binaryleft("⧢"));
 bumpPrecedence();
      precBracket := prec;
      export leftbracket := parens("[","]",precBracket, precRightParen, precRightParen);
@@ -511,7 +515,10 @@ export opsWithBinaryMethod := array(SymbolClosure)(
      PowerGreaterEqualS,   UnderscoreGreaterEqualS,
      PowerLessS,           UnderscoreLessS,
      PowerLessEqualS,      UnderscoreLessEqualS,
-     PowerStarStarS
+     PowerStarStarS,
+     InterpunctS,
+     BoxTimesS,
+     ShuffleProductS
      );
 export opsWithUnaryMethod := array(SymbolClosure)(
      StarS, MinusS, PlusS, LessLessS, QuestionQuestionS,
diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/d/ctype.d b/M2/Macaulay2/d/ctype.d
index 2615df86ce3..c08b28f1d1b 100644
--- a/M2/Macaulay2/d/ctype.d
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/d/ctype.d
@@ -25,8 +25,7 @@ foreach c in " \t\r"	                   do setchartype(c,WHITE);
 foreach c in "\n"                          do setchartype(c,NEWLINE);
 foreach c in "$'"                          do setchartype(c,ALNUMEXTRA);
 
-for c from 128 to 225	       	    	   do setchartype(char(c),ALPHA);  -- 226 is unicode math symbols
-for c from 227 to 255	       	    	   do setchartype(char(c),ALPHA);
+for c from 128 to 255                      do setchartype(char(c),ALPHA);
 					      setchartype('\"',QUOTE);
 
 chartype(c:int):int := if (c & ~255) == 0 then int(chartypes.c) else 0;
@@ -52,10 +51,28 @@ export isspace    (c:char):bool := (chartype(c) & SPACE    ) != 0;
 export isnewline  (c:char):bool := (chartype(c) & NEWLINE  ) != 0;
 export isquote    (c:char):bool := (chartype(c) & QUOTE    ) != 0;
 
-export isvalidsymbol  (s:string):bool := (
-     if int(uchar(s.0)) == 226 && length(s) == 3 then return true; -- ugly unicode math symbol hack
+-- c = two bytes concatenated
+export ismathoperator(c:int):bool := (
+    (c & 0xffe0) == 0xc2a0 || -- latin-1 punctuation/symbols
+    c == 0xc397            || -- multiplication sign
+    c == 0xc3b7            || -- division sign
+    (c & 0xfffc) == 0xe288 || -- mathematical operators
+    (c & 0xfffc) == 0xe2a8 || -- supplemental mathematical operators
+    c == 0xe29f            || -- misc. mathematical symbols A
+    (c & 0xfffe) == 0xe2a6 || -- misc. mathematical symbols B
+    (c & 0xfffc) == 0xe28c    -- misc. technical
+    );
+
+ismathoperator(c1:char, c2:char):bool := (
+    ismathoperator((int(uchar(c1)) << 8) | int(uchar(c2))));
+
+export isvalidsymbol(s:string):bool := (
      if !isalpha(s.0) then return false;
-     foreach c in s do if !isalnum(c) then return false;
+     if ismathoperator(s.0, s.1) && length(s) == utf8charlength(s.0)
+     then return true;
+     for i from 0 to length(s) - 1 do (
+	 if !isalnum(s.i) || ismathoperator(s.i, s.(i + 1))
+	 then return false);
      true);
 
 -- Local Variables:
diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/d/lex.d b/M2/Macaulay2/d/lex.d
index 6cf624aa8f5..9548e3d5b00 100644
--- a/M2/Macaulay2/d/lex.d
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/d/lex.d
@@ -315,9 +315,15 @@ gettoken1(file:PosFile,sawNewline:bool):Token := (
 	       return Token(
 		    if file.file.fulllines then wordEOC else NewlineW,
 		    newPosition(file, line, column), globalDictionary, dummySymbol, sawNewline))
-	  else if isalpha(ch) then ( -- valid symbols are an alpha (letters, any unicode except 226) followed by any number of alphanum (alpha, digit, dollar, prime)
+	  else if ismathoperator(peek2(file)) then (
+	       for i from 1 to utf8charlength(char(ch))
+	       do tokenbuf << char(getc(file));
+	       return Token(makeUniqueWord(takestring(tokenbuf), parseWORD),
+		   newPosition(file, line, column), globalDictionary, dummySymbol, sawNewline))
+	  else if isalpha(ch) then ( -- valid symbols are an alpha (letters, any unicode) followed by any number of alphanum (alpha, digit, dollar, prime)
 	       tokenbuf << char(getc(file));
-	       while isalnum(peek(file)) do tokenbuf << char(getc(file));
+	       while isalnum(peek(file)) && !ismathoperator(peek2(file))
+	       do tokenbuf << char(getc(file));
 	       return Token(makeUniqueWord(takestring(tokenbuf), parseWORD),
 		   newPosition(file, line, column), globalDictionary, dummySymbol, sawNewline))
 	  else if isdigit(ch) || ch==int('.') && isdigit(peek(file,1)) then (
@@ -390,7 +396,8 @@ gettoken1(file:PosFile,sawNewline:bool):Token := (
 	       	    if int('.') == c then printWarningMessage(position(file),"character '"+char(c)+"' immediately following floating point number");
 		    );
 	       c = peek(file);
-	       if isalpha(c) then printWarningMessage(position(file),"character '"+char(c)+"' immediately following number");
+	       if isalpha(c) && !ismathoperator(peek2(file))
+	       then printWarningMessage(position(file),"character '"+char(c)+"' immediately following number");
 	       s := takestring(tokenbuf);
 	       return Token(Word(s,typecode,hash_t(0), parseWORD),
 		   newPosition(file, line, column), globalDictionary, dummySymbol, sawNewline))
@@ -410,12 +417,6 @@ gettoken1(file:PosFile,sawNewline:bool):Token := (
 		    )
 	       is word:Word do return Token(word,
 		   newPosition(file, line, column), globalDictionary, dummySymbol, sawNewline))
-	  else if ch == 226 then ( -- unicode math symbols
-	       tokenbuf << char(getc(file));
-	       tokenbuf << char(getc(file));
-	       tokenbuf << char(getc(file));
-	       return Token(makeUniqueWord(takestring(tokenbuf), parseWORD),
-		   newPosition(file, line, column), globalDictionary, dummySymbol, sawNewline))
 	  else (
 	       when recognize(file)
 	       is null do (
diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/d/stdiop.d b/M2/Macaulay2/d/stdiop.d
index 5cd4a8c6a59..1d9e7fc8a26 100644
--- a/M2/Macaulay2/d/stdiop.d
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/d/stdiop.d
@@ -179,6 +179,8 @@ export peek(o:PosFile, offset:int):int := (
 	  );
      c);
 export peek(o:PosFile):int := peek(o,0);
+-- concatenate the next two bytes into a single int
+export peek2(o:PosFile):int := (peek(o) << 8) | peek(o, 1);
 export isatty(o:PosFile):bool := o.file.inisatty;
 export close(o:PosFile):int := (
      when close(o.file) is errmsg do ERROR else 0
diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/d/strings.d b/M2/Macaulay2/d/strings.d
index f726f487615..9e48053329d 100644
--- a/M2/Macaulay2/d/strings.d
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/d/strings.d
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ export index(s:string,offset:int,c:char,d:char):int := (
      while i+1 < length(s) do if c == s.i && d==s.(i+1) then return i else i=i+1;
      -1);     
 
-utf8charlength(c0:char):int := (
+export utf8charlength(c0:char):int := (
     c := int(uchar(c0));
     if (c & 0x80) == 0 then 1
     else if (c & 0xe0) == 0xc0 then 2
diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/m2/exports.m2 b/M2/Macaulay2/m2/exports.m2
index c77d7ee82e6..bdd7f479a22 100644
--- a/M2/Macaulay2/m2/exports.m2
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/m2/exports.m2
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ export {
 	"_>=",
 	"_<",
 	"_<=",
+	"·",
+	"⊠",
+	"⧢",
 	"Acknowledgement",
 	"AdditionalPaths",
 	"Adjacent",
diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/m2/latex.m2 b/M2/Macaulay2/m2/latex.m2
index 89f0ce9e38a..069e07c86ed 100644
--- a/M2/Macaulay2/m2/latex.m2
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/m2/latex.m2
@@ -126,7 +126,8 @@ keywordTexMath = applyKeys(hashTable { -- both unary and binary keywords
 	symbol ||  => "\\mid\\mid",
 	symbol ^** => "{}^{\\otimes}", -- temporary solution to KaTeX issue https://github.com/KaTeX/KaTeX/issues/3576
 	symbol _*  => "{}_*", -- temporary solution to KaTeX issue https://github.com/KaTeX/KaTeX/issues/3576
-	symbol ^*  => "{}^*" -- temporary solution to KaTeX issue https://github.com/KaTeX/KaTeX/issues/3576
+	symbol ^*  => "{}^*", -- temporary solution to KaTeX issue https://github.com/KaTeX/KaTeX/issues/3576
+	symbol ·   => "\\cdot",
 	},symbolBody)
 
 bbLetters := set characters "kABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ"
@@ -141,7 +142,8 @@ texMathLiteralTable := merge(texLiteralTable,
 	"𝔩" => "\\mathfrak{l}","𝔪" => "\\mathfrak{m}","𝔫" => "\\mathfrak{n}","𝔬" => "\\mathfrak{o}","𝔭" => "\\mathfrak{p}","𝔮" => "\\mathfrak{q}","𝔯" => "\\mathfrak{r}","𝔰" => "\\mathfrak{s}","𝔱" => "\\mathfrak{t}","𝔲" => "\\mathfrak{u}","𝔳" => "\\mathfrak{v}",
 	"𝔴" => "\\mathfrak{w}","𝔵" => "\\mathfrak{x}","𝔶" => "\\mathfrak{y}","𝔷" => "\\mathfrak{z}","𝔄" => "\\mathfrak{A}","𝔅" => "\\mathfrak{B}","𝔆" => "\\mathfrak{C}","𝔇" => "\\mathfrak{D}","𝔈" => "\\mathfrak{E}","𝔉" => "\\mathfrak{F}","𝔊" => "\\mathfrak{G}",
 	"𝔋" => "\\mathfrak{H}","𝔌" => "\\mathfrak{I}","𝔍" => "\\mathfrak{J}","𝔎" => "\\mathfrak{K}","𝔏" => "\\mathfrak{L}","𝔐" => "\\mathfrak{M}","𝔑" => "\\mathfrak{N}","𝔒" => "\\mathfrak{O}","𝔓" => "\\mathfrak{P}","𝔔" => "\\mathfrak{Q}","𝔕" => "\\mathfrak{R}",
-	"𝔖" => "\\mathfrak{S}","𝔗" => "\\mathfrak{T}","𝔘" => "\\mathfrak{U}","𝔙" => "\\mathfrak{V}","𝔚" => "\\mathfrak{W}","𝔛" => "\\mathfrak{X}","𝔜" => "\\mathfrak{Y}","𝔝" => "\\mathfrak{Z}"
+	"𝔖" => "\\mathfrak{S}","𝔗" => "\\mathfrak{T}","𝔘" => "\\mathfrak{U}","𝔙" => "\\mathfrak{V}","𝔚" => "\\mathfrak{W}","𝔛" => "\\mathfrak{X}","𝔜" => "\\mathfrak{Y}","𝔝" => "\\mathfrak{Z}",
+	"×" => "\\times", "÷" => "\\div", "±" => "\\pm",
 	},last)
 texMathLiteral = texLiteral1 texMathLiteralTable
 -- TODO: expand and document this behavior
diff --git a/M2/Macaulay2/tests/normal/unicode.m2 b/M2/Macaulay2/tests/normal/unicode.m2
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0469edd6626
--- /dev/null
+++ b/M2/Macaulay2/tests/normal/unicode.m2
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+v = vector {1, 2}
+w = vector {3, 4}
+assert(v⊗w == vector {3, 4, 6, 8})
+
+Vector·Vector := (v, w) -> ((transpose v#0) * w#0)_(0, 0)
+assert(v·w == 11)
+
+-- should get "invalid symbol" error
+assert try getSymbol "⟎⟎" then false else true