Infinite Possibilities Conference - College of Science

Transcription

Infinite Possibilities Conference March 1 -‐ 3, 2015 Corvallis, Oregon It is an enormous pleasure to welcome you to the 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference (IPC).
Little did anyone know that an inspiring gathering at Spelman College in 2005 would create
enough interest and momentum that almost ten years later, we’d be celebrating with a fifth
conference, IPC 2015. We are delighted to hold the conference for the first time in the beautiful
Pacific Northwest, at Oregon State University.
For each of us, this journey has held special moments. The conferences have been the result
of many volunteer hours, each time with a new Steering Committee building on past structures
but bringing fresh ideas. A common through-line, though, has been the inspiration that we take
from coming together.
We hope you will use this time to meet one another; pick up good advice; learn new
mathematical and statistical ideas; share any up and downs; and be propelled in your academic,
career, and life goals, with incentive to add new ones along the way.
We would like to give a special thank you to the IPC Steering Committee members, for their
contribution to making IPC possible. We extend especially warm thanks to the Local Organizing
Committee at Oregon State University. We are also grateful to the Mathematical Biosciences
Institute for organizing the Short Course and to all our conference sponsors, particularly our two
premier sponsors, the National Science Foundation and the National Security Agency.
Please enjoy the meeting and take advantage of all the possibilities!
Warmly,
Lily Khadjavi & Tanya Moore
IPC 2015 Co-Chairs
Board members, Building Diversity in Science
2 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference College of Science, Office of the Dean
Oregon State University, 128 Kidder Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-4608
T 541-737-4811 | F 541-737-1009 | www.science.oregonstate.edu | science@oregonstate.edu
2015 IPC Program – A warm welcome
Welcome to the 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference! We, at Oregon State University, are
thrilled to have so many women of color in the statistical, mathematical and computational
sciences on our beautiful campus. It is an exciting time to be a woman in these fields! There are
so many opportunities, infinite possibilities, for you—please seek them out.
While you are here, I hope you take the opportunity to make connections with other women in
science, and with our extraordinary mathematics and statistics faculty and students in the
College of Science. You never know where you might meet your mentor or someone who can
help you find your true North. I am passionate about mentorship because it contributes to a
student’s success. It is what transforms good students into great leaders in science.
As an African proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I strongly believe that many of us
benefit from having many mentors in our lives, formal or informal. Not a single mentor, but a
collection of them. In my own life, I am motived by a passion and commitment to seeing women
in leadership roles. And I strongly believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to enhance diversity
through mentoring, and excellence through diversity. Mentoring helps you navigate the world. It
is not a weakness to lean on others, in fact, it is a strength to lean in.
I hope that this conference motivates us all to take the time to mentor women in the statistical,
mathematical and computational sciences to reach their full potential. Each one of us should
help break any glass ceilings for women and underrepresented minorities.
Welcome to Oregon State University, the College of Science and Corvallis! Take some time to
explore our wonderful city, named #3 best college town and #4 most innovative city in the
nation!* Please consider making Corvallis your future home, and us a part of your family.
Go BEAVS!
Sastry G. Pantula, Dean
College of Science
* According to the American Institute for Economic Research (2014) and Nerdwallet (February 2015), respectively.
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 3 Sponsors
The Organizing Committee members wish to express our gratitude to the sponsors of the 2015
Infinite Possibilities Conference. Without their generous contributions, this event would not be
possible.
Premiere Level Sponsor
Minimum Donation of $25,000
National Security Agency
National Science Foundation
NSF Math Institutes’ Diversity Collaborative
Oregon State University/College of Science
Silver Level Sponsor
Minimum Donation of $3000
Sam’s Club
Cummings, Inc
Bronze Level Sponsor
Minimum Donation of $1000
Eli Lilly and Company
Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics
American Statistical Association
Hewlett Packard
SAS Institute, Inc./JMP Division
Supporter
Jackson & Tull
4 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Schedule at a Glance
SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015
8:30 AM
Registration & Breakfast
9:30 AM
Short Course: Biostatistics
5:00 PM
Welcome Reception and Registration
Lobby/Foyer
Room 115
Lobby/Foyer
MONDAY MARCH 2, 2015
7:30 AM
Registration
Lobby/Foyer
7:30 AM
Mindfulness & Meditation
8:00 AM
Breakfast
Ballroom
9:00 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Ballroom
9:15 AM
Journey to Infinity: My Path to Mathematics
Ballroom
10:15 AM
Reflections: Ten Years of IPC
Ballroom
10:30 AM
Building Networks
Ballroom
11:45 PM
Lunch
Ballroom
1:00 PM
Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Ballroom
1:05 PM
Keynote Address - The Eyes Have It: Modeling Cataract Surgical
Rates for Developing Countries
Talithia Williams - Harvey Mudd College
2:00 PM
Coffee Break
2:15 PM
Concurrent Research Roundtables
Johnson Lounge
Ballroom
Applied Mathematics I
Room 111
Applied Mathematics II
Room 114
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 5 Schedule at a Glance
Mathematics Education
Pure Mathematics
Statistics/Biostatistics
Ballroom
Johnson Lounge
Room 115
3:45 PM
Student Poster Session
Lobby/Foyer
5:00 PM
Breakout Sessions - Seeing Your Way Forward: What Works for You?
Group Session - High School/College Students
Room 111
Group Session - Graduate Students / Post Docs
Room 115
Group Session - Professionals
Room 114
Dinner (On Your Own)
TUESDAY MARCH 3, 2015
7:30 AM
Registration
7:30 AM
8:00 AM
Breakfast
Ballroom
9:00 AM
Introduction to Keynote Address
Ballroom
9:05 AM
Keynote Address - The Intersection of Adversity, Resilience, Tenacity,
and Models of Photoreceptor Degeneration: My Story, Passion and
Research
Erika Camacho - Arizona State University
10:00 AM
Coffee Break
10:15 AM
Breakout Sessions - Keeping the Momentum: Success at Every Level
Pathways Outside of Academia
So You Want to Go to Grad School
6 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Lobby/Foyer
Johnson Lounge
Ballroom
Johnson Lounge
Room 115
Schedule at a Glance
How to Build A Sustainable Research Program
Room 111
Negotiating, Self-Advocacy and Leaning In
Room 114
11:30 AM
Group Photo
11:45 AM
Lunch
12:00 PM
Solo Success: How to Thrive in the Academy When You’re
the Only ____ in the Department.
Kerry Ann Rockquemore - National Center for Faculty
Development & Diversity
Ballroom
Room 114
Special workshop from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM. Please note this will be a working lunch.
1:00 PM
Breakout Sessions - The Nuts and Bolts of Mastering Your Craft
Sage Workshop
Room 115
Grant Writing Workshop
Room 111
Summer REUs and Internships
2:00 PM
Johnson Lounge
Breakout Sessions - The Personal Side of Mathematics
Exploring Implicit Bias in Education
Room 115
True Confessions: Getting Real About Math
Room 111
Healthy Financial Management
Johnson Lounge
2:45 PM
Coffee Break
Ballroom
3:00 PM
The Big Data Boom
Ballroom
4:00 PM
Breakout Sessions - The Myths & Realities of Having it All
Finding a Work-Family Life Equilibrium
Johnson Lounge
You Matter! Centering Oneself Outside of Family Ties
Room 111
Avoiding the Trap of Perfectionism in Testing & Grades
Room 115
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 7 Schedule at a Glance
6:30 PM
Dr. Etta Z. Falconer Awards Banquet
Ballroom
Special Remarks
Christine Vernier - Vernier Software & Technology
Moment of Silence
Entertainment
Tarina Peace - Berkeley High School
Special Invited Speaker
Deborah Jackson - National Science Foundation
Student Poster Session Awards
Presentation of Dr. Etta Z. Falconer Award for Mentoring & Commitment to
Diversity to Genevieve Madeline Knight, Coppin State College
Closing Remarks
Adjournment
8 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Schedule
SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015
8:30 AM
Registration & Breakfast
9:30 AM
Short Course: Biostatistics
Lobby/Foyer
Room 115
Biostatistics: Encompassing Variability in the Search for Truth
Renee Moore - North Carolina State University
Portia Parker - SAS
11:00 AM
Statistical Methods for Analyzing Massive Neuroimaging Data Sets
DuBois Bowman - Columbia University
12:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM
From Stats to Apps: Having Fun with R
Emma Benn - Ichan School of Medicine at Mt Sinai
2:40 PM
Classification of Pregnancy Outcome with Longitudinal Hormone Data
Anna Baron - University of Colorado Denver
3:40 PM
Statistical Tools for Predicting Ancestry from Genetic Data
Timothy Thornton - University of Washington
5:00 PM
Welcome Reception and Registration
Lobby/Foyer
MONDAY MARCH 2, 2015
7:30 AM
Registration
Lobby/Foyer
7:30 AM
Johnson Lounge
Fern Hunt - National Institute of Standards and Technology
8:00 AM
Breakfast
Ballroom
9:00 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Tanya Moore - Building Diversity in Science
Sabah Randhawa - Provost and Executive Vice President,
Oregon State University
Ballroom
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 9 Schedule
9:15 AM
Moderator: Lily Khadjavi - Loyola Marymount University
Sousada Chidthachack - University of Minnesota
Angela Gallegos - Loyola Marymount University
Jacqueline Hughes-Oliver - North Carolina State University
Karen Morgan - New Jersey City University
Ballroom
10:15 AM
Reflections: Ten Years of IPC
Tanya Moore - Building Diversity in Science
Ballroom
10:30 AM
Building Networks
Tasha Henneman - Mills College
Candice Price - United States Military Academy, West Point
Ballroom
11:45 PM
Lunch
Ballroom
1:00 PM
Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Sastry Pantula - Oregon State University
Ballroom
1:05 PM
Keynote Address - The Eyes Have It: Modeling Cataract Surgical
Rates for Developing Countries
2:00 PM
Coffee Break
2:15 PM
Concurrent Research Roundtables
Applied Mathematics I
Moderator: Carmen Torres - Building Diversity in Science
Using Interpolation to Enhance Imagery
Michelle Guinn - Belmont University
A Mathematical Model on the Retention of Women in the
STEM Disciplines: Effect of Female Faculty
Jasmine Jackson, Shala Brown and Claudia Rodriguez –
Arizona State University
Fully Homomorphic Encryption Applied to Wireless Networks
Olive Mbianda - University of Minnesota
10 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Ballroom
Room 111
Schedule
Adaptive Grid Generation, 3D Graphics on the Web, and a
Digital Library
Bonita V. Saunders - National Institute of Standards and Technology
Applied Mathematics II
Room 114
Moderator: Fern Hunt - National Institute of Standards and Technology
Dynamics in the Complex Ginzburg-Landau Equation
Cristi D. Guevara - Louisiana State University
Fibonacci Sequence in Nature: An Example
Isabelle Kemajou-Brown - University of Minnesota
Optimal Control in a Free Boundary Fluid-Elasticity Interaction
Kristina Martin - North Carolina State University
Utilizing Mathematics in the Analysis of Genomic Data
Saba Nafees - Texas Tech University
Mathematics Education
Moderator: Natasha Brewley - Georgia Gwinnett College
Ballroom
“Not Just Math Because I Can Get That in School:” High School Students
Evaluate the Impact of an Urban Mathematics Program
Sousada Chidthachack- University of Minnesota
How Does Stereotype Threat Impact Adolescent Female Math Students?
Patricia Hale - California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
An Intersection of Quantitative Literacy and Creative Literacy: Using
Poetry to Enhance the Cognitive and Affective Domains of Learning in the
Mathematics Classroom
Pure Mathematics
Johnson Lounge
Moderator: Alejandra Alvarado - Eastern Illinois University
Sandpile Groups of Series-Parallel Graphs
Rebecca Garcia - Sam Houston State University
f-vectors of Pure Complexes of Rank Four
Mela Hardin - Arizona State University
Maximizing 2-Independent Sets in 3-Uniform Hypergraphs
Lauren Keough - University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Statistics/Biostatistics
Moderator: Nagambal Shah - Spelman College
Room 115
Statistical Challenges in Analyses of Alzheimer’s Disease Studies
Rebecca Betensky - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Exact Distribution of Multiple Window Scan Statistics
Deidra A. Coleman - North Carolina State University
A Method for Sample Size Estimation Making Use of Data from Pilot
Studies
Asya Spears - University of California, Los Angeles
3:45 PM
Student Poster Session
5:00 PM
Breakout Sessions - Seeing Your Way Forward: What Works for You?
Group Session - High School/College Students
Facilitator: Alejandra Alvarado - Eastern Illinois University
Room 111
Group Session - Graduate Students / Post Docs
Facilitator: Kimberly Weems - North Carolina State University
Room 115
Group Session - Professionals
Facilitator: Patricia Hale - California State Polytechnic
University, Pomona
Room 114
Dinner (On Your Own)
12 Lobby/Foyer
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Schedule
TUESDAY MARCH 3, 2015
7:30 AM
Registration
Lobby/Foyer
7:30 AM
Nagambal Shah - Spelman College
8:00 AM
Breakfast
Ballroom
9:00 AM
Introduction to Keynote Address
Nagambal Shah - Spelman College
Ballroom
9:05 AM
Keynote Address - The Intersection of Adversity, Resilience, Tenacity,
and Models of Photoreceptor Degeneration: My Story, Passion and
Research
Erika Camacho - Arizona State University
10:00 AM
Coffee Break
10:15 AM
Johnson Lounge
Ballroom
Johnson Lounge
Moderator: Fern Hunt - National Institute for Standards and Technology
Camille Daniel - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Melanie Larsen - Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics
Cynthia Wallace - Synchrony Financial Laboratory
So You Want to Go to Grad School
Room 115
Moderator: Candice Price - United State Military Academy, West Point
Minerva Cordero-Epperson - University of Texas at Arlington
April Harry - Purdue University
Colette Patt - University of California, Berkeley
Moderator: Omayra Ortega- Arizona State University
Naiomi Cameron - Lewis and Clark College
Rehana Patel - Olin College of Engineering
Roselyn Williams - Florida A&M University
Room 111
Negotiating, Self-Advocacy and Leaning In
Moderator: Rebecca Garcia - Sam Houston State University
Joy Alafia - Western Propane Gas Association
Ulrica Wilson - Morehouse College
11:30 AM
Group Photo
11:45 AM
Lunch
12:00 PM
Solo Success: How to Thrive in the Academy When You’re
the Only ____ in the Department.
Kerry Ann Rockquemore - National Center for Faculty
Development & Diversity
Room 114
Ballroom
Room 114
Special workshop from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM. Please note this will be a working lunch.
1:00 PM
Sage Workshop
Holly Swisher - Oregon State University
Room 115
Barbara Johnson - National Security Agency
Nandini Kannan - National Science Foundation
Room 111
Johnson Lounge
Moderator: Candice Price - United States Military Academy, West Point
Leyda Almodovar - University of Iowa
Minerva Catral - Xavier University
2:00 PM
Breakout Sessions - The Personal Side of Mathematics
Tasha Henneman - Mills College
Room 115
Katrina Harden Williams - Iowa State University
Room 111
Maria Tamburro - Ameriprise Financial
14 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Johnson Lounge
Schedule
2:45 PM
Coffee Break
Ballroom
3:00 PM
The Big Data Boom
Moderator: Virginia Lesser - Oregon State University
Jamila Mathias - CIT Group, Inc.
Sastry Pantula - Oregon State University
Kelly Rose - National Energy Technology Laboratory
Ballroom
4:00 PM
Johnson Lounge
Priya Boindala - Georgia Gwinnett College
Rachelle DeCoste - Wheaton College
Karen Rios-Soto - University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
6:30 PM
Omayra Ortega - Arizona State University
Candice Price - United States Military Academy, West Point
Room 111
Moderator: Tasha Henneman - Mills College
Natasha Brewley - Georgia Gwinnett College
Michelle Craddock Guinn- Belmont University
Janis Oldham- North Carolina A&T University
Room 115
Dr. Etta Z. Falconer Awards Banquet
Ballroom
Special Remarks
Christine Vernier - Vernier Software & Technology
Moment of Silence
Entertainment
Tarina Peace - Berkeley High School
Special Invited Speaker
Deborah Jackson - National Science Foundation
Student Poster Session Awards
Presentation of Dr. Etta Z. Falconer Award for Mentoring & Commitment to
Diversity to Genevieve Madeline Knight, Coppin State College
Bonita Saunders - National Institute of Standards and Technology
Genevieve Madeline Knight - Coppin State College
Closing Remarks
Adjournment
16 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Session Descriptions
Our four panelists will share their stories of how they came to love mathematics, what their
academic and career trajectories were, and what they are doing now. There are many ways to
reach one’s goals, and the path is not always straight and narrow, but may includes twists,
turns, setbacks, and triumphs, as we will hear.
Breakout Sessions: Seeing Your Way Forward: What Works for You?
At each stage in our lives, we can ask ourselves, “What does ‘success’ mean to me?” In these
sessions, we will explore our short and long term goals celebrating the individuality of each
participant.
Think the only thing to do with a mathematics degree is go to graduate school and pursue an
academic career? Think again. Our panelists share their career choices outside the scope of
academic life.
So You Want to Go to Grad School…
There is much to consider before applying to a graduate program in the mathematical sciences:
the GRE subject test, the type of program you desire, your field of study, and your
recommendation letter writers, to name a few. We’ll get to the bottom of how you should prepare
for applying to a graduate program.
Generating research problems on your own after graduate school may be a daunting task. You
no longer have your advisor to hold your hand, and you are now swimming in deep waters. This
panel will give tips on keeping your research alive and thriving.
Negotiating, Self-Advocacy, and Leaning In
Women are typically less likely to advocate strongly for themselves in the hiring and promotion
process and may be less likely to be the strongest voice at the conference table which, in turn,
can result in missing opportunities for advancement. This panel will highlight ways to prevent
becoming invisible or isolated in the workforce and will provide strategies for negotiation and
self-advocacy.
Solo Success: How to Thrive in the Academy When You’re the Only ____ in the
Department.
Underrepresented faculty commonly describe: Feeling overwhelmed by service requests related
to diversity; Pressure to serve as role models, advisors and mentors to all _______ students;
Struggling to respond effectively to classroom dynamics that are shaped by race, class and
gender; Lack of support network, community, mentors, and sponsors; and Mixed messages
about the best use of their time on campus.
The Solo Success Workshop is specifically designed to address the unique concerns of
underrepresented faculty members. Specifically, participants learn to:
• Identify the common challenges underrepresented faculty face on the tenure track
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 17 Session Descriptions
•
•
•
Identify the three biggest mistakes underrepresented faculty make
Specific strategies for increasing productivity, serving strategically, teaching efficiently,
and building strong and healthy professional relationships
Identify why and how to connect with communities of support and accountability
Sage Workshop
Sage is free, open-source, mathematical software that uses the Python programming language
to implement a wide range of mathematical functions. It is an increasingly popular and important
tool used by mathematicians of all levels. This workshop will give you an introduction to Sage
including examples and demonstrations that will jumpstart your Sage savvy.
Our expert panelists will impart their knowledge on the characteristics of a winning grant
proposal.
Summer experience is increasingly necessary for getting into a good graduate program or
landing a solid job after college. We will talk about summer research and internships in this
panel, as well as hear from current students about how their summer experiences helped them.
Breakout Sessions - Personal Side of Mathematics
We are all susceptible to implicit bias, i.e., the stereotypes or attitudes that can unconsciously
affect one’s understanding, actions or decision-making. But what happens when implicit bias
shows up in our education system? This workshop will uncover how women in math are affected
by this phenomenon and includes debiasing techniques that can be used when implicit bias
shows up in a classroom context.
There are not many safe places to be self-reflective about math. Some days you may love it;
other days not. Pull up a chair and have a real heart-to-heart conversation about the challenges
and successes in your math experiences.
Financial well-being is an often overlooked part of our overall well-being. We will get wealth
health advice from a financial planner from Ameriprise Financial. Whether you are just starting
your career or looking towards retirement, you won’t want to miss this valuable information.
The Big Data Boom
In today’s technology-driven world, more data than ever is being collected and analyzed. In this
panel, we will hear from professionals who work with large sets of data for the advancement of
science and technology.
18 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Session Descriptions
If your life includes a partner or children along with work outside the home, you may find it tough
to juggle all that life throws at you. In this panel, working moms talk about how they have made
it work and continue to “figure it all out”.
You may often find yourself straddled with work obligations that keep you from focusing on your
personal life, sometimes even especially if you do not have a partner or children. In this panel
we will discuss why it is important to advocate for yourself and your personal life goals.
Do you experience test-taking anxiety? Or do you spend countless hours of time stressing over
your grades that you miss the contextual connection to what you are learning? This workshop
will offer strategies for finding balance and avoiding punitive forms of self-evaluation, instead
aiming for deeper understanding.
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 19 Invited Speaker Biographies
Dr. Erika Tatiana Camacho is an Associate Professor in
the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences at
Arizona State University (ASU). She grew up in East Los
Angeles and was taught by Jaime Escalante at Garfield
High School. She received her Ph.D. in Applied
Mathematics from Cornell University. She has held
positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Loyola
Marymount University, and ASU. In 2013-2014, she was
the MLK Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her current
research is at the interface of mathematics, biology,
physiology, and sociology and involves mathematically
modeling degenerative eye diseases, gene networks within
yeast, social networks, alcohol effects on a neuron firing,
and fungal resistance under selective pressure. Her
leadership, scholarship, and mentoring have won national
recognition including the SACNAS Distinguished
Undergraduate Mentoring Award in 2012, the National
Hispanic Women Corporation (HWC) Latina Leadership Award in 2011, being named as one of
12 Emerging Scholars of 2010 recognized by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, and a citation
for mentoring and guiding undergraduates in research by the National Security Agency.
Local recognitions within ASU and Arizona include the Dr. Manuel Servin Faculty Award for
excellence in exemplifying achievement in research, mentorship of Hispanic students, and
leadership at ASU and in the community in 2013; the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and
Sciences Faculty Service Award in 2013; the 40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40 Award in 2012; and
the ASU Faculty Women’s Association Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2011. She has
been profiled and featured in multiple media outlets including Univision Nightly News in a two
part segment entitled “Erika Camacho’s Inspirational Story”, the SIAM News “The Intersecting
Lives of Two Mathematicians in East L.A.”, SACNAS News Feature Article “Leadership”, Latino
Perspectives Magazine “Camacho stands and delivers”, the SACNAS New Feature Article
“Building Confidence”, and recently in Voces “I am the American Dream: Erika Tatiana
Camacho, Ph.D.” She has been interviewed on CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News as
part of a segment in honor of her high school teacher Jaime Escalante and in PBS Arizona
Horizonte for her HWC Leadership Award. Dr. Camacho co-founded and co-directed the
Applied Mathematical Sciences Summer Institute (AMSSI), dedicated to the recruitment of
undergraduate women, underrepresented minorities, and those that might not otherwise have
the opportunity; and she served as co-director of the Mathematical & Theoretical Biology
Institute (MTBI) in 2011-2013.
20 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Invited Speaker Biographies
Dr. Deborah J. Jackson received a bachelor's degree in
Physics from MIT in 1974, followed by a PhD in Physics
from Stanford University in 1980. Though her initial graduate
training was in nonlinear optics, her research and
development career spanned the full range of the
electromagnetic phenomena from materials studies using
hard x-ray wavelengths, to quantum computing at visible
wavelengths, to the fielding of radio frequency
instrumentation on deep space missions such as Cassini
and Mars Observer. Dr. Jackson is a hands-on professional
with more than 20 years of broad based experience in
research and development, project management, strategic
planning, and product delivery. Currently at NSF, she leads
the Microelectronics, Sensors, and Information
Technologies Cluster within the Engineering Research
Center's (ERC) Program office. In that capacity, she
manages the ERC Industrial Liaison Officer's working group, whose purpose is to strategically
develop the centers for optimal innovation and to speed the commercialization or utilization of
the ERC's research findings and technology. It was this mission of translating discovery into
innovative real-world applications that attracted her to the ERC program office. Before arriving at
NSF, she held research appointments at the IBM Watson Research Laboratory, the Hughes
Research Laboratory, the RAND Corporation and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During part of
her tenure at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she was the Cognizant Engineer for the Ultra Stable
Oscillator and the Radio Frequency Instrument Subsystem, both on the Cassini Spacecraft, and
the Ultra Stable Oscillator for the Mars Observer spacecraft. For all three subsystems, she
delivered, integrated, and tested the flight hardware in preparation for their respective launches
in 1997 and 1996. She is a Bell Laboratories Cooperative Research Fellow, a Ford Fellow, and
a recently elected Fellow of the National Society of Black Physicists, and a Senior Member of
IEEE.
She has also actively served on the following National Research Council Committees
• NRC Board on Army Science and Technology, Committee on Electric Power for the
Dismounted Soldier (1996-1997);
• Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (1994-1998);
• Committee on the Use of the International Space Station for Engineering Research and
Technology Development (1995)
Dr. Jackson has been an Invited Speaker representing NSF at the Korean Science and
Engineering Foundation Centers of Excellence Forum (Seoul, Korea: 2008), an invited Lecturer
at the African Laser Center's Summer School (Durban, South Africa: 2005), and the Shell
Lecturer at the 2005 National Science Teacher's Association Annual Meeting (Dallas, TX 2005).
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 21 Invited Speaker Biographies
Dr. Kerry Ann Rockquemore is President and CEO of
the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity.
Her scholarship has focused on interracial families,
biracial identity, and the politics of racial categorization.
She is the author of two important books: Beyond Black
and Raising Biracial Children, as well as over two dozen
articles and book chapters on multiracial youth. After Dr.
Rockquemore became a tenured professor, her focus
shifted to improving conditions for pre-tenure faculty by
creating supportive communities for writing productivity
and work/life balance. Her award-winning work with underrepresented faculty led to the publication of her most
recent book: The Black Academic's Guide to Winning
Tenure Without Losing Your Soul. Dr. Rockquemore
provides workshops for new faculty at colleges across the
US, writes a weekly advice column for Inside Higher Ed,
and works with a select group of new faculty each
semester in the Faculty Success Program.
Dr. Talithia Williams is an Associate Professor and
Associate Chair of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd
College. Her professional experiences include
research appointments at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL), the National Security Agency (NSA),
and NASA. She received her Ph.D. in Statistics from
Rice University, Masters in Mathematics from Howard
University, and Bachelors in Mathematics from
Spelman College. Dr. Williams develops statistical
models that emphasize the spatial and temporal
structure of data with environmental applications. Her
recent work on modeling cataract surgical rates in
Africa is leading to a more effective means of
deploying resources to eliminate blindness deriving
from the disease. Dr. Williams recently gave a TEDx
talk that explores how each of us can begin to collect
data about ourselves that can provide insight into our
personal health. In addition to her academic
accomplishments, Dr. Williams and her husband,
Donald, actively teach and share foundational
principles regarding the joys of Christian marriage. She is overjoyed to be the mother of three
energetic boys; Josiah, Noah and Micaiah.
22 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Dr. Etta Z. Falconer Award for Mentoring & Commitment to Diversity
Awardee: Dr. Genevieve Madeline Knight
Dr. Genevieve Knight’s life and work reflect not just her
achievements but the great forward movements in American
life for women and minorities. Born in Brunswick, Georgia, the
youngest of 3 children, Genevieve’s father was a civil service
technologist at Glynco Naval Base in Brunswick. An ingenious
technician, he was also deeply involved in the civil and
political affairs of his community. Her mother was a
seamstress with good academic skills despite her limited
education, she was involved in and fully supported the
education of her children. All three went on to have
distinguished teaching and professional careers. In an
interview in MAA FOCUS, Dr. Knight described a household
that was at once intellectually lively and community aware. It isn’t a surprise that as a young
person she loved (and still loves) to read, think and dream - a not uncommon trait among future
mathematicians - but Dr. Knight has also said, “Service is the rent we pay for living.” We award
her because she has inspired so many other young people and moved institutions to create
policies that would enable this inspiration to spread to all, especially to women of color.
In 1957, Knight was a home economics major at Fort Valley State University, on her way to a
career as a commercial dietitian. Then the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik the first
satellite into space. This surprising event and President Kennedy’s challenge to the country to
reach the moon galvanized the United States into an all out effort to speed the development of
scientists and mathematicians. Because of her background and scholarly record, she was
encouraged to go into these fields and she chose mathematics. After graduating with a degree
in Mathematics Education, she continued at Atlanta University, strongly influenced by Professor
Abdulalim Shabazz. He encouraged his students to lean forward professionally and interact with
the wider mathematical community especially through national organizations such as the
American Mathematical Society. This, despite the fact that the South was still largely segregated
and African-American involvement in mathematics was very low. After obtaining her Masters
degree from Atlanta in 1963, she began teaching at Hampton Institute and remained there until
1984, rising to become Professor and chairperson of the Mathematics Department. While there
she earned a PhD in Mathematics Education at the University of Maryland College Park. She
was a brilliant teacher and a caring and compelling mentor, and a number of letters in support of
her came from students and colleagues of this period. Indeed, she won a distinguished teaching
award from Hampton Institute and a Virginia College Mathematics Teacher of the Year award.
Her achievements with students on an individual level were magnified by her involvement with
mathematical organizations, particularly the National Association of Mathematicians,
Mathematical Association of America and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She
received funding from the National Science Foundation to direct several teacher-training
institutes and in-service training programs for teachers in mathematics and science. Meanwhile,
she served as a member of a number of very influential task forces dealing with improving the
status of women and minorities in the mathematical fields, including the Task Force on
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 23 Minorities and Mathematics in 1987-1990 and, as chair, the Task Force on Girls and other
Under-Represented Groups in Mathematics in 1980-1983.
From 1984-2006, Dr. Knight was a full professor at Coppin State University in Baltimore,
Maryland and continued her prodigious efforts in Mathematics education, mentoring and
fostering diversity on a national level. In 1999 she won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, in 2007 the Jeanette Shamwell Distinguished
Service Award from Coppin State University, and in 2013 the Lifetime Achievement Award from
the National Association of Mathematicians. In contemplating Dr. Knight’s life, we remember
how rare and precious it is to be able to maintain the love of learning and intellectual spark we
gain as children from parents, teachers, or mentors. Rarer still is the ability to transmit these
things to others. We are reminded again, “Service is the rent we pay for living.” In that sense,
women and minority students, the mathematical community have been richly rewarded.
About the Dr. Etta Z. Falconer Award for Mentoring and Commitment to Diversity
In 2005 the Infinite Possibilities Conference Steering Committee, along with the Spelman
College Mathematics Department and the Falconer Family, established the Dr. Etta Z. Falconer
Award for Mentoring and Commitment to Diversity to recognize individuals who have
demonstrated a professional commitment to mentoring and increasing diversity in the sciences,
and in particular the mathematical sciences.
Dr. Etta Z. Falconer (1933-2002) was a dynamic leader of extraordinary vision and exemplary
commitment to science and mathematics education. She earned the B.A. degree in
mathematics from Fisk University, having begun college at the age of 15. She earned the MS
from the University of Wisconsin in 1954 and the Ph.D. from Emory University in 1969 in
mathematics. Dr. Falconer is the 12th known African American woman in the US to have earned
a Ph.D. degree in pure mathematics. She was especially dedicated to those from
underrepresented groups who were generally left out of the highest levels of the scientific and
mathematical US enterprise. She devoted 37 years of her life to teaching and improving science
education at Spelman College and used this location as a platform to affect science and
mathematics on a broader scale.
As a former Associate Provost for Science Programs and Policy, a Fuller E. Callaway Professor
of Mathematics, and creator of the NASA Women in Science Program at Spelman College, and
as a founding member of the National Association of Mathematicians, Dr. Falconer was widely
known for her efforts towards increasing diversity in the sciences and her strides in increasing
the numbers of graduates earning terminal degrees. Her honors and awards include the
Achievement and Service Award from the Atlanta Minority Women in Science Network; the
Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) in 1994;
the Louise Hay Award for Contributions to Mathematics Education from the Association for
Women in Mathematics (AWM) in 1995; the Giants in Science Award from the Quality Education
for Minorities Network (QEM) in 1995; the Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996; and the Lifetime Mentor Award from the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2002.
24 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Research Roundtables: Oral Presentation Abstracts
Rebecca Betensky - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Statistical Challenges in Analyses of Alzheimer’s Disease Studies
I will describe analytical challenges that arise in Alzheimer’s disease studies. These include selection bias
of subjects who consent to autopsy, ages of onset of dementia that are censored (partially observed),
multiple platforms for imaging studies, and design of efficient clinical trials. This talk will highlight
contributions that statisticians can make to the analysis of clinical studies, and in particular, the role that
we play in developing and validating innovative methods that are optimally suited to the data.
Sousada Chidthachack - University of Minnesota
“Not just math because I can get that in school:” High School Students Evaluate the Impact of an
Urban Mathematics Program
The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to provide an evidence-based model for effective mathematics
learning communities, and to evaluate the impact of Prepare2Npsire, a cascading mathematics mentoring
and tutoring program in an urban setting. The innovative program provided high school students with
undergraduate mentor-tutors (“men-tutors”), and in return, the high school students provided mentoring
and tutoring support for grade eight students. Post-interviews were conducted on a group of select high
school students after the program ended, and one male and one female high school student interview
were selected for inclusion. The two students were selected based on their successful completion of the
program as determined by the following categories: the student’s high attendance record, unsolicited
positive written and verbal feedback from students, and significant increase in standardized Scholar
Aptitude Test (SAT) post-test scores (39% and 50% increase, respectively). Semi-structured interviews
were conducted at the end of the program that revealed unanticipated outcomes beyond mathematics
content achievement. The findings included a) positive social and academic impact of peer relationships,
and mentor-tutor and tutee relationships on high school participants, and b) fostering of deeper interests
in teaching and learning of mathematics and in careers in math-related fields. The paper provides an indepth qualitative analysis of two student interviews, and the findings suggest that the incorporation of
peer mentoring and tutoring in mathematics settings support student engagement and deeper
understanding of algebra. The paper also provides examples of how alternative learning environment
ensure mathematical success for its students.
Deidra A. Coleman - North Carolina State University
Exact Distribution of Multiple Window Scan Statistics
We provide an efficient algorithm to compute the exact distribution of multiple window discrete scan
statistics for higher-order, multi-state Markovian sequences. This algorithm involves defining a Markov
chain to efficiently keep track of probabilities needed to compute p-values of the statistic. We use our
algorithm to identify cases where the available approximation does not perform well. We also use our
algorithm to detect unusual clusters of made free throw shots by National Basketball Association players
during the 2009-2010 regular season.
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 25 Research Roundtables: Oral Presentation Abstracts
Rebecca Garcia- Sam Houston State University
Sandpile Groups of Series-Parallel Graphs
The sandpile group of a graph is defined as the cokernel of the reduced Laplacian of the graph.
The order of this finite Abelian group equals the number of spanning trees in the graph. Its
structure is an isomorphism invariant that has received much attention recently in diverse areas
of mathematics, including algebraic and tropical geometry, combinatorics, and theoretical
computer science. A series-parallel graph is a graph with two vertices, s and t, called terminals,
that can be obtained through two operations on an edge: (a) joining two subgraphs in series,
through a vertex-join of one terminal from each subgraph, or (b) joining two subgraphs in
parallel, by identifying both the vertices s and t from each subgraph. Our study focuses on the
sandpile group of two families of series-parallel graphs: thick cycles and parallel compositions of
thick paths. In this talk, we present our results on obtaining the explicit structure of the sandpile
groups of these two families.
Cristi D Guevara - Louisiana State University
Dynamics in the Complex Ginzburg-Landau Equation
The complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (CGL) have been used to model a wide variety of
physical systems. It describes weakly nonlinear behavior of dissipative systems
𝐷
𝑖𝜓! +
− 𝑖𝛽 △ 𝜓 − 𝑖𝛿𝜓 − 𝑓 + 𝑖𝜖 𝜓 ! 𝜓 + 𝜈 − 𝑖𝜇 𝜓 ! = 0
2
where 𝑥, 𝑡, 𝛽, 𝜖, 𝛿, 𝜈, 𝜇 ∈ ℝ; 𝜓 𝑡, 𝑥 is the complex amplitude modulation, 𝑡 ∈ ℝ, 𝑥 ∈ ℝ! is the
transversal direction, 𝐷 represents the dispersion. when 𝛿, 𝜖, 𝛽, 𝜇 = 0, reduces to the cubicquintic non-linear Schrödinger equation. For the 𝑑 = 1 dimensional case, the inverse scattering
method has been one of the standard methods to look for integrability of nonlinear partial
differential equations as the NLS. The ansatz 𝐴(𝑡, 𝑥) = 𝑒 !"# 𝜈𝑥 − 𝑐𝑡 reduces CGLE to a system
of 𝑛 = 2 second order ODEs for the real and imaginary parts of 𝑣 = 𝑎 + 𝑖𝑏. The question of
whether this system is Lagrangian is important, as if the answer is positive, a finite dimensional
Hamiltonian form of the equations is possible via Legendre transformation. This question is at
the heart of what is known as the inverse problem of the calculus of variations, which was
solved and classified for the case 𝑛 = 2 by Jesse Douglas. The more complicated case of 𝑛 > 2
requires the solution of an overdetermined systems of linear partial differential equations. This
has been tackled through what is known as “geometric calculus” or Janet-Requier theory. We
find that CGLE admits a complex Lagrangian form and we exhibit some other example where
the question of a complex formulation of a type of Arnold-Liouville theorem would be interesting.
For 𝑑 = 2, we present the particular case of the reduction of the NLS under the aforementioned
ansatz, as a complete integrable Hamiltonian system. We show how different type of soliton
solutions arise as a consequence of quasi-periodic motion. For particular perturbations of the
NLS we get soliton solutions of the CGLE by a direct application of KAM theorem. We also
present recent results of existence and scattering of the full NLS. This is joint work with Joaquin
Delgado.
Michelle Guinn - Belmont University
Using Interpolation to Enhance Imagery
The objective of my research is to design an algorithm to present enhanced stereoscopic
imagery that is adapted to the viewing distance of the observer, with seamless transitions
among stereo and hyperstereo levels. I will design an algorithm that uses image-smoothing
techniques to provide this enhancement. The research will improve images that soldiers can use
to perform several tasks and can potentially provide better situational awareness.
Patricia Hale - California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
How Does Stereotype Threat Impact Adolescent Female Math Students?
This study examined effects of stereotype threat on adolescents’ math performance and
attitudes. Research on stereotype threat regarding women and math has largely been
conducted with college women, and effects on adolescents are less clear. This report describes
the purpose, procedures, results, and recommendations from the project. The three-year project
involved students in 8!! grade Algebra (years 2007-2009), 7!! grade Pre-Algebra (years 20082009), and 6!! grade math (years 2009-2010). The study was funded by the National Science
Foundation and was a joint venture between a University and School District. Results from the
study provide evidence for the presence of math- based stereotype threat among girls in 6!! ,
7!! , and 8!! grades. In all three years, stereotype threat was related to lower math test
performance and more negative attitudes toward math. What varied across grade levels,
however, were the variables that moderated stereotype threat. This is joint work with Bettina J.
Cassad, University of Missouri - St. Louis.
Mela Hardin - Arizona State University
f-vectors of Pure Complexes of Rank Four
The set of f-vectors of pure simplicial complexes is an important but little understood objects in
combinatorics and combinatorial commutative algebra. Its explicit characterization is a virtually
intractable problem due to its irregular and complicated structure. In 2013, Colbourn, Keranen,
and Kreher provided complete characterizations of these complexes of rank 3. Their methods
are unlikely to lead to a general characterization of these complexes of arbitrary rank. Although
it involved a larger number of cases, we used a similar strategy to characterize complexes of
rank 4. Different types of complexes arise in coloring, flows, and other areas. We established
some necessary conditions for an integer vector to be the f -vector of some pure simplicial
complex of rank 4. Our next goal is to obtain an upper bound on the number of sets of
cardinality four and use techniques from combinatorial design theory to establish a lower bound.
Isabelle Kemajou-Brown - University of Minnesota
Fibonacci Sequence in Nature: An Example
The Fibonacci numbers consist of `Nature's numbering system.’ They occur in the leaf
arrangement in plants, to the pattern of family tree of some animals, to the prediction of market
trading. In this talk we will give some basic knowledge of Fibonacci sequences and show a
connection to some interesting problems in real life.
Maximizing 2-Independent Sets in 3-Uniform Hypergraphs
Extremal graph theorists often answer questions of the form “What is the maximum or minimum
number of particular substructures a graph 𝐺 can have if 𝐺 must satisfy certain conditions?”
Recently, graph theorists have started asking these questions about hypergraphs. In this talk,
we will answer the following question: "What is the maximum number of 2-independent sets a 3uniform hypergraph 𝐻 can have if 𝐻 has 𝑛 vertices and 𝑒 edges?” All necessary background
information will be introduced.
Jasmine Jackson, Shala Brown and Claudia Rodriguez - Arizona State University
A Mathematical Model on the Retention of Women in the STEM Disciplines: Effect of
Female Faculty
Background: The gender gap in the Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering
(STEM) disciplines has been a perennial problem. As a growing population we need to aim for
diversity in these fields, and it is important to have professionals in these disciplines with
different perspectives and interested in solving problems that affect us as a society.
Researchers suggest that the retention rates for female graduate students would increase if
there were more female faculty. For this project we aim to model the impact female faculty has
on female graduate students’ retention.
Methodology: The yearly fraction of doctorates awarded to women in Science & Engineering
(S&E) in the US from 1978 to 2008 are obtained from the National Science Foundation. We also
consider data that shows the yearly percentage of tenure-track and tenured S&E faculty that are
female. Parameters that are defined to model doctoral level students are key in the analysis to
generate hypotheses. The process for fitting these parameters of the mathematical model to
data allows us to examine the effects of female faculty contagion on the retention of women in
the STEM disciplines.
Conclusions: The results fit in with published literature. Time series data were collected and fit to
the mathematical model to examine the dynamics of ’infectious’ female faculty on the retention
of women in STEM. We found that nearly half of the female graduate students would remain in a
graduate program where there is a substantial effectiveness of female faculty.
Kristina Martin - North Carolina State University
Optimal Control in a Free Boundary Fluid-Elasticity Interaction
We consider an optimal control problem involving a free boundary fluid-elasticity interaction
described by Navier-Stokes coupled with the equations of nonlinear elastodynamics. We prove
that turbulence in the fluid flow can be minimized using a distributed control and discuss the first
order necessary optimality conditions. This is work in progress in collaboration with Lorena
Bociu, Lucas Castle (North Carolina State University), Daniel Toundykov (University of
Nebraska-Lincoln), and Jean-Paul Zolesio (INRIA and CNRS-INLN, Sophia-Antipolis, France).
Olive Mbianda - University of Minnesota
Fully Homomorphic Encryption Applied to Wireless Networks
This work provides a mathematical approach of Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) and its
implementation in a wireless network. FHE has been presented as the “Holy Grail” by
cryptographers. This special encryption scheme enables one to perform complex operations
(both addition and multiplication) on a ciphertext without ever decrypting the text. An immediate
application is the delegated computation; an untrusted party can process the data without
endangering the privacy of the source and the integrity of the data. The first FHE scheme was
introduced in 2009 by Craig Gentry. His scheme was based on the properties of rings,
especially of ideal lattices. As introduced by Gentry, FHE was not practical due to the length of
ciphertext (per bit encrypted) and keys and its infeasible computational time. Much work has
been done to make it somewhat practical (Shai- Halevi(2010), Smart-Vercauteren(2011)). The
proposed schemes were based on algebraic and number theoretic concepts. Following the
ideas of Smart-Vercauteren and the implementation of Michael Brenner, we design an
implementation for a wireless network. Such a system should allow operations on encrypted
data that could result in reducing the computational load and the size of the packets in a
wireless network. The most challenging part of this work will be to make the computational time
of the FHE quasi-real while preserving its security scheme. Since the strength of the FHE
comes from the hardness to approximate short vector problems on arbitrary lattices within a
slightly super polynomial factor, making that computational time logarithmic or less is quite
challenging.
An Intersection of Quantitative Literacy and Creative Literacy: Using Poetry to Enhance
the Cognitive and Affective Domains of Learning in the Mathematics Classroom
How do we as mathematics educators provide alternative ways in which students engage in
mathematical discourse and explore mathematical ideas, thereby improving students’
quantitative literacy? How do creative literacy and quantitative literacy conjointly enhance the
cognitive and affective domains in the mathematics classroom? The use of mathematics in
poetry extends beyond more obvious platforms such as counting syllables or lines and stresses
in meter and structure. This talk will offer that teaching mathematics with poetry provides an
opportunity to not only address quantitative reasoning, but to also improve students’ quantitative
literacy. Writing poetry inspired by mathematics offers students the opportunity to frame
mathematical reasoning with arguments grounded in succinctness and clarity of thought
processes. Additionally, writing poetry inspired by mathematics bolsters students’ confidence in
performing mathematics.
Saba Nafees - Texas Tech University
Utilizing Mathematics in the Analysis of Genomic Data
My work has largely been focused on utilizing mathematics in the analysis of genomic data,
specifically by adapting the theory of orthogonal polynomials to the study of biological traits that
are defined by sequences, with the goal of characterizing them in a way which would lead to
new insights about the biological phenomenon at hand. Our methods have many potential
applications. However, I am particularly interested in utilizing our work on orthogonal
polynomials to characterize genetic data with the goal of discovering interactions between
mutations in genetic diseases. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that arises due to misfolding
of the protein CFTR. Analyses of the mutation data could show the way the various mutations
act to produce disease. A typical way to do this would be to use multivariate polynomial
regression. We use Orthogonal Polynomials and dual bases for multivariate data. The observed
distribution of mutations defines a covariant basis and a contravariant basis. Projecting different
responses into these and taking the covariance would yield their interrelation. We build functions
that capture the properties of the mutations of CFTR, so that we can assess each mutation's
interaction with other mutation(s). This will provide insight into the mechanism of the misfolding
problem. The orthogonal and dual spaces approach conserves intrinsic biological properties of
any phenomenon being tested while simultaneously capturing its quantitative properties. This
means that the models can be expanded to include all types of causal factors, both genetic and
environmental.
Vanessa Rivera Quinones - University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
The Power of Play: Exploring Games as Educational Tools
As technology advances, one may wonder, what role should technology play in education? The
use of games as a way to teach educational content has been a trending topic. Games can act
as learning technologies and are powerful tools to instigate active learning, create motivation
and allow for meaningful play. In this talk, we discuss the role of games in learning. In particular,
we expose examples of games that have high educational potential and how they can be used
to foster learning and increase student engagement.
Bonita V. Saunders - National Institute of Standards and Technology
Adaptive Grid Generation, 3D Graphics on the Web, and a Digital Library
In May 2010 the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched the NIST
Digital Library of Mathematical Functions (DLMF). The DLMF and its associated hardcopy
version, NIST Handbook of Mathematical Functions, replaced the internationally known 1964
NBS Handbook of Mathematical Functions edited by Abramowitz and Stegun. More than 200 of
the over 600 figures in the DLMF are interactive 3D visualizations of complex functions. We
discuss the challenges of designing and rendering the visualizations using techniques from
mesh generation, computer graphics, and approximation theory to capture key function features
such as zeros, poles, branch cuts and other singularities. We show recent implementations of
the visualizations using WebGL, a JavaScript API for rendering 3D graphics in a web browser
without the use of a plugin.
Asya Spears - University of California, Los Angeles
A Method for Sample Size Estimation Making Use of Data from Pilot Studies
A typical convention for sample size calculations in pilot studies is the reliance on frequentist
statistical methods, which provide a sample size for each group, given an intended effect size
and power. These conditions are akin to assuming a flat prior distribution, and might be taken as
implying that the pilot study data contributes no information to the full study sample size
calculation beyond the point estimate obtained. This report will present the application of a
Bayesian method to address this issue. The Bayes framework will allow us to consider how the
observed effect size is selected from a distribution of effect sizes. This flexible framework has
the potential to lead to better-designed main studies that incorporate the information provided by
pilot study data.
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 31 Student Poster Session Abstracts
Leyda Almodovar - University of Iowa
Topological Analysis of Brain Data
Topological data analysis is a relatively new area that uses several disciplines in conjunction
such as topology, statistics and computational geometry. The idea behind topological data
analysis is to describe the “shape” of data by recovering the topology of the sampled space.
Also, it is useful to find topological attributes that persist in the data, helping us gain a better
understanding of how different properties of the data interact. Data was collected from fMRI
experiments with 96 subjects between the ages of 6 and 18, some of them predisposed to
Huntington’s disease. Data analysis is performed via different topological approaches including
clustering and persistent homology with the goal of identifying whole networks of points in the
brain. The main purpose of this work is to compare the structure of brain networks of healthy
subjects versus subjects predisposed to Huntington’s disease.
Elisa Bellah - Portland State University
Some Applications of Convex Optimization to Location Problems and Machine Learning
In this project we study convex optimization algorithms and smoothing techniques for solving a
number of problems in facility location and machine learning. These problems are particularly
challenging because they involve finding optimal solutions to problems with nondifferentiable
objective functions. When the objective function of an optimization problem is nondifferentiable,
traditional calculus-based methods cannot be applied. Our approach copes with this
complication by using generalized differentiation for nondifferentiable convex functions and
smoothing techniques to approximate the nondifferentiable objective function with a
differentiable one. We then use specialized subgradient-type algorithms and accelerated
gradient algorithms to solve the original nondifferentiable problem as well as its differentiable
approximations.
Jessica Bojorquez - East Los Angeles College
Solar Energy and Planetary Exploration
The purpose of this project was for MESA Community College students to research, design, and
build a solar power vehicle that can be used to understand how solar energy is used in
planetary exploration. Students applied mathematics and physics knowledge to their work and
worked together in teams to explore the essential question of how energy from the sun is used
to power robots that explore other planets.
Robert Callman - Portland State University
Linear Accelerators
My poster will cover math involved in linear accelerators used in radiation treatment for cancer.
32 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Student Poster Session Abstracts
Megan Chambers - Youngstown State University
The Toppling Polynomial of a Graph
In the 1980s, scientists began to investigate naturally occurring dynamical systems that drive
themselves to an unstable state. Through algebraic graph theory, mathematicians are able to
model these systems and gain more insight about what occurs when the system is unstable. In
2004 Cori, Dartios, and Rossin introduced the avalanche polynomial which tracks the size of
avalanches induced upon an abelian sandpile by adding one grain of sand to a vertex in the
graph. In this poster, we introduce the toppling polynomial on a graph which describes the exact
sequence of topplings need to stabilize the graph. We define the general form for this
polynomial for trees, complete graphs, cycles, and wheels. Unlike the more general avalanche
polynomial, the toppling polynomial provides information about the overall structure of each
avalanche. Through this polynomial we are able to gain insight about various toppling patterns
in families of graphs.
Mariángeles Rivera Collazo - University of Puerto Rico at Cayey
Avian Influenza Type A-H5N1 Epidemiological Model: Puerto Rico as a case study.
Our research focused on Avian Influenza Type A-H5N1, specifically on an epidemiological
model centered in Puerto Rico. My main goal is to address the following hypothesis: first, to
determine the outbreaks of this disease in Puerto Rico using as a base the location of the
poultry industry as a hub, we are using Pollos To-Ricos in the town of Aibonito, but I am
interested on the repercussions of the infection in human-human interactions. The second
hypothesis centered on the possibility of vaccination to mitigate an epidemic among humans. In
order to address the hypothesis mentioned and further ones we will construct a mathematical
model and use two different set of parameters according to two cases that involve how the
poultry is raised and managed by industrial companies. Hence, our third focus is the comparison
of the parameter values in a case where the poultry is raised free-range (organically) or
massively overcrowded in a factory. My research will specifically target the spread of this
particular disease, to investigate possible alternatives to mitigate the spread using measures
such as treatment, immunization and the importance of educating the public or community to
prevent the spread of the disease.
Kayla Echols - Spelman College
Escher's Tessellations and the 17 Wallpaper Groups
Many chemists and physicists know and use the fact that there are only 17 possible “wallpaper”
structures; many do not know why. This research aims to give an uncomplicated description of
how wallpaper patterns, defined as periodic 2-dimensional tilings of a pattern over a plane
where there is no overlapping or gapping, are classified. Here we will use group theory and
linear algebra to note an inconsistency in Morandi’s definition of a lattice as well as observe how
to classify wallpaper patterns by lattice type, group actions, and whether or not they obtain a
split group extension.
Diana Hamideh - East Los Angeles College
Engaging Students to Learn Math Through the Art of Video Games
There has been an amplified importance on developing and testing new teaching methods in
math for children over the recent years. Through an event sponsored by the Mathematics,
Engineering, Science Achievement Program (MESA) at the East Los Angeles College titled the
“Art of Video Games”, I was fortunate to meet with one of the panel speakers, the CEO of 7
Generation Games, Mrs. AnnMaria De Mars. 7 Generation Games specializes in the creation of
educational video games to help teach children math. With the help of the program director for
MESA, and my persistence, I was offered a summer internship with her company. During this
internship, I was in charge of creating the mathematical concepts for the games. I also produced
several mini math movies that were used in the video games. To aid the children playing the
video games, I created division charts as well as flash cards with fractions. I also gained
experience in computer programming by beta testing multiple games for bugs making sure that
everything worked as intended on different browsers and operating systems. At the end of the
internship, I completed work on two video games. This internship helped me to discover new
methods to creatively teach children math and I was able to work in an amazing environment.
April Harry - Purdue University
Statistical Testing for Differentially Abundant Ions in Mass Spectrometry Imaging
Experiments
A common goal for mass spectrometry imaging experiments is to identify changes in the spatial
distribution of chemical profiles with respect to tissue condition, such as an external stress or a
status of disease. Analysis methods typically employed in this setting, such as PCA and kmeans for class discovery, and classification methods for class prediction provide important
insight into which ions drive variation in the chemical composition of the tissue. However, class
comparison is another aspect of analysis that needs to be addressed, requiring different tools.
To this end, we propose a rigorous statistical modeling and testing framework based on
Empirical Bayes hierarchical linear models for determining differentially abundant ions across
sample conditions. We demonstrate that models from this class accurately represent arbitrary
complex experimental designs, in (1) structure of the conditions or stresses, (2) the origin of the
biological tissues, and (3) the within-tissue spatial dependencies in the quantified spectral
features. The performance of the models is evaluated on synthetic and benchmark datasets with
known stochastic structure, as well as real-life experiments studying fetal pig development and
renal cancer. Ultimately, we show that there is a reduction in false positives with this approach
when compared to naïve methods.
Jami Jackson - North Carolina State University
A Comparison of DMET Microarray and Genome-wide Technologies by Assessing
Population Substructure
Symptoms usually last 7 to 10 days; therefore, symptomatic students will remain at home or in
their dorms, away from the main student population. The model was developed to assume a
semi-constant population because the majority of OSU students are non-commuter and live on
campus.
Nadeeshani Jayasena - University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Spatial Analysis of Non-Normal Data
Analyzing non-normal data is a developing area in statistics since J.A. Nelder and R.W.M.
Wedderburn introduced the concept of generalized linear models (GLM) in 1972. Non-normal
data frequently arise in spatial studies. The objective of this study is to analyze spatially
correlated count data in the presence of a spatially correlated covariate using PROC GLIMMIX
(SAS 9.3). The covariate was considered to be strongly correlated with count data. There were
5 treatments with 5 replications for each. These treatments were applied according to a
completely randomized design on a 5x5 arrangement of plots. Another 3x3 grid of points within
each plot were created so that there are 225 points. Two strongly correlated random variables
were randomly generated, each with spherical correlation structure from a Gaussian distribution
using the method of Gaussian cosimulation. The response variable was transformed into a
Poisson variable with different means for the 5 different treatments while the other variable was
transformed into a Gamma variable with no treatment effect incorporated. Both transformations
used NORTA (Normal to Anything). A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was used to
estimate the covariance effect and test for the significance of treatments. Results were
compared for analyses with and without covariate. As expected, the power of the analysis was
improved when the covariate was included in the GLMM models.
Grace Lim - California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Persistent Random Walk of Microorganisms in a Porous Medium
Microorganisms such as bacteria and algae typically live in complex porous environments like
soil and biological tissue. It is challenging to characterize accurately the movement of
microorganisms under these conditions for their motion is neither completely random nor fully
deterministic. For our project, we develop a persistent random walk model for the motion of
swimming cells in an idealized lattice-like porous medium. The walk is described by a Markov
chain in phase space, tracking both position and velocity. Physical parameters, including the
overall geometry, bulk flow, and scattering laws, are incorporated into the memory-dependent
transition amplitudes. Based on this simplified model, we analyze the drift and diffusion of the
microorganisms through the medium. From the fundamental matrix of the Markov chain, we
numerically compute first passage time in MATLAB for square and honeycomb lattices to
determine the effects of lattice structure on microbial transport.
Crystal Mackey - Youngstown State University
Modeling the Spread of an Infectious Disease in a Semi-closed Environment
In 2014 there were several mumps outbreaks in colleges and universities across the United
States. We focus on the mumps outbreak at Ohio State University (OSU). A model was
developed to represent the student population at OSU. This model has two sub-models.
Estefania Quinones-Melendez - University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Development of the Puerto Rico Nearshore Breaker Height Model
Marine conditions in Puerto Rico can change quickly as intense swell events arrive. This factor,
in combination with a strongly seasonal cycle in wave heights, is accountable for an average of
25 beach drownings per year. The most dangerous risks for beachgoers in Puerto Rico are
strong surfzone currents caused by wave-induced pressure gradients. Through numerical
modeling, a description of surfzone current patterns was developed for Palmas del Mar Beach
and Jobos Beach, two of the most dangerous beaches in Puerto Rico. The numerical
simulations were conducted using the BOUSS2D wave model, an ocean wave model based on
Joseph Boussinesq's two-dimensional equations. Taking into account the influence of wave
height and wave period on the mean and maximum surfzone currents, a quantitative
representation of how these two varying factors affect the strengthening of surfzone currents
was achieved. In addition, a breaker height assessment tool based on the Simulating WAves
Nearshore (SWAN) wave model was developed for Puerto Rico in an effort to warn beachgoers
and lifeguards of potentially dangerous breaker height levels.
Mariela Resensez - Arizona State University
STEM Class and Science Club for Middle School Students
Youth involvement with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is not as
active in low-income and predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. The objective of this work is to
work closely with the established STEM class at Lowell Elementary in Phoenix, AZ and to
further develop engineering skills and mindsets with middle school students. The students were
mentored by college students and the main project for the group of students was the Future City
Competition for the fall semester and for the spring semester, the school added the Science
Club once again and the students participated in the Mathematics, Engineering and Science
Achievement (MESA) competition. Through surveys and observations, there was a significant
difference of interest between the students that were placed in a class setting versus those
willing to spend their own time to participate in the club. The presence of college mentors was
impactful, for all the teams (max. 6) received a mentor that worked one-on-one with them. The
greater exposure to higher education and engineering allowed students to comprehend the
projects and become open-minded about STEM careers.
Stephanie Reyes - California Institute of Technology
Lattice-based Fully Homomorphic Encryption
Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) allows for basic arithmetic operations to be performed on
encrypted data without compromising security. The first FHE scheme was devised by Craig
Gentry and is based on lattices. Lattice-based FHE is promising because encrypted data are
given by vectors which one can perform usual vector operations on, and because schemes can
be made secure based on the difficulty of certain lattice problems. In these schemes, however,
performing many operations may append noise to the data to the point where decryption is no
longer accurate. Because of this, FHE requires “bootstrapping” when performing operations on
encrypted data in order to control noise. Although still far from implementable, FHE could have
applications in cloud computing and medical research because sensitive data can be
manipulated while still encrypted.
Diana Rosendo - University of California, Berkeley
A Feminist of Color Approach to Defining Success in Mathematics Education
With a very low representation of students from marginalized communities in higher level
mathematics courses and mathematics-related careers, we consider how mainstream
definitions of student success (based on grades, test scores, course-taking patterns, etc.) in
mathematics affects how students perceive themselves in relation to mathematics and in turn
deems this population “unsuccessful.” The methodology for this project was to explore explicit
and implicit definitions of success based on what researchers wanted students to get out of their
mathematics courses. We reviewed mainstream/dominant mathematics education articles and
articles/chapters written by faculty who had long histories of studying marginalized students.
Then we used theories from feminists of color to give new interpretations of how students and
researchers negotiate and resist dominant discourses to provide alternative ways to define
success for students of marginalized communities. The questions investigated were: How are
mathematics researchers defining success? In what way(s), if any, are their definitions of
success related to theories put forth by feminists of color who have focused more exclusively on
issues of identity and liberation? What implications, if any, does focusing on identity and
liberation have for improving the teaching and learning for students of marginalized
communities? We find that it is through social agency and the ability to negotiate different
contexts that students, teachers and researchers are able to define mathematical success
beyond standard definitions. These findings and future work can help the latter groups assist
students in having a more positive image of themselves in relation to mathematics.
Raven Smith - Spelman College
Using Graph Theory to Minimize Aircraft Usage
Graph theory is the study of graphs, which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise
relations between objects. Graph theory also presents several ways for data to be more
efficiently organized and shared. A graph is made up of points, called vertices, and lines, called
edges. A graph can be used for solving a number of problems including scheduling conflicts and
scheduling assignments. The research question posed is: What is the minimum number of
aircraft needed for a number, n, of flights from one city to another? Vertex coloring and the
greedy coloring algorithm were useful in determining the minimum number of aircraft required to
complete n flights from Atlanta, Georgia to New York, New York (LaGuardia airport). To aid in
answering the research question, the Greedy Coloring Algorithm was implemented to create a
proper coloring graph. The steps of the algorithm were followed in determining the fewest
possible colors which correlated to the fewest aircraft needed. Further explorations with the
greedy coloring algorithm consist of finding the minimum number of aircraft needed for an
infinite number of flights.
Yilin Wang - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Statistical Analysis of the Extinction time of a Stochastic SIR Epidemic
We consider an epidemic spreading through a population where each individual can be
susceptible (S), infective (I), or recovered (R), and we track the number of individuals in each
state as time progresses. In contrast to the deterministic case which is modeled by systems of
ordinary differential equations (ODEs), we consider infection and recovery to be stochastic
(random) events. Interest is in the (random) time T at which the epidemic dies out. If the initial
number of infective individuals is low, T may have a bimodal distribution: some instances of the
epidemic will die out early, and some will spread throughout the population before dying out
eventually once most individuals have recovered. We take a Bayesian approach to determine
the shape of this distribution, using the theory of branching processes and ODEs to obtain a
sensible prior distribution, and updating it via simulation.
Nicole Ware, Melanie Harrison, and Elizabeth Langley - Lewis University
Linear Regression and Sum of Squares Using MATLAB
Linear regression attempts to find the best fit line for a set of data points. The sum of squares is
used to calculate the variance and standard deviation of a data set and is modeled by the
equation: Sum of Squares =
!
!!!
𝑦! −
! ! !
. In statistics, you can then calculate the sum of
squares using the explained sum of squares and the residual sum of squares. Using the sum of
squares you can then determine the slope of the best fit line and the intercept of the line giving
you the equation in slope-intercept form. We will model this process in MATLAB and show the
results in our poster presentation.
38 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is a dedicated group of volunteers who are responsible for the planning
and implementation of IPC.
Alejandra Alvarado is an assistant professor of mathematics and graduate
coordinator at Eastern Illinois University. Dr. Alvarado earned her Ph.D. from
Arizona State University, an M.S. from the University of Arizona and a B.S.
from San Jose State University. Her research interests lie in number theory
and diophantine equations. She has been involved with the EDGE summer
math program as a student, mentor and instructor. In her spare time she
enjoy eating, running, and spending time with her family, especially her
daughter who will be graduating from the University of Arizona this summer.
Denise Natasha Brewley is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at
Georgia Gwinnett College in the School of Science and Technology. Her
current research projects include effectively redesigning undergraduate
introductory mathematics courses, namely Pre-Calculus, using the flipped
classroom model; understanding how communities of practice are developed
for students in mathematics spaces; and creating significant learning
experiences for students taking undergraduate mathematics courses. Dr.
Brewley is also the co-director of the Mathematics in Action Scholars Program,
a summer mathematics enrichment program for academically talented or
motivated middle school students. She earned her doctorate at the University of Georgia in
Mathematics Education. Other degrees include a Masters of Science in Applied Mathematics
and Masters of Business Administration in Finance from Clark Atlanta University and a
Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics from Spelman College. Her hobbies include cooking,
running, practicing yoga, and dancing.
Camille Daniel was born and raised in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
Camille received her BS degree in Mathematics at Spelman College and
then pursued a MAEd and MS in Applied Mathematics at Virginia State
University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA Tech),
respectively. Always having an interest in the applications of mathematics,
upon leaving VA Tech, Camille worked at NIH in NIDDK’s Laboratory of
Biological Modeling using mathematical models to study the mechanisms of
oscillatory electrical activity arising from ion channels in cell membranes and modulated by
intracellular chemical processes. Currently, Camille is at the Johns Hopkins University Applied
Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) where she applies her mathematical background in leading
multiple analysis efforts of Navy systems and algorithm evaluation, as well as analytical efforts
in understanding and responding to cyber vulnerabilities on various Naval platforms. She has
served on several Navy operational staffs as the JHU/APL liaison in a technically focused
analytical position, supports various STEM and diversity efforts within JHU/APL and in her
community, and was recently awarded one of the 2015 Black Engineer of the Year Trailblazers
award, which is no easy feat as a mathematician. Camille is a member of various
mathematical, engineering and national defense organizations.
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 39 Steering Committee
Pamela E. Harris is a Mexican-American Assistant Professor of
Mathematics at the United States Military Academy (USMA), a Davies
Research Fellow at the Army Research Lab at Adelphi, MD, and will join the
faculty of Williams College in the fall of 2016.. She received her Ph.D. from
the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in May 2012 under the guidance of
Dr. Jeb Willenbring. Her research interests focus on combinatorial problems
related to representation theory and more recently she has begun work on
problems in analytic number theory, as well as mathematical biology. Dr.
Harris is firmly dedicated to improving diversity and retention rates among women and minorities
in the mathematical sciences by committing time to organizing scientific symposia during the
national SACNAS conference and helping organize the Infinite Possibilities Conference.
Tasha Henneman has been in the Early Childhood Education field for over 15
years supporting parents, children and early childhood professionals with
information related to child care, child development, parenting and a myriad of
topics. Dr. Henneman received her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies from
CSU Chico, then moved to CSU East Bay, where she received her Master’s in
Public Administration with an emphasis in Public Management. During this time
Dr. Henneman developed a passion for organizational change and human
behavior theory within the workplace, specifically, job satisfaction and managing
and understanding the generational divide in an organization. In May, 2014 she graduated from
Mills College with a Masters and Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership in Early
Childhood. The focus of her research explores the experiences of parents who have Black boys
that were expelled or 'pushed out' from several early child care environments and the impacts of
the expulsions on the entire family. Dr Henneman’s areas of research interest are child
development projects that emphasize the importance of play; issues of social justice; and efforts
to close the achievement gap, particularly with consideration to Neurobiology (including
Temperament Theory and trauma), Critical Race Theory, gaps in the teacher workforce, and the
High Stakes (Testing) Accountability Movement, and the spiral push-down effects onto ECE and
school readiness.
Fern Hunt was born and raised in New York City and is a product of the public
school system. Her mother was a clerk for the New York City Department of
Welfare and her father was a mail handler with the U.S. Post Office. Her
interest in science developed when her mother gave her a chemistry set for
Christmas. Fern was not particularly interested in mathematics in elementary
school but thanks to an 9th grade algebra teacher and later on, reading a book
about the lives of mathematicians, she decided to become a mathematician.
She majored in mathematics at Bryn Mawr College and then went on to
graduate school at New York University's Courant Institute, where she earned an M.S. and PhD
in Mathematics. Dr. Hunt has held teaching positions at City College of New York, University of
Utah, and Howard University. Her research areas been primarily dynamical systems, stochastic
modeling and its applications. In 1991 she joined the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) as a research mathematician. In 2000 her research at NIST was recognized
when she received the Arthur Flemming Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science. She
has received research support from the National Science Foundation, NIH and NIST and has
been an invited speaker at a number of conferences. In 2005, she was a keynote speaker at the
very first Infinite Possibilities Conference, held at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.
Lily Khadjavi received her bachelors degree, cum laude, from Harvard
University, and her PhD in Mathematics from the University of California,
Berkeley. She is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles, having spent time as a visiting scholar at the
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; U. C. Berkeley; and the John
Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, New York. Her interests range from
algebraic number theory to the use of statistics in social science, and she is
working on an analysis of LAPD traffic stop data, focusing on the issue of
racial profiling. Committed to civil rights advocacy, Dr. Khadjavi serves on the
boards of the Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition (a Black LGBT organization in Los
Angeles) and Building Diversity in Science.
Emille Davie Lawrence is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the
University of San Francisco. After receiving her B.S. degree in Mathematics
from Spelman College in 2001 and her Ph.D. in Mathematics in 2007 from the
University of Georgia, she went on to become a postdoctoral fellow at the
University of California, Santa Barbara and spent one year as an Assistant
Professor of Mathematics at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Dr. Lawrence’s mathematical interests include braid groups and their
representations, mapping class groups, as well as other topics in geometric
group theory. Her long-term career goals include becoming a tenured professor of mathematics
and working to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented groups who study
mathematics at the graduate level. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her
husband and daughter, Greg and Margot, with Baby Boy Lawrence due to arrive in early March
2015. She also loves going to the gym, practicing ballet, and attending live music performances.
Tanya Moore a native of Berkeley, CA, received her doctorate training in the
field of Biostatistics at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to attending
UC Berkeley, Dr. Moore obtained a B.S. degree in Mathematics from
Spelman College and a Masters in Science and Engineering from the
Mathematical Sciences Department at The Johns Hopkins University. After
completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biostatistics at the
University of California, Los Angeles, she returned to her hometown where
she worked with the Berkeley’s Public Health Division to address health
inequities. Currently, Dr. Moore works as the Education and Youth Services
Specialist for the City of Berkeley. In this role she works with City
departments, Berkeley Unified School District, UC Berkeley and community
organizations on joint initiatives to close the academic achievement gap that persists in
Berkeley public schools. Tanya is one of the creators of the Infinite Possibilities Conference and
is a member of the Building Diversity in Science Board of Directors.
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 41 Steering Committee
Candice Price received her doctoral degree from the University of
Iowa, an MA degree from San Francisco State University and a BS
from California State University Chico. A native of California, Candice
is currently an Assistant Professor and National Research Council
Fellow at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New
York. Dr. Price is also a co-organizer for the Underrepresented
Students in Topology and Algebra Research Symposium (USTARS),
a conference dedicated to furthering the success of
underrepresented students. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and all
aspects of Rugby (playing, watching, coaching).
Karen Ríos-Soto is an Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics at the
University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez. She received her doctoral degree from
Cornell University in 2008 and her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from
UPRM. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Mathematical,
Computational and Modeling Science Center at Arizona State University. Her
research interests are in mathematical epidemiology, the modeling of
disease dynamics, population biology, and social dynamics. Her most recent
interests include studying the impact of particulate matter such as PM10 in
lung diseases and estimation of epidemiological parameters from disease
data, in particular for dengue fever. She has ample experience in the development of students
through educational, research, and mentorship activities from the undergraduate to the doctoral
level. She has supervised undergraduate research for more than 25 students, has mentored 2
MS students, and is currently supervising 2 master level thesis at UPRM. She has been
involved with the REU-Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute at ASU for more than 11
years. She has participated there as an undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty, and
for 2010 - 2012 as the summer director.
Nagambal Shah is currently professor Emerita of the Spelman College
Mathematics Department where she has served for more than forty years.
She received her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Masters in
Statistics from India and M.S. and Ph.D. from University of Windsor in
Ontario, Canada. Several of her students have gone to graduate school
and received Ph.D.s in Statistics/Biostatistics from institutions like MIT,
UNC Chapel Hill, University of Maryland, U.C. Berkeley, University of
Birmingham Alabama, Rice University, NC State University, and SUNY. In
2001 she coordinated and hosted at Spelman College the first StatFest, a
one day conference aimed at encouraging undergraduate Minority
students to pursue careers and graduate studies in statistical sciences; StatFest continues to be
a major activity of the ASA’s Committee on Minorities in Statistics. In 2005 she spearheaded the
efforts to host and obtain funding for the first Infinite Possibilities Conference. She is an
advocate for diversity in graduate education, especially for minorities and women, and received
the 2001 Martin Luther King Jr. Community service Award for Excellence in Education and
Diversity from Emory University. In 2003 she was selected as a SENCER (Science Education
for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities) faculty by AAC&U for her course CHANCE,
which was selected as one of four featured SENCER Models. She is the 2005 recipient of
Spelman College Presidential Award for College Service, the 2006 Vulcan Materials Co.
Teaching Excellence Award, and 2014 True Blue Award. She is a Fellow of the ASA, was a
member of the Leadership Support Council and vice chair of the awards committee of the ASA
(2010-2012), and has also served as the chair of the ASA’s Committee on Minorities in
Statistics.
Priya Shilpa Boindala joined Georgia Gwinnett College in Fall 2010 as an
assistant professor of Mathematics. She received her bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in mathematics from India. She came to the United States
in 2003 to pursue her doctorate in applied mathematics from Tulane
University. She believes, “an introductory course, taught well, can stir
students’ interest in further learning,” and that “an advanced course, well
designed and taught, can increase students’ understanding and help them
visualize applicability, possible future research avenues or job
opportunities.” She believes that a teacher can facilitate such opportunities
in the classroom and beyond. In this regard she continues to work with her
colleagues on various projects on campus and is currently involved in two
course-embedded and SoTL research projects. Her interests are in
Mathematics Education, course re-design, Mathematical Biology and curriculum development.
In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her toddler, cooking and sketching.
2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference 43 Thank You!
IPC 2015 would not have been possible without the vision and commitment of Sastry Pantula,
Dean, College of Science, Oregon State University.
We want to extend a heart-filled thank you for the efforts from our local host, Oregon State
University, and in particular to the Local Organizing Committee, Kim Garcia, Rachel Williams,
Sarah McKay, and Jackie Thorsness and to the many dedicated volunteers from the
Mathematics and Statistics Departments.
Local Organizing Committee
Mina Ossiander, Co-Chair
Lan Xue, Co-Chair
Vrushali Bokil, Tom Dick, Heather Kitada, Juan Restrepo, Holly Swisher, Kalei Titcomb and
Charlotte Wickham. Additional thanks for significant help from many others and gratitude to the
Math Department office manager, Deanne Wilcox.
Short Course Organizing Committee
Directed by Helen Chamberlin, Mathematical Biosciences Institute
Scientific Committee:
Renee Moore, North Carolina State University; Knashawn Morales, University of Pennsylvania;
and Kim Weems, North Carolina State University.
Additional support from:
Helene Barcelo, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute; Vrushali Bokil, Oregon State
University; and Laura Kubatko, Ohio State University
Building Diversity in Science Board of Directors
E. Carmen Torres, President
Directors: Joy Alafia, Marsha Harrison, Lily Khadjavi, Frederick Moore, Tanya Moore, Cory
Nicholas and Ayanna Reed.
44 2015 Infinite Possibilities Conference

Infinite Possibilities Conference - College of Science

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