2008-09 Undergraduate Participants

Steven Char '10, math. Julian Gold '11, math. Yuguang Li '10, chemical engineering. Sovanna Pin '11, neuroscience.

Instructors

Brandon Crain joined the UC Davis Graduate Group in Applied Mathematics in fall 2007. He has an undergraduate background in both math and physics, but his current research interest is in combinatorics and integer optimization. He also has a mean backhand on the tennis court.

David Renfrew joined the UC Davis Graduate Group in Applied Mathematics in fall 2008. Prior to graduate school he had plenty of experience in engineering. David's research interests are tending towards probability and mathematical physics, particularly applications of random matrices.

Founder

Sarah Williams joined the UC Davis GraduateGroup in Applied Mathematics in fall 2001.Her research, done in conjunction with scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, uses math and computers to model the motion of fluids. In past years Sarah has been involved in two other Exploration programs (COSMOS and ARML), and fall 2006 will be her third season of running the Math Modeling Experience. In summer 2005, Sarah spoke about the MME at the International Conference on Teaching Mathematical Modelling and Applications in London.

Past Instructors

Brandy Wiegers was an MME instructor in 2005-06. Brandy joined the UC Davis Graduate Group for Applied Mathematics in fall 2002. In her research, Brandy uses mathematical and computer models to understand plant root growth. In 2006-07, Brandy will be a Teaching Assistant for the new program in Collaborative Learning at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology (CLIMB) at UC Davis. Beyond the university, Brandy is a coordinator for older girl programming in Girl Scouts.

Eva Strawbridge joined the UC Davis Graduate Group in Applied Mathematics in fall 2004. Her research, based at the UC Davis Genome Center, focuses on the modeling and analysis of DNA replication. In summer 2006, Eva participated in the Graduate Industrial Mathematics Modelling Camp at Simon Fraser University.

Some Past Participants

Anna Chen participated in the MME as a high school student in fall 2004. Anna is now an economics major at Harvard University, where she is tournament director for the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament and plans to continue competing in math modeling. She is also a member of the figure skating club, an executive board member of An Evening With Champions, and a singer in the Harvard-Radcliffe Choir. After college, Anna plans to pursue a career in law.

Cynthia He participated in the MME as a high school student in fall 2004 and fall 2005. Cynthia is a graduating senior at Davis High School, where she was Key Club President, Academic Decathlon Team Captain, and Science Bowl Team Captain. In addition to having played the piano for 13 years, Cynthia has been a first violinist in the Sacramento Youth Symphony Premier Orchestra. A 2006 Presidential Scholar, she plans to attend Stanford University to study biology and music before pursuing a career in medicine.

Luis de la Torre participated in the MME as an undergraduate in 2005-06. Luis is a double major in applied math and economics at UC Davis. In 2006, he completed an honors thesis in economics, "School Performance In California After Serrano and Prop 13." He received a VIGRE Fellowship for summer 2006 to research linear programming algorithms under Professor Jesus de Loera, and in 2006-07, Luis will be the peer advisor in the economics department.

Nicholas Linesch participated in the MME as an undergraduate in 2005-06. Nicholas is a math major at UC Davis. He is interested in transportation modeling and planning, and has worked as an advocate for sustainable methods of transportation. Nicholas has also worked as a tutor at Davis High School, and during summer 2006 he will work with Professor Jesus de Loera on research in "applied geometry and implementing an algorithm to solve the minimum weight triangulation."

Rossy Tzankova participated in the MME as a high school student in fall 2004. Now a student at Reed College, Rossy is considering a major in mathematical physics or a double-major in physics and philosophy. She attends senior-level college seminars in math and physics, and is currently training to be an operator at the Reed Nuclear Reactor. Rossy plans to pursue a career in theoretical physics.

Serena Yeung participated in the MME as a high school student in fall 2004 and fall 2005. During high school, Serena was leader of her school's math team and honor society, and supervisor of an elementary school math club. Serena enjoys playing piano, violin (with the Sacramento Youth Symphony), and yangqin (Chinese Dulcimer). She was a Research Fellow at the UCD Center for Excellence in Nutrigenomics, and a 2006 Buck Scholar. Now a student at Stanford, Serena is plans to study electrical engineering and music, and to pursue graduate school and a career in biomedical engineering.

Yaroslav Gelfand participated in the MME as an undergraduate in 2005-06. Yaroslav is a Biomedical Engineering major at UC Davis. He volunteers in the Molecular and Cellular Cardiology Lab of Dr. N. Chiamvimonvat at the UC Davis Medical School. He describes his work there as "modeling ionic fluxes across cell membranes of sino-atrial node cells." After UC Davis, Yaroslav plans to pursue a medical degree.

This program is sponsored by the University of California, Davis Mathematics Department with the support of National Science Foundation VIGRE grant #DMS-0135345.

Photos for this site provided by the USA/Canada Mathcamp and the UC Davis Math Department.