TODXS CUENTAN: Difference, Humanity, and Belonging in Mathematics

Federico Ardila - Professor of Mathematics, San Francisco State University

Abstract: Everyone can have joyful, meaningful, and empowering mathematical experiences; but no single mathematical experience is joyful, meaningful, and empowering to everyone. How do we build mathematical spaces where every participant can thrive? Audre Lorde advises us to use our differences to our advantage. bell hooks highlights the key role of building community while addressing power dynamics. Rochelle Gutierrez emphasizes the importance of welcoming students’ full humanity. This talk will discuss some efforts to implement these ideas in mathematical contexts, and some lessons learned along the way. 

Community and Belonging in Mathematics

Dr. Deanna Haunsperger - John E. Sawyer Professor of Liberal Learning and Professor of Mathematics, Carleton College

Abstract: How can building communities in mathematics help in our ongoing quest to make mathematics more inclusive?  From social psychologists we can learn the importance of individuals feeling accepted, valued, and legitimate within their community -- the importance of a sense of belonging.  From successful communities we can learn the power, in the form of resilience and perseverance, that their members enjoy.  Armed with this information, we can create communities to support members of underrepresented groups in mathematics.

Twelve quick overviews of fields of mathematics which are common to undergraduate research projects or jobs, to help you decide what you might be interested in applying for. 

What is Topological Data Analysis?

Dr. Jose Perea (Professor at Northeastern University)

Topology, and particularly algebraic topology, seeks to develop computable invariants to quantify the shape of abstract spaces. This talk will be about how such invariants can be used to analyze scientific data sets, in tasks like time series analysis, semi-supervised learning and dimensionality reduction. I will use several examples to illustrate real applications of these ideas.

Math Education for Who? Fostering Belongingness in the K-12 Math Classroom

Ishrat Ahmed (Director of Mathematics Education at Teaching Experience for Undergraduates)

 Join us to talk about pathways into math education and the importance of teachers with marginalized identities!  Many of us have experienced "traditional" K-12 math classrooms where "drill and kill" are king. This often plants and perpetuates the idea that mathematics is a subject focused on speed and compliance, and often isolated. For many people there is a comfort in the supposed structure of mathematics, but this also creates a barrier for students who want to work collaboratively, tinker, and experiment with mathematics. Unlearning the "traditional" math classroom for pre-service teachers can be tough to do in isolation, in this talk I will be discussing how challenging this schema in community can support students with marginalized identities, who have often been excluded from success in mathematics classrooms.

Graph Theory

Dr. Megan Cream (Professor at Lehigh University)

In essence, the field of graph theory is the mathematical study of connections and interactions. In this exciting field we use graphs-- but not *those* graphs you might be thinking of! Instead we study an entirely different type of "graph" consisting of dots and lines connecting those dots. The first part of this talk serves as an overview of the history, basic tools, and many of the real-world applications of graph theory. Then we dive into an example of research recently done in the field, and a discussion about research programs where such research is being done.

Combinatorial Geometry

Dr. Pablo Soberón (Associate Professor at Baruch College - CUNY)

In this crash course, we will talk about problems at the crossroads of combinatorics and geometry.  In particular, how do geometric conditions on sets affect their combinatorial properties?  Some instances we will talk about are intersection patterns of families of convex sets, fair division problems, and combinatorial properties of finite families of points in R^d.  A surprising feature of many of these problems is that their solutions often borrow tools from topology.  The course will be accessible even if you don't have prior experience with these topics.

How is Statistics like Poetry?

Dr. Steve Wang (Professor at Swarthmore College)

Poets often use metaphors and similes. Statisticians use models: abstractions that capture the essential features common to seemingly disparate situations. Common models include coin flips and drawing balls from urns. Statisticians don’t just care about coins and urns, though; we care about using these simple models as metaphors to help solve other problems. We’ll explore how models can help us estimate the size of crowds, the strength of enemy forces in World War II, and the age of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

From Here to There and Graspable Math: Integrating Perceptual Learning, Cognition, and Technology within Algebra Problem Solving

Dr. Erin Ottmar (Associate Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

Success in Algebra is one of the strongest predictors for high-school graduation and future success. But for many students, algebra is a gatekeeper, not a gateway. What makes algebra so hard? For one, it’s symbol, language, and representation systems are very abstract, and second, it requires focusing both on many specific rules and a larger structure and bigger picture at the same time. In this talk, I will present work that has shown that math and algebraic reasoning is grounded in perceptual processes, and that embedding perceptual action routines into mathematics learning by using innovative technology can be useful for improving conceptual understanding. I will demo two math technologies that I have designed, developed, and tested over the past several years, Graspable Math and From Here to There! Next, I will share findings from two large scale randomized controlled classroom studies that demonstrate their impact on mathematics performance. Third, I will discuss ways that I am using data analytic approaches on the log data collected in these technologies to advance basic and applied research on perceptual learning and explore possible mechanisms by which these tools impact student mathematics engagement and learning. 

Mathematical biology (disease spread, zebra stripes, and more)

Dr. Alexandria Volkening (Assistant Professor at Purdue University)

Animal skin patterns, disease transmission, opinion dynamics, wound healing, tumor growth, schooling fish, leaf venation,… These are all examples of things that mathematical biologists work on, drawing on many sub-areas of mathematics, including differential equations, network science, and topology and geometry, among others. Here I’ll introduce mathematical biology and chat about some projects for undergraduate students interested in connecting math and biology.

An Introduction to Core Partitions

Dr. Rishi Nath (Professor at York College - CUNY)

Core Partitions are a subfamily of integer partitions that arise from the representation theory of the symmetric groups. They have, however, been found to be connected to deep concepts in number theory and rational combinatorics. We introduce this field and find several interpretations, using Young diagrams, the abacus, and lattice paths.

Opportunities for Mathematicians in Quantitative Finance

Dr. Bill Hrusa (Professor at Carnegie Mellon University)

The field of Quantitative Finance, or Mathematical Finance (sometimes referred to as Financial Engineering), provides mathematicians with opportunities to work on interesting research problems and pursue careers that are exciting, intellectually challenging, and lucrative. I plan to start off by giving a brief introduction to the types of mathematical problems that arise in quantitative finance. Then I will discuss the mathematical concepts that are needed to solve these problems. If time permits, I will show some results from undergraduate research projects. I will also say a bit about research opportunities, graduate programs, and job opportunities. I hope to make the presentation interactive, so please come prepared to ask me lots of questions. NO previous knowledge of finance is required to follow this presentation/discussion.

The Mathematics of Fluids Motion

Dr. Vincent Martinez (Assistant Professor at Hunter College - CUNY)

Fluid motion is described by classical mechanics, that is, by the Newton’s laws of motion. This means that the basic tools of Calculus gives us access to studying the incredibly rich and complex motion encompassed by fluids. The study of fluids has not only fascinated physicists and engineers for centuries, but also mathematicians. In fact, the first ever partial differential equation was written down by Euler, who had conceived of what he referred to as a “perfect fluid,” one that moves along its own velocity field unobstructed by frictional forces and may experience deformations only through its internal pressure. These equations have since been referred to as the Euler equations for incompressible fluids. Although these equations were written down nearly 300 years ago, there nevertheless remain fundamental problems regarding solutions to these equations that remain unresolved to this day. This talk will introduce the famous Euler equations, using only calculus, and discuss issues that continue to confound mathematicians to this day.

Number Theory is Cool!

Dr. Josh Holden (Professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)

Number theory is cool! You want to learn about it! It's connected to lots of other cool things, like Algebra, Geometry, Logic, Computer Science, and Art. Even Analysis, believe it or not. Because it's about integers, and integers are everywhere. I'll talk about some different types of number theory and give some examples of student projects. Also, we'll race some primes and see who wins.

Spaces of Stuff

Dr. Fedya Manin (Assistant Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara)

Topology studies the most essential properties of shapes (or "spaces"), those that are the same no matter how you stretch or squeeze them.  Those properties can be especially interesting if the points in the space themselves have meaning: they can represent data, or ways of tiling the plane, or even other spaces.  I will give some examples of places in mathematics where this idea shows up.

Mathematicians share their formative undergraduate experiences and how those experiences informed the trajectories of their careers. It can be hard to imagine your future, and that makes it hard to plan for it. We hope you’ll be able to see yourself in these stories, and that seeing mathematicians who were once where you are (no, really) will help you imagine and plan for your future.

Jon Oaks (Professor at Macomb Community College)

Jon Oaks has been a math professor at Macomb Community College since 2011. He has taught mathematics in some form since he started working as a tutor as an undergraduate student at Ferris State University. Some of his interests lie in improving mathematics curriculum through technology, cultural awareness, service-learning projects, and online learning. In his story, he will share a little about math, technology, learning, and life in general.

Dr. Michelle Hirsch (Head of Product for MATLAB)

Dr. Michelle Hirsch is a technology leader and an out transgender woman. Michelle has a degree in Mathematics and has built her career at a company with “math” in the name, so you’d think her career trajectory would be fairly obvious. Far from it! Michelle will discuss how she went from a degree in math to be the Head of Product for MATLAB, a scientific programming language and environment used by over 5 million engineers and scientists worldwide. She’ll also talk about her experience transitioning from male to female mid-career, discussing some things that went well, some things that went less well, and the progress we’ve made since then.

Jessica Benally (Graduate Student at University of California Berkeley)

Jessica Benally (Diné) is from Tohatchi, New Mexico, a PhD student in the Learning Sciences and Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley. She got her BS in Applied Mathematics with a minor in Native American Studies from the University of New Mexico. Benally’s research interests are around designing mathematics curriculum and tools that are grounded in Diné mathematics. She will share about her experiences at UNM and Berkeley math departments, being a student parent, and working toward epistemological shifts in mathematics. 

Amaury Miniño (Graduate Student at Colorado State University)

Amaury is a Dominican Fourth-year PhD student in Mathematics at Colorado State University. His research is in decomposing tensors into orthogonal components. He has a passion for math communication, and for introducing students to research opportunities. He has mentored students who want to engage with research in STEM and recognizes the importance of having a strong support network. In 2019 he participated in MSRI-UP, and in 2020 he helped organize the first OURFA²M² conference. His plan is to stay in academia after receiving his PhD so that he can continue providing resources and support to students.

Dr. Siddhi Krishna (Ritt Assistant Professor and NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University)

Siddhi Krishna is a mathematician working in the field of "low-dimensional topology", the subfield of mathematics investigating 3- and 4-dimensional spaces. She is a first-generation American who never considered academia or mathematics as a career until after graduating from college -- in fact, in her senior year of college, alternate careers she considered were behavioral economist, advertising agency analyst, and ethnomusicologist! However, after realizing how much she loved math, she enrolled in a post-bac/masters program; she eventually graduated from Boston College with her PhD in 2020. Much of Dr. Krishna's career has been spent feeling like an outsider; as such, supporting students from groups historically excluded from mathematics is an important part of her professional life. In this talk, she will describe her pathway to mathematics, and some of the things (both positive and negative) that impacted her trajectory. All are welcome! 

Lucy Martinez (Graduate Student at Rutgers University)

Lucy Martinez received her Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and a computer science minor from Stockton University in 2021. She went to graduate school at Rutgers University, where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in mathematics. She is a recipient of the 2021 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. Her research interests are in experimental mathematics, combinatorics, and graph theory.

Lucy is involved in the mathematics community: in the summer of 2021, she participated in the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) program, where she expanded her network of female mathematicians from different backgrounds and built mentoring relationships. In the summer of 2022, she was a graduate teaching assistant at ICERM's computational combinatorics REU. At Rutgers, she is an academic success mentor, where she provides math tutoring and mentorship support through one-on-one sessions for all students. 

Lucy is the daughter of immigrants. Her family returned to Guatemala when she was three years old, and she was raised there for eleven years. She started as an English as a Second Language (ESL) student. As such, her goals include influencing other Hispanic students to pursue their dreams and supporting the Hispanic math community. 

Dr. Joseph Nakao (Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College)

Joseph Nakao (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Swarthmore College. He has a B.S. in applied mathematics from Seattle University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. Nakao specializes in scientific computing and numerical analysis, with a particular emphasis on applications in plasma physics. He is on the editorial board of MAA FOCUS, the newsmagazine of the Mathematical Association of America, and the board of directors for Spectra, the association for LGBTQ+ mathematicians. In this talk, Nakao will describe his journey to becoming a proud gay applied mathematician, as well as provide advice for young queer mathematicians navigating their careers.

Rachel Bailey (Graduate Student at University of Connecticut)

Rachel Bailey is a 5th year Ph.D. student at the University of Connecticut studying orthogonal polynomials and applications in operator theory. She took a 6 year gap between high school and starting undergrad, earning her bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Connecticut at the age of 27. In her story, Rachel will talk about what it was like to be a non-traditional student, the challenges she faced in her first year of graduate school and how she overcame these challenges. She will also discuss some of the experiences that she feels have helped propel her career in mathematics and things she wished she knew before starting graduate school.

Dr. Daniel Cruz (Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Florida)

Dr. Daniel Alejandro Cruz is an Ecuadorian immigrant and DACA recipient. He got his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of South Florida, and he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology before joining the University of Florida as a Postdoctoral Associate. He has served on various committees supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. He also enjoys promoting the work of early career researchers, especially those from historically underrepresented groups, through the seminars and mini-symposia that he organizes. In his talk, Dr. Cruz will discuss some of the challenges he faced during his academic journey as an (undocumented) immigrant and give some advice for those interested in a career in mathematical sciences.

Dorian Smith (Graduate Student at University of Minnesota Twin Cities)

Dorian Smith is a fifth-year PhD student at University of Minnesota Twin Cities studying algebraic combinatorics. She received her BS in Mathematics from the University of Arizona and her MS in Mathematics from California State University Los Angeles. She loves graph theory, parking functions, math education, travel, and jigsaw puzzles. 

Dr. Seppo Niemi-Colvin (Postdoctoral Associate at Indiana University)

Seppo Niemi-Colvin is a neurodivergent gay transmasculine mathematician who grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. He did a combined bachelors and masters at Bryn Mawr College, which is also where in community with other trans people, he discovered he is transgender, though at the time he identified as agender. After graduating from Bryn Mawr College, he took a gap year, before starting a PhD program at Duke University. There he discovered that he is a man and started medically transitioning, as well as studying his current topic of low dimensional topology and knot theory. He currently has a post-doctoral position at Indiana University, continuing his research and teaching calculus.

Dr. Carrie Diaz Eaton (Associate Professor at Bates College)

Dr. Carrie Diaz Eaton is an Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies at Bates College, and co-founder and Executive Director of the Institute for a Racially Just, Open, and Inclusive STEM education (RIOS Institute). Dr. Diaz Eaton is a proud first generation Latinx and mother. Dr. Diaz Eaton values the complex interplay at the intersection of their identities, professional activism in STEM education, and her research. Research projects include a focus on interdisciplinary computational and quantitative education and STEM postsecondary education policy and systemic change.

A group of current and recent undergraduates (just like you!) who have participated in a variety of summer/semester career-building programs share their experiences and answer your questions. 

Stanley Pritchard

Stanley Pritchard is a first-year PhD student at Duke University. His work is in knot theory and low-dimensional topology. Stanley received his bachelors of science in mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. During his time there, he participated in the Directed Reading Program (DRP), organized an undergraduate mathematics seminar, and participated in two REUs (one at Georgia Tech and one at Rutgers). Stanley also has some experience in applied topology; he briefly worked on a research project with a biology lab and a physics group while at Georgia Tech.

Stephen Hu

Stephen Hu (he/they) is a first-year math PhD student at the University of Georgia, interested in algebraic number theory. They graduated in 2023 from Rutgers University - New Brunswick where they majored in Mathematics and minored in Astronomy. During undergrad, Stephen was the head of the Rutgers Undergraduate Mathematics Association, as well as participating in an REU at Ursinus College in 2021. In 2022, they were a counselor at the Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS), and liked it so much that they came back to be a head counselor for the 2023 camp. Stephen is passionate about teaching and mentoring students, especially queer and minority students who may feel marginalized. 

Daksh Aggarwal

Daksh is currently a PhD student at Brown University studying algebraic geometry. He graduated from Grinnell College, where he majored in math and computer science. During his senior year, he studied abroad in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program. He did theoretical physics research with a faculty member at Grinnell during his first summer and spent the next two summers working on number-theoretic projects in the Fields Institute summer research program (FUSRP). He also participated in a number of short courses/schools like the PCMI undergrad summer school and had a short stint as a part-time research associate at Wolfram. All of these were important experiences that convinced him math grad school was the right next step for him and he is happy to talk about any of these. 

Jess Wang

Jess Wang is a first-year math master student at Humboldt University at Berlin. Before then, she graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor in mathematical sciences. During her undergraduate degree, she participated in several research opportunities, including the Polymath Jr REU and Texas A&M REU. She also spent a semester in Hungary via the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program, during which she took courses and conducted research with mathematicians form the Rényi Institute. In addition to doing math, she is passionate about teaching and mentoring –– she was a counselor at the Ross Mathematics Program the last summer, teaching high schoolers about number theory.

Jillian Cervantes

Jillian Cervantes (she/they) is a fourth-year undergraduate at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, studying math and computer science. She researches graph theory dominating sets at her home institution through the UW Milwaukee Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows program. In summer 2023, she participated in the MSRI-UP research experience for undergrads in Berkeley, CA, where she worked with a team of three to conduct research in machine learning and topological data analysis. Jillian has presented her research at various conferences and symposia. Additionally, from 2021-2023, Jillian worked as an intern in the IT department at Artisan Partners Asset Management, where she worked on software development and systems analysis. Jillian plans to start a PhD program in mathematics in fall 2024. She hopes to become a math professor after completing her PhD, and that her work in mathematics will inspire other Latinx mathematicians to remain persistent in pursuing their goals.

Ashley Harrison

Ashley Harrison is a first-year applied math Ph.D. student at Arizona State University. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Math with a minor in Chemistry in 2023 from the University of Pikeville, a liberal arts university in Pikeville, Kentucky. During her undergraduate studies, she participated in various opportunities related to her studies. She worked on a problem related to mathematical physics as part of the REU in Mathematical Analysis and Applications at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in the summer of 2022. More recently, she attended the EDGE 2023 Summer Session held at Brown University. Related to teaching, she was a teaching assistant and a tutor for the last three years of her undergraduate studies. Beyond doing math herself, she is passionate about making opportunities (math-related or otherwise) more accessible to students from institutions in underserved communities.

A group of representatives of various types of summer/semester programs speak about the programs they are affiliated with and similar programs to help you understand what these programs will expect from you and your application, and what you can expect from them. 

• Dr. Timothy All (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Ross Mathematics Program)

• Dr. Benjamin Brubaker (University of Minnesota, Polymath Jr.)

• Jay Bethea (Rice University)

• Abril Martínez (Mathematical Sciences Semesters Guanajuato)

• Fiona Young (Cornell University, former Campus Director at Art of Problem Solving)

Navigating Mathematics, Mathematics Education, and Mathematics Education Research as an Indigenous and Filipinx Scholar

Dr. Belin Tsinnajinnie (Research Associate in Mathematics Education at WestEd)

Mathematical learning experiences are greatly shaped through the experiences and perspectives of research mathematicians, mathematics educators, and mathematics education researchers. Although learning and doing mathematics is central to these discussions, there can be tensions and power dynamics around discourses around what mathematics should be valued and whose perspectives should be centered. In this talk, I share my perspectives around these dynamics as I navigate through career opportunities and struggles as an Indigenous and Filipinx scholar, who also feels the need to center family, community, and connection to place. 

Gender Equity Transitions: From Awareness to Action to ACTION

Dr. Keri Sather-Wagstaff (Professor of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Clemson University)

Gender inequity is a pervasive issue in mathematics and other fields. Explicit and implicit bias and harassment are ongoing causes of trauma against people who are not cis white men. In addition to causing harm to individual human beings, these result in significant issues of recruitment, retention, and promotion of people who love mathematics and want to be a part of the scientific enterprise. In this presentation I will discuss some projects I’ve been part of working to overturn these barriers for women and people who are trans, nonbinary, and/or intersex. 

Math Education

Dr. Fabiana Cardetti (University of Connecticut)

After several decades of educational reforms aimed at improving mathematics teaching and learning, we continue to observe inadequate understanding of mathematics at all grade levels. The disruption in academic learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated this issue for many of our students. The story is not all grim, however, as teams of researchers around the world are conducting studies not only to increase student achievement and engagement in mathematics but also to understand and test what teachers need in order to support and sustain such increase. In this presentation, I will describe some of the research projects I have engaged in over the years to offer an introduction to some of the types of studies in educational research. Along the way, I hope to engage with you in a discussion about important components of educational research such as: topic selection, research questions formulation, methodological approaches, and more.

Graph Theory

Dr. Jessica De Silva (California State University, Stanislaus)

The more we learn about mathematics, the more we realize how often mathematics appears in our daily lives. Percentages pop up anytime we make a purchase, and checking our speed while driving reminds us of the derivatives at play. Representing real-life situations in terms of mathematical concepts and language is one of the most valuable skills we have as mathematicians. In this talk, we will introduce a mathematical structure, called a graph (or network), which can be used to model many situations in our modern world. With winter just around the corner, we will focus on a graph model of a ski resort and discover the types of questions, both applied and theoretical, that this model motivates. 

An Invitation to Linear Dynamics (A Crash Course in Analysis)

Dr. David Walmsley (St. Olaf College)

It is an astonishing fact that there exists a special function with the following property: any continuous function on the unit interval looks like one of the derivatives of this special function! In the research area of linear dynamics, we focus not so much on this spectacular function but rather on the operation that produces it, which in this case is differentiation.  In this talk, we will give an introduction to the research area of linear dynamics with the ultimate goal of describing several projects undergraduate students have worked on in this area. 

Operations Research

Dr. Allen Holder (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)

Operations Research (OR) is an area of applied mathematics that combines theory with computational skill to solve problems.  OR's origins go back to World War II, with the original research groups helping the allied powers win the war.  The field subsequently flourished due to its wide-scale applicability in business, engineering, and science. The principal mathematical domains are optimization, probability, and statistics, but the OR community regularly adopts/adapts/advances other areas as it addresses contemporary problems.  We will sample the mathematics of OR by skipping through some of the problems that students and I have approached, including problems in medicine, economics, manufacturing, and computational biology. 

Introduction to Combinatorial Number Theory (a topic in Combinatorics)

Dr. Zhanar Berikkyzy (Fairfield University)

Combinatorics is an exciting field of mathematics that studies discrete objects. It has applications to diverse areas of mathematics and other sciences. In combinatorics problems are often easy to state, but difficult to solve. In this talk, we will mainly focus on combinatorial number theory, a study of structured sets of integers. We will introduce several important theorems in this area. Then we will consider analogous theorems in a rainbow colored setting. We will share recent research results and interesting open problems.

Arithmetic statistics and number field asymptotics (a topic in Number Theory)

Dr. Allechar Serrano López (Harvard University)

In this talk, I will introduce the area of arithmetic statistics with classical examples. Then we will discuss number field asymptotics by discussing the case of quadratic fields as an example. 

How Do We Communicate Mathematics?

Dr. Kelsey Houston-Edwards (University of Tübingen, Freelance)

We’ll explore the mathematics communication landscape — from teaching and proof writing to podcasting and journalism. I’ll describe some of my own experiences and profile the work of others. Along the way, I’ll highlight some ways that you can get involved in communicating mathematics, either as a career or integrated into other jobs. We’ll also compile a list of general advice: how do you tailor your mathematical message to various audiences? This talk will have an (optionally) interactive format.

An Introduction to Fractals (A topic in geometry and topology) 

Dr. Ethan Berkove (Lafayette College)

Roughly speaking, fractals are sets that exhibit self-similarity at many scales, that is, they contain smaller versions of themselves as subsets.  Sets with fractal properties show up in many natural systems and have broad applications.  The term “fractal” is actually relatively recent—it was coined by Benoit Mandelbrot in the mid 1970’s.  However, examples of fractal sets, including some familiar mathematical objects, go back well over a century.  In this talk we’ll take a look at some members of the fractal family.  I will also describe some recent problems involving fractals that undergraduates have worked on.  

Machine Learning and Mathematical Approaches for Pattern Recognition in Mathematical Biology

Dr. Mario Bañuelos (California State University, Fresno)

This talk will focus on two areas of mathematical biology: genomics and endemic disease modeling. An organism's phenotype, the physical expression of one or more genes, is greatly influenced by genomic variation in that organism or population. We consider applying machine learning frameworks to both detect longer variants as well as cluster mutations that may positively or negatively affect phenotype. In particular, epistasis, the phenomenon of one mutation affecting the resulting quantitative or qualitative phenotype, is used to assess gene variation in an attempt to find a combination of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) that contribute to a certain phenotype. Since one SNV rarely completely describes an organism’s phenotype, detecting these groups, or coalitions, of mutations without relying on an exponential number of numbers is one of the main challenges in this field. To alleviate these computational bottlenecks, we propose a neighborhood-based collaborative filtering approach by viewing this data with a recommender system formulation. As such, we are able to detect statistically significant higher order SNV interaction phenotypes related to muscle mice genomic variants. Next, we focus on the math modeling process for endemic disease modeling, the importance of data cleaning and visualization, and discuss open areas of research.

“Statistics” What is it and why does it matter?

Dr. Marco V. Martinez (North Central College)

Predictive modeling, business analytics, data analytics, big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence are some of hottest topics in the corporate world, the government and therefore in higher education. We will talk of the role of statistics in some of these areas and the differences between them. Finally, we will discuss how we can use statistics to make you more marketable regardless of your career path.

Topology? Isn’t that the study of mapmaking? (A Crash Course in Topology)

Dr. Candice Price (Smith College & Spelman College)

In this crash course, we will talk about the informal mathematical definition of topology as well as see some examples of areas of topology and some interesting research questions in these areas. 

Mathematics Related to Meaning and Inference in Language Processing (A Crash Course in Logic)

Dr. Larry Moss (Indiana University)

These days, everyone with a computer interacts with it in ordinary language.  This interaction involves a lot of mathematics.  For example, there is a whole field of math related to grammar, and this is related to how a computer would 'parse' your sentences -- and perhaps also how you are reading this very text.    My talk will highlight a math topic that is related to a different topic: "inference", the study of "what follows from what?".   The topic relates to logic (my main field) but also to increasing and decreasing functions from calculus.  So we'll see one of the most beautiful aspects of mathematics, the fact that one math subject (increasing/decreasing functions) can illuminate a very different subject: language.

Mathematicians share their formative undergraduate experiences and how those experiences informed the trajectories of their careers. It can be hard to imagine your future, and that makes it hard to plan for it. We hope you’ll be able to see yourself in these stories, and that seeing mathematicians who were once where you are (no, really) will help you imagine and plan for your future.

Dr. Michelle Chu (Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota)

Michelle Chu is a Panamanian-American mathematician working in the field of geometric topology. Growing up in Panama, Dr Chu had not known any PhDs and had never considered an academic career. Thanks to a lot of support, encouragement, hard work, and great opportunities, Dr. Chu completed her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin in 2018 and recently became an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota -Twin Cities. In her story, she will describe how she found her place in this math world and what she has learned along the way.

Dr. John Urschel (Junior Fellow at Harvard University)

John Urschel is a junior fellow at Harvard. Previously he was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, and prior to that, a PhD student in math at MIT. In 2017, Urschel was named to Forbes’ “30 under 30” list of outstanding young scientists. His research interests include numerical analysis, graph theory, and data science/machine learning.

Karuna Sangam (Graduate Student at Rutgers University)

Karuna Sangam (they/them) is a neurodivergent South Asian American PhD student at Rutgers University studying low-dimensional topology and knot theory. Originally from Cupertino, California, they received their bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Bard College, where they co-founded the Queer People of Color club. While an undergrad, they participated in summer research through an REU and studied abroad with Budapest Semesters in Mathematics. They will talk about some of the ways these experiences, as well as conferences such as LG&TBQ have helped them find community within mathematics.

In addition, Karuna will discuss their experiences with disability and illness, both during their childhood and as an adult. In their final semester of undergrad, they were diagnosed with Lyme disease, and spent the next year and a half recovering while they began graduate school. They will discuss their experiences starting grad school while physically ill and what they found helpful, as well as what they wish they’d done instead. They will also discuss the process of recovering from family- and school-based trauma as an adult.

Aida Alibek (Graduate Student at the University of Georgia)

Aida Alibek (she/her) is a doctoral student at the University of Georgia. She is from Kazakhstan, where she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in math, and she first came to the USA in 2014 to pursue a PhD in mathematics with a specialization in Logic and Model Theory. However, as she faced both physical and mental health struggles during those years, Aida came to recognize that her main motivation for getting a PhD in the first place was to improve the teaching of college-level mathematics.

Now she is pursuing a PhD in Mathematics Education, an area combining both her love of math and her passion for better math education, which means she gets to combine her knowledge of mathematics content with research on teaching and learning of mathematics!  Her talk will mainly focus on her transition from being a mathematician to becoming a mathematics education researcher. She will also share the valuable lessons she learned along the way about perseverance and staying true to oneself.

Dr. Benjamin Parker (Software Research and Development Engineer at Intel)

Benjamin Quanah Parker is enrolled with the Squaxin tribe in the state of Washington, and is also Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe, Cree, and Shoshone-Bannock. Benjamin started his academic career at Dartmouth College, where he earned a B.A. in Mathematics. He then went to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to obtain his M.S. in Applied and Computational Mathematics. After taking a few years off from academia, Benjamin enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Mathematical Sciences at Portland State University (PSU). He defended his dissertation in November 2021, and is the first indigenous student to earn a Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences at PSU. His area of research focused on algorithm development for eigenvalue problems with an application in fiber optics. Currently, Benjamin works as a Software Research and Development Engineer at Intel.

As a recent graduate, Benjamin’s talk will center on lessons he learned about navigating his academic career through self-care and staying rooted in his identity.

Christopher Havens (Program Content Director  & Co-founder of Prison Math Project)

"A Journey Into Social Productivity" is a brief story about how Christopher Havens became a mathematician despite the adversity of being in prison, and how the beauty and truth in mathematics led to a profound transformation of self-identity.In this story, social productivity is described as being a form of social interactivity which benefits the world around us.

Christopher engages in in social productivity through his enjoyment for both collaborative researches in number theory and Diophantine analysis, and also in building the community through his efforts towards inclusivity and the diversification of mathematics.

Brandis Whitfield (Graduate Student at Temple University)

Brandis(they/she) is a fourth-year PhD student at Temple University researching topics in geometric group theory. They are passionate about mathematics, liberation and education. 

Kate Blaine (Risk Adjustment Analyst at Excellus BCBS)

Kate Blaine earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Bard College in 2019, where she also studied music. Since graduation, she has pursued an actuarial career. She has passed four actuarial exams while working towards the ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries) credential, and now works as a risk analyst at a healthcare company.

Her talk will focus on how her undergraduate experiences fostered her love of learning and the math community, and helped her determine her specific interests within the world of mathematics, which ultimately led her to put off graduate school and pursue actuarial exams. She will also provide some helpful tips and resources to any students who might want to consider the actuarial path. 

Dr. Julie Vega (Teacher at Maret School)

Dr. Julianne Vega was a 6-8th grade math teacher immediately after completion of her undergraduate degree in mathematics at Susquehanna University. During that time she focused on introducing her students to college level mathematics and encouraging them to explore all areas of math. Her students' questions and her curiosity led her to a Research Experience for Teachers and, ultimately, graduate school at University of Kentucky, where she completed her PhD with the intention of returning to secondary teaching. Upon graduation, she worked as a tenure track professor at Kennesaw State University, before securing her current position at Maret School as a 9-12th grade math teacher.  During this session, she will discuss how she found and built community, maintained authenticity, and searched for career-building opportunities. 

Max Hlavacek (Graduate Student at UC Berkeley)

Max Hlavacek is queer, nonbinary PhD student at UC Berkeley.  They are currently in their sixth year, studying enumerative problems in discrete geometry and spending their spare time hanging out with their cat Squid.  In this session, they will reflect on their experiences getting through their first two years of grad school while coming to terms with their gender identity, finding their place in the queer Asian American community, and struggling through various mental health issues.  Throughout, they want to reflect on the process of building and finding community in and out of their math life.  

Dr. Adrienne Sands (Mathematician at MIT Lincoln Lab) 

Adrienne is a mathematician and technical staff member at Lincoln Laboratory. She received her mathematics Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in September 2020 and joined the Laboratory immediately after graduate school. She has since transitioned from her graduate work in number theory to digital signal processing, mostly for radar applications. For the past year, she has led a team to create a radar to find survivors hidden under rubble after a natural disaster. Adrienne is the proud pup parent of her dog Bean and enjoys gaming, hiking, and fishing.

Kirin Martin (Graduate Student at Iowa State University) 

Kirin Martin (they/them) is currently pursuing their PhD in mathematics at Iowa State University, working in discrete math. They were a first-generation college student (not to mention graduate student) with a generational history of low income and mental health disorders. Alongside their studies, Kirin has coped with ADHD, as well as generalized anxiety and depression largely experienced as echoing results of ADHD struggles. Friends jest that they ‘play life on hard mode’, pursuing an advanced degree despite a disability while also growing a family — they have one 5-year-old child (and a second child due to hatch this December), whom they have been able to birth and parent during grad school thanks especially to the incredible support of their partner. Kirin is nonbinary/transgender and ace/pan/poly (though the latter tends to occupy less brainspace when interacting with the world) and has had the great fortune of being well-supported in their continuing transition over the past few years.

What they most hope to convey during this talk is the wide variety of formal assistance available for disabilities like ADHD and how to access them, the immense importance of constructing for oneself a vibrant support system, and a bit of acknowledgement that it is really okay if you don’t feel like you’ve ever got everything together all at once. Juggling is a skill, and busy-ness can be fulfilling as long as you prioritize the parts of your life that are the most valuable to you above any preconceived ideas about what others expect of you.

A group of current and recent undergraduates (just like you!) who have participated in a variety of summer/semester career-building programs will share their experiences and answer your questions. 

Lisa Cenek

Lisa Cenek is currently a Software Engineer at Microsoft. She graduated in 2021 from Amherst College where she majored in Mathematics and English. Her research interests are in combinatorics and topology. During undergrad, she participated in REU programs (in-person and virtual) at Lafayette College, California State University San Bernardino, and Williams College SMALL. She did the online Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program, and wrote an undergrad senior thesis in graph theory.

Nyah Davis

Nyah Davis is a first year math PhD student at Rice University. She earned her Bachelor of Sciences in math from the University of Iowa in 2022. During her undergraduate studies, Nyah participated in two separate directed readings with graduate students, completed a modeling project in mathematical biology, and conducted research on representation theory which culminated into a senior thesis. Nyah also spent a summer at the combinatorics and algebra REU of the University of Minnesota--Twin Cities, and after graduation she attended the Summer Session of the EDGE (Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) Program at the University of Oxford. 

E Koenig

E Koenig is a queer, non-binary first year math PhD student at the University of Minnesota. They did their undergrad as a math/religion double major with a concentration in statistics and data science at St. Olaf College. While at St. Olaf, E participated in several research opportunities, including a year in St. Olaf's Center for Interdisciplinary Research, using data science methods to investigate gender disparity in classical music. Additional stats experience included an internship with Land O'Lakes Venture 37, a non-profit affiliated with Land O'Lakes Inc. They participated in the CURI summer research program at St. Olaf, working on a project in functional analysis, as well as a semester research course on graph theory. For the past three summers, E has worked as a counselor at MathPath, a summer program for mathematically gifted middle schoolers. 

Yuki Takahashi

Yuki Takahashi is a first-year math PhD student at UC Berkeley, interested in combinatorics and mathematical logic. She graduated from Grinnell College with majors in Mathematics and Philosophy. During her undergraduate career, she participated in a variety of off-campus opportunities. Some of them include: NYC Discrete Math REU at CUNY Baruch College, REU Program in Algebra and Discrete Mathematics at Auburn University, and Arizona Winter School in Number Theory. She is also passionate about teaching, mentoring, and creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment.

Isabella Chittumuri

Isabella Chittumuri recently graduated with her Masters in Statistics from Hunter College, City University of New York in May 2022. For the past year, She worked as a Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Fairbanks, Alaska. With NREL, Isabella processed and analyzed pre-retrofit and post-retrofit datasets in Python to compare household energy costs. Currently, Isabella is participating in the NASA DEVELOP National Program in Athens, Georgia. In this program, she is evaluating the impacts of Hurricane Irma on Georgia heir property owners using NASA earth observations through Google Earth Engine's Python API. 

Ethan Partida

Ethan Partida is a Mexican-American math Ph.D. student at Brown University. Last year he graduated from the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities (UMN) with a degree in computer science and math. He was first introduced to mathematics in undergraduate when he attended the Mathematics Project at Minnesota (MPM), a workshop designed to build a math community at UMN. With guidance from mentors he met at MPM, Ethan joined the McNair Scholars Program and participated in the Polymath and Texas State REUs. Without the hard work of graduate students to make the math community more welcoming, he would not have discovered his love for math. Ethan's goal is to continue participating in the math community and to make it a more inclusive and supportive space for all.

Rahmat Rashid

Rahmat Rashid (she/they) is a first-generation immigrant and first-generation college student finishing her B.A. at Rollins College in Mathematics and Philosophy. Currently, she's completing an undergraduate thesis in the philosophy of mathematics and hopes to continue research into mathematical logic or algebra (and its philosophical implications) in graduate school. They have done a philosophy of math research project that touched on category theory, resulting in two conference presentations. They have also been a counselor at the Ross Math Program, an intensive number theory camp for high school students.

A group of representatives of various types of summer/semester programs speak about the programs they are affiliated with and similar programs to help you understand what these programs will expect from you and your application, and what you can expect from them. 

• Dr. Eric Egge (Carleton College)

• Marcus Giron (National Renewable Energy Lab)

• Dr. Alicia Prieto Langarica (YSU BUMP REU)

• Dr. Lara Pudwell (MathPath)

• Réka Szász (Budapest Semesters in Mathematics Education)

Inclusion-Exclusion in mathematics and beyond: who stays in, who falls out, why it happens, and what we could do about it

Dr. Eugenia Cheng (Scientist In Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Honorary Visiting Fellow of City, University of London)

The question of why women and minorities are under-represented in mathematics is complex and there are no simple answers, only many contributing factors. I will draw on a combination of precise mathematical reasoning, techniques of abstract mathematical thinking, and my experiences as a woman in the male-dominated field of mathematics. I will argue that if we focus character traits rather than gender we can have a more productive and less divisive conversation, about math and beyond. I will present a new theory for doing so, showing that we can use abstract mathematical thinking to work towards a more inclusive society in this politically divisive era.

All the Things They Told Me Not To Do: Reflections on Service and Outreach as an Early Career Mathematician

Dr. Ranthony A.C. Edmonds (Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Mathematics at The Ohio State University)

There is a recurring theme amongst some of the projects that have been the most impactful throughout my career—at some point I was told explicitly or implicitly not to do them. With this in mind, a very important part of moving these projects forward was learning how to operate within a personalized framework of what it means to be a mathematician that may not perfectly align with “traditional” academic values. In other words, learning how to become comfortably uncomfortable.

This talk will highlight lessons learned initiating equity based work in research and teaching in order to enact my career mission, to increase access to mathematics through community engaged scholarship. In particular, I will focus on two specific projects rooted in amplifying the hidden narratives of Black mathematicians.

Quick overviews of fields of mathematics which are common to undergraduate research projects, especially the active undergraduate research areas, to help you decide what you might be interested in applying for. 

An Invitation to Combinatorics 

Dr. Alexander Díaz -Lopez (Villanova University) and Dr. Erik Insko (Florida Gulf Coast University)

Combinatorics is the study of the number and ways in which sets of objects can be combined in accordance with certain constraints.  As a mathematical discipline, combinatorics, is one where the problems are usually easy to state, but the answers are sometimes hard to see unless you look at the problems from the right perspective.  Hence combinatorics is one area of mathematics where fresh perspectives prove just as useful as heavy theoretical machinery, and in my experience the more diverse a group of collaborators is, the better its chances are of finding the right perspective to solve the problem they are studying.  In this crash course, I will introduce some of the essential combinatorial techniques and share some important life lessons I have learned from my friends and collaborators in combinatorics.  Time permitting, I will also try to share some interesting opening problems that undergraduate researchers can tackle. 

Numerical Methods for Differential Equations (A Topic in Numerical Analysis)

Dr. Hristo Kojouharov (University of Texas at Arlington)

Numerical analysis is a branch of mathematics concerned with the study of algorithms for solving various mathematical problems numerically. In this presentation, we will give a quick review of one of the primary topics of numerical analysis: the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations. We will begin by going through some of the most common numerical methods, such as the Euler and Runge-Kutta methods. Following that, we will introduce the nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) methods and give several numerical examples motivated by specific biological systems. Our presentation will conclude with a look at some open problems in the field of NSFD methods.

A Survey of Diophantine Equations (A Topic in Number Theory)

Dr. Edray Herber Goins (Pomona College)

There are many beautiful identities involving positive integers. For example, Pythagoras knew 3^2 + 4^2 = 5^2 while Plato knew 3^3 + 4^3 + 5^3 = 6^3. Euler discovered 59^4 + 158^4 = 133^4 + 134^4, and even a famous story involving G. H. Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan involves 1^3 + 12^3 = 9^3 + 10^3. But how does one find such identities?

Around the third century, the Greek mathematician Diophantus of Alexandria introduced a systematic study of integer solutions to polynomial equations. In this talk, we'll focus on various types of so-called Diophantine Equations, discussing such topics as Pythagorean Triples, Pell's Equations, Elliptic Curves, and Fermat's Last Theorem.

Mathematics Education

Prof. Márta Barbarics (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary)

This crash course will be a short introduction to the basics of research in mathematics education. We will look at the different stages of research projects, the types of research, the literature review, and based on these how to form research questions. You can learn about quantitative and qualitative methods, their instruments, and data analysis. I will show some examples of mathematics education research of varying scales, hoping that you find some inspiring ideas that are feasible in your context. As I have carried out research in connection with discovery learning, gamification, and alternative assessment in Hungarian secondary math classes, I am happy to answer any questions you may have in these topics as well.

Mathematical Modeling of Complex Adaptive Systems (A Topic in Biomathematics)

Dr. Yun Kang (Arizona State University)

A complex adaptive system (CAS) is a system that is complex in that it is a dynamic network of interactions, but the behavior of the ensemble may not be predictable according to the behavior of the components. It is adaptive in that the individual and collective behavior mutate and self-organize corresponding to the change-initiating micro-event or collection of events. Typical examples of complex adaptive systems include: climate; markets; governments; industries; ecosystems; social insect (e.g. ant) colonies; the brain and the immune system. Human social group-based endeavors, such as political parties, communities, war, and terrorist networks are also considered CAS.  Mathematical models are powerful tools that can provide us quantitative approaches to elucidate complicated ecological and evolutionary processes on the numerous spatial, temporal and hierarchical scales at which CAS such as social insect colonies operate. Social insects such as ants, bees, wasps and termites, among the most diverse and ecologically important organisms on earth, live in intricately governed societies that rival our own in complexity and internal cohesion. They are excellent examples of CAS.  In this talk, I will present some of our recent modeling work with closed collaborations with biologists that have been addressing important and interesting biological questions of social insect colonies such as (1) How are foraging behaviors of social ants dynamically regulated in response to environmental changes? (2) How do colony size, social communication, and age polyethism affect the task organization in the adaptive dynamical environment? (3) How information spreads in the social insect colonies.

Symmetries (A Topic in Abstract Algebra)

Dr. Julia Plavnik (Indiana University, Bloomington)

We encounter mathematics all around us. One beautiful and important example is symmetry. The intuitive perception of symmetries relates to balance, beauty, proportions, and harmony. Mathematically, we make the notion of symmetry precise via something called group theory. A symmetry of a cube is a transformation that leaves it unchanged, and the set of all such symmetries forms a structure we call a group. In this crash course, I will introduce the notion of a group and how they relate to symmetries. I will also present some examples that can be studied using diagrammatic. If time permits, I will also connect this with an important area in algebra, called representation theory by relating the elements in the group with some matrices.  

Statistics

Dr. Trent Gaugler (Lafayette College)

What do sonic booms, eating strawberries, autism, mortality and marriage quality, and college football have in common?  These are all the subjects of statistical analyses on which I have worked!  In this talk, I'll give some very brief background on these projects, in the hope that I will give you some idea of the breadth of opportunities out there for people with a background in doing statistical analysis.  In addition to describing some of my own research, I'll also outline the topics of some of the thesis, independent study, and REU projects with which I've been involved.  I'll also touch on some of the skills I think are the most important for you to have if you want to pursue these kinds of opportunities.

Low-Dimensional Topology: Knots and Surfaces

Dr. Kenji Kozai (Southern Connecticut State University)

In topology, we study the “shapes” of objects up to continuous deformations. Low-dimensional topology focuses on objects that are 1, 2, 3, and 4-dimensional and their properties that are invariant under continuous deformations. In this talk, we will introduce the ideas of knots and links in 3-dimensional space, surfaces, and some examples of tools used to study properties of both of these types of objects that come up in undergraduate research.

Playing Mathematical Billiards (A Topic in Dynamical Systems)

Dr. Renato Feres (Washington University in St. Louis)

Mathematical billiards are a widely studied subject in the theory of dynamical systems. They display a range of behaviors, from very regular to fully chaotic, and provide mathematical models for a variety of systems of physical interest. This talk will introduce some ideas from billiard theory using a simple but surprising example.

Geometric Modeling: Getting your Computer into Shape

Dr. Kathryn Leonard (Occidental College)

Shape understanding—looking at a shape and intuitively understanding which parts are, e.g., body, arms, legs, toes, and ears—is almost effortless for humans. Training a computer to understand shapes in a similar way presents substantial challenges. Thoughtful choice of a geometric model for shapes can help address those challenges. This talk will discuss shape perception and the challenges of automation and then describe a promising mathematical shape model, the Blum medial axis. Using the Blum medial axis, we will propose a method for automatically decomposing a shape into a hierarchy of parts and determining the similarity between those parts. We will also present several undergraduate research projects emerging from this work.

Graph Theory

Dr. Feryal Alayont (Grand Valley State University)

Graph theory is the study of relationships. Visually, we represent objects as dots and pairwise relationships between them as lines connecting the dots. These graphs have many applications. As examples of applications, graphs can be used to represent social networks, in optimization and logistics problems, and to model molecules. In this talk, after learning relevant basics of graph theory, we will describe some general themes of research areas in this field. No previous knowledge of graph theory is required.

Mathematics Communication

Dr. Yen Duong (North Carolina Health News)

Math doesn't exist without communication: you'll get a zero if you turn in a blank problem set, even if you solved all the problems in your head. Math communication is a key skill for all mathematicians, but doing it as a career takes it to the next level: we'll talk about what math communication is, how I got to it as a career as a freelance math and science writer, and practice communication for different audiences.

Mathematicians share their formative undergraduate experiences and how those experiences informed the trajectories of their careers. It can be hard to imagine your future, and that makes it hard to plan for it. We hope you’ll be able to see yourself in these stories, and that seeing mathematicians who were once where you are (no, really) will help you imagine and plan for your future.

Corrine Yap (Graduate Student at Rutgers University)

Corrine Yap grew up in rural Missouri as the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines. She attended Sarah Lawrence College to study mathematics and theater and is now a 5th-year Ph.D. student at Rutgers University doing research in combinatorics. She is also the writer and performer of Uniform Convergence, a one-woman play about mathematics. She will talk about her experiences seeking out and building communities through study-abroad programs, REUs, the AWM, and more.

Dr. Andrés R. Vindas Meléndez (NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UC Berkeley and Postdoctoral Fellow at MSRI)

Dr. Andrés R. Vindas Meléndez is a queer, chronically-ill, Costa Rican-American mathematician, raised in Lynwood, South East Los Angeles, California. He is a first-generation college graduate and is currently a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley and Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellow. He completed his PhD at the University of Kentucky where he was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and by a National Science Foundation Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship. At the University of Kentucky he was also an affiliated graduate student in the Latin American Studies program and earned a graduate certificate in Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino/a Studies. He earned a master’s degree in mathematics at San Francisco State University and completed his undergraduate degree in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley where he also minored in Philosophy and Chicana/o & Latina/o Studies. 

Dr. Mits Kobayashi (Instructor at Dartmouth College)

Dr. Mits Kobayashi completed an undergraduate degree at Caltech not in math. After some years working outside academia, he received his PhD in mathematics from Dartmouth College and went on to teach at both Dartmouth and Cal Poly Pomona. Mits will tell some stories of how he went from point A to B to C to now, and things he learned along the way.

Dr. Gabriel Sosa Castillo (Assistant Professor at Colgate University)

Dr Gabriel Sosa Castillo grew up in Barranquilla, Colombia. After coming out in 2000, he dropped off college during his sophomore year and worked as a middle/high school mathematics teacher to support himself financially. Three years later he reenrolled in Universidad de Costa Rica, studying part time and working full time, and in 2008 he received his Bachelor degree in Mathematics. He obtained his PhD in Mathematics from Purdue University in 2015, afterwards he worked as a visiting assistant professor at Amherst College, and is currently an assistant professor of mathematics at Colgate University. He will highlight struggles, successes, the people who supported and helped him and lessons learned along the way.

Dr. Christie Mauretour (Algorithm Specialist at ClothingTechLLC)

Dr. Christie Mauretour grew up in Haiti and left after the 2010 earthquake to study in the US. She received her Bachelor degree in Mathematics from Florida Gulf Coast University. She continued her studies at the University of Florida where she received a Master in Industrial Systems Engineering and a Doctorate in Applied Mathematics. As an undergraduate, she gave numerous talks at USTARS (Underrepresented Students in Topology and Algebra Research Symposium), participated at an REU at the University of Minnesota (IMA). Her goal is to encourage women and minorities to join STEM related fields. 

Miandra Ellis (Graduate Student at Arizona State University)

Miandra Ellis is a 6th year Applied Mathematics PhD student at Arizona State University working in the area of numerical linear algebra approaches to Inverse Problems. Her first undergraduate experiences at her dream liberal arts college originally deterred her from continuing in STEM. However, after returning to Arizona State University she used research experiences and upper division coursework to reignite her interest in STEM and complete her undergraduate career in Biochemistry and Mathematics. This talk will explore how overcoming her perceived failures forced her to explore how her identity was key to defining a career pathway that was fulfilling to her.

Dr. Maryam Khaqan (Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stockholm University)

I was born and raised in Pakistan, and I got my undergraduate degree in Physics there before moving to the US to get my Ph.D. in math. I will talk a little about my background and would be happy to answer questions about the international student experience in US academia.  

Dr. Kenya Wallach (Director of Mathematics at Discovery Education)

Overcoming adversity: Kenya Wallach received her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a focus in Statistics with a minor in Japanese. She began her college career as an Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering with a Minor in Japanese. Changing her major to Mathematics was due to her own experiences with adversities and trying to help children overcome adversity. Every step in her career has been altered by adversity and how she has dealt with it. She will discuss her current role and the journey to her current profession as the Director of Mathematics.

Dr. Ashlee Keolalaulani Kalauli  (Recent Graduate Student at University of California Santa Barbara)

Dr. Ashlee Keolalaulani Kalauli calls a family-run ranch on the Big Island of Hawai`i her home. After graduating from Kamehameha Schools Hawai`i, a school for students of Hawaiian ancestry, Dr. Kalauli attended the University of Hawai`i at Hilo studying both math and chemistry. It was here that she participated in her first research experience for undergraduates (PURE Math) and travelled to her first SACNAS national conference where the possibility of pursuing a doctorate became a reality. Battling uncertainty and unfamiliar territory, Dr. Kalauli completed a Masters of Arts in Teaching and taught high school mathematics for 2 years while applying to graduate school. After receiving a predoctoral Ford Fellowship, Dr. Kalauli chose to pursue a PhD in mathematics at the University of California Santa Barbara. She recently defended her work on the word problem for Euclidean Artin groups but she enjoys the unique word problem that arises when describing her nonlinear path through mathematics. In her story, she'll describe her journey and give praise to the people and programs who have helped her along the way. 

Dr. Noelle Sawyer (Assistant Professor at Southwestern University)

Dr. Noelle Sawyer is a Black Bahamian mathematician. She will talk about what it was (and is!) like to navigate math in the US for her. Finding community is key, and she'll talk about the different ways to find community, all the ways having a community can help, and how it feels when 'the wider math community' isn't acting like it's in community with you. 

Dr. Naomi Boulware (Visiting Assistant Professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)

I’m currently a visiting assistant professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.  The story of how I got here is extremely non-linear.  Rather than attempt to create an internally consistent story to explain what happened, this talk will simply highlight select aspects of the path that led from there to here.  Items included:  how a variety of things I did for a living that were perfectly legal but not admirable re-sparked my interest in mathematics after graduating with a BA in English Lit; the tremendous value of individual attention / connection with classmates at an HBCU (especially at a time when I appeared to be a white female rather than a white nonbinary individual); the impact my undergraduate advisor had on my career trajectory; advice I wish I could give my younger self (that I actually might have listened to – it’s a very short list).

A group of current and recent undergraduates (just like you!) who have participated in a variety of summer/semester career-building programs will share their experiences and answer your questions.

Zhaosen Guo

Zhaosen Guo is a Chinese graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, pursuing an MSE in Data Science. He is Senior Statistician at Netter Center for Community Partnerships and Research Assistant at Wharton ESG Lab. Previously, he completed his undergraduate degree at Hamilton College, where he majored in Interdisciplinary Studies (in Data Science). He was a data science/research tutor and conducted research due to the Emerson Grant and the Digital Humanities Initiative Research Fellow. He also participated in the Mathematical Sciences Semesters in Guanajuato (MSSG) study abroad program at CIMAT, Mexico. 

Kimberly Hadaway

Kimberly Hadaway is a first-generation Mathematics Ph.D. student at Iowa State University. She attended a public STEM magnet program in high school and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics (and Chemistry!) from Williams College in 2021. During her summers enrolled at Williams, she participated in various opportunities on-campus, off-campus, and remotely. Kimberly has conducted novel chemistry research related to aerosol matter under the guidance of a Williams professor, completed a mathematical Teaching Experience for Undergraduates (TEU) hosted at Brown University, and collaborated during a graph-theory-related Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) hosted by Illinois State University (which resulted in a publication!). After graduation, she attended the Summer Session held by the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Program, a program for women who are earning their doctoral mathematics degrees, and she has also participated with the Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM) Summer Program, where she worked as a Counselor and as a Teaching Assistant to show middle-school-aged students how awesome math can be. 

Joy Hamlin

Joy Hamlin is a first year math PhD student at Rutgers University.  During undergrad, she was a math/physics double major at Stony Brook, and wrote a senior thesis in algebraic topology, specifically knot theory.  Last summer, she taught high school students at the Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics, and in previous summers she has participated in the TREND REU in physics and nonlinear dynamics at the University of Maryland College Park and in the DIMACS mathematics REU at Rutgers.

Josephine Reynes

I'm a Ph.D student at the University of Waterloo. I did my master’s at Texas State University and while there participated in a number of mathematical programs. I conducted research in hyper graph theory under Lucas Rusnak and I worked every summer with a research experience program for high school and middle school students know as Mathworks. I’ve also participated in a short term research group Problem Solvers and belonged to math centric groups like MathClub and Pi Mu Epsilon. 

Daniel Tedeschi (he/him)

Daniel Tedeschi is a queer, first-generation fourth year student at Grinnell College. His research interests lie in arithmetic geometry. The experiences that encouraged him to pursue mathematical research include REUs at Clemson University and Pomona College, as well as participation in the 2021 Arizona Winter School.

Abigail Zion (she/her)

Abigail Zion is a senior from Bradenton, Florida at Tulane University majoring in Math and minoring in Public Health.  Upon graduating in December, she will begin work in the healthcare practice at an economic consulting firm called Analysis Group in Boston, MA, who she interned with this past summer.  After her sophomore year, she participated in two REUs: one with the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute at Arizona State University, and one called the Polymath REU.  Additionally, she has done research at Tulane in disease modeling and is working on an honors thesis studying mathematical models of feral cat populations. She has been involved in Math Club at Tulane since she was a freshman and is currently serving as the president. She is passionate about creating a community within mathematics and getting undergraduates involved in research and other opportunities.  

A group of representatives of various types of summer/semester programs will speak about the programs they are affiliated with and similar programs to help you understand what these programs will expect from you and your application, and what you can expect from them. 

• Dr. Agnes Szilard (Budapest Semesters in Mathematics)

• Corinne Madsen (Art of Problem Solving)

• Dr. David Austin (Grand Valley State University)

• Jacob Castaneda (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics - BEAM)

• Dr. Susanna Fishel (Arizona State University, ICERM REU)

"Identifying: A Road to …"

Dr. Hortensia Soto, Professor of Mathematics at Colorado State University. 

"OURFA2M2 is an opportunity for undergraduates to be 'in the know' about how to travel on their mathematical journey. In my presentation, I discuss the value of, identifying with others, looking inward, and reflecting on how our own experiences can be used to support others on their mathematical journey. Specifically, I will share my efforts to do this with my history of mathematics students, who are prospective secondary teachers."

Hortensia Soto was born in Belén del Refujio, Jalisco, Mexico and raised on a farm in western Nebraska. She is the second of nine children and although her parents only have a third grade education, all her siblings have a college education. 

Hortensia has published in various areas of mathematics education including assessment, mathematical preparation of elementary teachers, outreach efforts for high school girls, and especially in the area of teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics. Her current research efforts are dedicated to investigating the teaching and learning complex analysis, where she adopts an embodied cognition perspective and is part of the Embodied Mathematics Imagination and Cognition community. Since her days as an undergraduate student, Hortensia has mentored young women and promoted mathematics via summer outreach programs. She has also been involved with facilitating professional development for K-16 teachers in Nebraska, Colorado, and California. Currently, she is delivering professional development to collegiate teachers as part of Project PROMESAS SSC (Pathways with Regional Outreach and Mathematics Excellence for Student Achievement in STEM), where she helps faculty learn about equitable teaching practices.  

Hortensia’s research informs her teaching. As such, she is guiding her history of mathematics students to learn about and interact with mathematicians from underrepresented groups. 

Hortensia is a working member of the Mathematical Association of America and currently serves as the Associate Secretary and is an editor of the MAA Instructional Practices Guide. Most recently, she received the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.  

In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, practicing yoga, meditating, reading, and most of all spending time with her son Miguel. 

Quick overviews of fields of mathematics which are common to undergraduate research projects, especially the active undergraduate research areas, to help you decide what you might be interested in applying for. 

Knot/Braid Theory and Topology

Dr. Rolland Trapp, California State University San Bernardino

My talk begins with a very brief background into geometric structures on topological spaces.  These are big words, but think of creating a torus by gluing opposite sides of a rectangle. Some animations (and who doesn't like animations?) will follow that illustrate how to put a hyperbolic structure on certain link complements.  Topological, geometric and combinatorial tools are introduced that allow one to address questions in this area, and some good starting references will be suggested.  It'll be an enjoyable half hour if you can make it.

Graph Theory

Dr. Caitlin Owens, DeSales University

This talk will be an introduction to graph theory. We will not be looking at graphs in the way that many of you may think of graphs. I promise we will not be graphing parabolas or other conics. We will be looking at graphs composed of dots, called vertices, and lines, called edges (a more rigorous definition to be given in the talk). After formally defining what a graph is, we will talk about special types of graphs, and then about problems in graph theory. This talk will focus on the popular and fun problems involving graph coloring. So get out your colored pens (digital or real), and get ready to have some fun! We will also number our colors for those of you who may have difficulty distinguishing between colors.

Statistics

Dr. Maria Tackett, Duke University

In this talk, we will provide an overview of opportunities for undergraduate students in statistics. We will begin by presenting examples of undergraduate research in statistics and strategies for getting started. We’ll then discuss ways students can share their work and get more connected with the statistics and data science communities. Lastly, we’ll conclude with a few upcoming events where students learn more about statistics research, get a glimpse of statistics in practice, and present their own projects.

Discrete Geometry

Dr. Pablo Soberón, City University of New York (CUNY) Baruch College

In this talk we will see a glimpse of discrete geometry.  Since this is a broad topic, we will focus on the role of convexity in this area, and the study of families of convex sets.  In particular we will discuss: Why do we care about convex sets? What kind of interesting combinatorial properties do convex sets have? What tools are useful to study these properties? And what are good examples of problems for undergraduate research?

Graph Modeling

Dr. Darren Narayan, Rochester Institute of Technology

Graph theory has powerful applications that can be used to analyze social, biological, and transportation networks. In this course we will give an overview of related "small world network" properties that can be used to analyze the efficiency of social networks, the Atlanta Metro system, and functional connectivity of the human brain. This talk will be accessible to students at any level.

Analysis and Dynamical Systems

Dr. Jeffrey Schenker, Michigan State University

Analysis and Dynamical Systems are the fields of mathematics concerned with limits and evolution equations.  Many tools in these fields were developed to understand the solutions of equations modeling the physical world.  I will describe some current research areas in harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, probability theory, and mathematical physics.

Combinatorics

Dr. Pamela E. Harris, Williams College

My research is in the area of algebraic combinatorics. I like to use combinatorial arguments and techniques to enumerate, examine, and investigate the existence of discrete mathematical structures with certain properties. In this talk, I will introduce parking functions, some of their generalizations, results related to their enumerations, and I will provide ample evidence that combinatorics is a "low floor and high ceiling” mathematical area where everyone can contribute to the creation and discovery of new knowledge.

Biomathematics

Dr. Necibe Tuncer, Florida Atlantic University

For this short course, we will develop a mathematical model which simulates a spread of a new infection in a population. We will then determine the biologically important threshold value called basic reproduction number, R0. R0 determines whether a disease will die out or persist in a population. This epidemiologically important value gives the number of secondary infections generated by one infect individual in a totally susceptible population during her/his infectious time. We will then see how vaccination will change the basic reproduction number. 

Algebra and Number Theory

Dr. Joshua Holden, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Numbers, vectors, matrices, functions, permutations, paths in space, cryptographic systems, and lots of other things have something in common --- you can put them together according to certain rules.  Abstract algebra studies how these systems can be classified according to what the rules have in common and how they are different.  Understanding these similarities and differences gives a powerful tool for solving problems in one area by translating them into a different area and solving them there.  Number theory is often grouped (no pun intended) with abstract algebra because they have many techniques in common.  However, number theory also uses techniques from combinatorics, analysis, geometry, topology, logic, and pretty much all areas of mathematics in order to solve problems rooted in properties of whole numbers.

Mathematicians share their formative undergraduate experiences and how those experiences informed the trajectories of their careers. It can be hard to imagine your future, and that makes it hard to plan for it. We hope you’ll be able to see yourself in these stories, and that seeing mathematicians who were once where you are (no, really) will help you imagine and plan for your future.

Dr. Renee Brady-Nicholls (Research Instructor at Moffitt Cancer Center)

Dr. Renee Brady-Nicholls received her Bachelor degree Mathematics from Florida A&M University. Moving from an HBCU to North Carolina State University to earn her Masters and PhD was an interesting experience, to say the least. Dr. Brady-Nicholls will discuss the culture shock she experienced upon arriving at NCSU and how she overcame imposter syndrome. She’ll also discuss her current role in the Integrated Mathematical Oncology department at Moffitt Cancer Center and how the experiences of her past are helping to shape her future.

André Hernández-Espiet (Graduate student at Rutgers University)

André Hernández-Espiet grew up in Puerto Rico and attended school there through his undergraduate degree, which he obtained at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Throughout these studies he was able to take advantage of many opportunities, such as participating in three different REU's, and presenting in conferences locally as well as at the national level. As a consequence of this research as well as research done at the University of Puerto Rico, André was able to obtain two Outstanding Poster prizes from the Joint Mathematics Meetings. This talk will explore how these experiences, among others encountered in his undergraduate studies, helped him in his process to successfully apply to graduate school in order to arrive at Rutgers University, where he is now currently studying for his PhD in number theory.

Dr. Li-Mei Lim (Assistant Professor at Boston University, Executive Director of PROMYS)

Dr. Li-Mei Lim was a math major at MIT and earned her PhD in mathematics from Brown.  Throughout her undergraduate and graduate careers, she spent her summers as a counselor at PROMYS, a summer program for high school students at Boston University.  After meandering through a few different academic jobs, she now is a faculty member at Boston University working for PROMYS year-round.  Her experiences in graduate school and at PROMYS showed her the importance of belonging to a mathematical community--something she is excited to share with students in her classes, participants in the summer program, and you.

Sofía Martínez Alberga (Graduate student at Purdue University)

Sofía Martínez Alberga  is originally from Southern California and completed her bachelors of science in pure mathematics at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), where she worked for the university’s academic resource center and science ambassador program and participated in the math department events (Math club, Spring Research, AWM, etc.). During her third undergraduate year she attended several conferences and as a result attended a summer research program at the Fields Institute at the University of Toronto. After graduating from UCR Sofía participated in the EDGE program in preparation for her graduate career at Purdue University, where after completing her first-year course load she served as a research assistant for the MSRI-UP 2020 program. 

Stella Sue Gastineau (Graduate student at Boston College)

Stella Sue Gastineau is a 5th year graduate student at Boston College, doing research in Representation theory and the Local Langlands Program. Their high school and undergraduate experiences showed them the importance of belonging to a community of supportive peers. In graduate school, they made a concerted effort to build and strengthen these communities so that others could benefit as they had. Currently they are an active participant and frequent leader in several groups whose aim is to provide social and academic support for women and queer mathematicians in the Boston area.

Edna Jones (Graduate student at Rutgers University)

Edna Jones is a fifth-year mathematics Ph.D. student at Rutgers, studying number theory. She did her undergraduate degree at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a small engineering school in Indiana. Over the years, she has used internships, research experiences, and math outreach work to explore her interests. Because she knew that she wanted similar support in graduate school as she received at Rose-Hulman, Edna looked for a friendly, supportive environment in a graduate program.

Alvaro Pintado (Graduate student at University of Pennsylvania)

Alvaro Pintado will be a graduate student at University of Pennsylvania next fall. He started his undergraduate degree as an engineering student. While excelling in his mathematics classes, Alvaro struggled with his engineering classes, which weighed down his GPA. He delayed his graduation one year to instead major in mathematics. He did research at an REU program, and has now enrolled in a master's program in mathematics at University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Alicia Prieto Langarica (Associate Professor at Youngstown State University)

Dr. Alicia Prieto Langarica started her undergraduate school in Mexico at the Center for Research in Mathematics and after 3 years, she did a Summer Research Experience for Undergraduate Students at the University of Texas at Dallas where she decided to finish her degree. She did her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Arlington in Mathematical Biology and is currently a professor at Youngstown State University where she works with students on research project in a wide variety of topics.

Dr. Alexander Barrios (Visiting Assistant Professor at Carleton College)

Dr. Alexander Barrios is a number theorist who is originally from Hialeah, FL. He received an associate's from Miami Dade Community College and then transferred to Brown University, where he received his Sc.B. in mathematics. As an undergraduate, he participated in three REUs, including MSRI-UP, which introduced him to the fascinating realm of number theory. He would go on to earn his Ph.D. in mathematics from Purdue University. From 2014-2018, Dr. Barrios was the lead instructor for Purdue's Minority Engineering Program's Summer Camps for grade 6-12 students and more recently has led undergraduate research projects as part of the Pomona Research in Mathematics Experience (PRiME) and MSRI-UP in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Dr. April Harry (Data scientist at Rover.com)

Dr. April Harry earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Xavier University of Louisiana, and a PhD in Statistics from Purdue University. As an undergraduate she participated in a number of programs for underrepresented students interested in graduate studies, including Minority Access to Research Careers, McNair, MSRI-UP, Math Alliance, and EDGE. Her experience as a first generation college student at a historically black institution taught her that a supportive environment is critical for nurturing growth, a lesson that she carries into her career as a data scientist today.

Dr. Marissa Kawehi Loving (NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology)

Dr. Marissa Kawehi Loving was born and raised in Hawai'i as the second oldest of 12 kids. She pursued her undergraduate studies at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo where she earned a BA in mathematics and a BS in computer science in May 2013. As an undergrad, Dr. Loving participated in the DIMACS/DIMATIA REU at Rutgers as well as the MURF Undergrad Research Program at Caltech. She was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in her senior year of undergrad, which supported her during grad school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Loving became the first Native Hawaiian woman to earn a PhD in mathematics when she graduated from UIUC in August 2019. She is now an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Math at Georgia Tech. 

Dr. Emily Riehl (Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University)

Dr. Emily Riehl lived in California, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, before attending junior high and high school in Normal, Illinois. She earned a BA in mathematics in 2006 from Harvard, a masters in 2007 from Cambridge University, and a PhD in 2011 from the University of Chicago. She is currently an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore working in higher category theory and homotopy type theory. She will talk about creating space for yourself and others in the classroom through the radical act of asking questions.

A group of current and recent undergraduates (just like you!) who have participated in a variety of summer/semester career-building programs will share their experiences and answer your questions. 

• Alvaro Carbonero (Undergraduate student at University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

• Rebecca Lopez (Undergraduate student at Marist College)

• Anthony Meza (Undergraduate student at University of California Irvine)

• Amaury Miniño (Graduate student at Colorado State University, previously undergraduate student at Florida Atlantic University)

• Rachel Roca (Undergraduate student at Manhattan College)

• Andrew Tawfeek (Undergraduate student at Amherst College)

• Lee Trent (Undergraduate student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)

Opportunities Panel

A group of representatives of various types of summer/semester programs speak about the programs they are affiliated with and similar programs to help you understand what these programs will expect from you and your application, and what you can expect from them. 

• Dr. Marjory Baruch (Syracuse University, PROMYS at Boston University)

• Dr. David Finn (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)

• Dr. Rebecca Garcia (Sam Houston State University, MSRI-UP REU)

• Dr. Jeremy Kepner (MIT Lincoln Labs)

• Dr. Rogelio Ramos (CIMAT, Mathematical Sciences Semesters in Guanajuato)