News: page 5

Zhi Heng Liu is graduating from CCNY in 2022 with a M.S. in Mathematics. He is going to move on to work on his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland at College Park.

Hear about it from Zhi Heng Liu himself!

I graduated from CCNY in Spring 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in pure mathematics and I’m finishing up my Master's degree Spring 2022. In Fall 2022, I am thrilled to begin my PhD in pure mathematics at the University of Maryland at College Park.

While at CCNY, I had the pleasure of working with many professors, and even participated in research projects through the Rich Summer Internship. In the summer of 2021, I worked with Prof. Wolf on rotation sets, and in the summer of 2020, I worked with Prof. Hooper on translation and dilation surfaces by gluing together polygons. It was over these two summers that I decided to embark on the journey to become a mathematician and forgo the idea of software engineering, for which I considered for the better half of my undergraduate degree. All this is to say that the math department at CCNY is incredibly supportive.

Before leaving CCNY, I wish to extend my gratitude to many other professors who have play a role in my mathematical journey: Prof. Wolf, Prof. Hooper, Prof. Feigon, Prof. Merenkov, and countless others.

Monika Cooney graduated from CCNY in 2018 with a B.A in mathematics and a M.S in mathematics in 2021. She is now working on her Ph.D at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Hear about it from Monika herself!

I graduated from CCNY with my B.A Mathematics in 2018 and continued to finish my M.S. at CCNY in 2021. I decided to continue pursuing my Ph.D. at the CUNY Graduate Center, where I’m just finishing my second semester. The journey to get where I am was not easy and I truly believe that success in mathematics is not about how “good” you are, but about how hard you work.

I initially thought I’d pursue a career in math education, which I did do for a year after I completed my B.S. While teaching, I remembered the conversations I had with Prof. Feigon, who was a wonderful mentor, and who had encouraged me to pursue my Ph.D. I also missed the academic environment where I could spend time learning new mathematics as well! In addition to that, my mother was a mathematician and provided a lot of inspiration for me growing up.

The pandemic has provided so many struggles with motivation and it was difficult to stay motivated, but I am glad to be where I am and look forward to continuing my Ph.D. My advice to any new student at CCNY would be to follow your heart and what you like to do. Work hard to pursue what you like and keep in mind that nothing comes without effort, but it’s all worth it. Life takes a lot of work, so it’s better to do things you like along the way!

My experience with the math department at CCNY was truly a wonderful experience. I want to thank Prof. Wolf, Prof. Steinberg, and Prof. Bak for their continuous support through my time at CCNY.

The AWM Math Club worked with the Physics Club to put together a graduation picnic in the Beaver Quad on campus. The weather was perfect for some time outdoors accompanied by some food and music!

Seth Foster is graduating from CCNY in 2022 with a M.S. in Mathematics. He is going to move on to work on his Ph.D. at the University of Florida.

Hear about it from Seth Foster himself!

This Spring 2022 semester, I am graduating from CCNY with my M.S. in mathematics. My goal after finishing my degree at CCNY is to eventually become a professor and stay in academia. I would like to focus primarily on algebra, set theory, logic, and combinatorics.

I got an opportunity to teach at CCNY for the Spring 2022 semester and it was truly a great experience that solidified my goal of becoming a professor.

I grew up in Barbados and always enjoyed mathematics, in particular, the level of precision involved. I spent a lot of time trying to learn about physics and quantum mechanics on my own, but I wanted to find out more about the mathematics in the books I was reading. Taking real analysis - a course solely dedicated to proofs - as an undergraduate at the University of the West Indies also contributed to my push to pursue a Ph.D. In my spare time I enjoy playing electric guitar and listening to music!

I want to give a special thanks to Prof. Hooper for working with me and constantly being available to meet with me to discuss new topics. Prof. Daugherty, Prof. Bak, and Prof. Wolf were also great mentors along my journey at CCNY. Special thanks also goes out to George Brathwaite - a fellow Barbadian - whom I always had great conversations with and who helped get me settled in the department.

Dahkota DeBold is graduating from CCNY in 2022 with a B.S. in Pure Mathematics and Physics. She is going to move on to work on her Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee!

Hear about it from Dahkota DeBold herself!

My name is Dahkota DeBold, and I am a graduating senior this spring and will start a Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee this Fall. I started at CCNY in the Fall of 2017 intending to pursue an undergraduate degree in physics. I was initially interested in physics because I wanted to eventually study general relativity and black holes. During my sophomore and junior years, I became more interested in math, especially multivariable calculus. I had the pleasure of being taught by a Ph.D. student, Bryce Gollobit, and Prof. Bianca Santoro. They both highlighted the beauty of math to me in a way I had never seen before, and thus, I decided to declare a double major in Pure Math and Physics.

Since then, I have taken a course in Differential Geometry with Professor Christina Sormani of Lehman College, which led to a year-long research opportunity in Computational Geometry with her and Professor Chen-Yun Lin. Through this experience, I got to develop a broader understanding of what it means to be a woman in mathematics and how I can fit into academia. I have also since realized that I can work on general relativity problems through mathematics.

My time at CCNY has been wrought with many obstacles, but my mentors in the math department have been amazing at encouraging me to achieve my best. Specifically, Prof. Bianca Santoro and Prof. Zajj Daugherty of CCNY and Professor Chen Yun Lin and Professor Christina Sormani of Lehman College have been amazing and understanding mentors. They have taught me that resilience and effort matter above all else, especially in math. Also, they have given me a community to be a part of and be supported by which is invaluable and just feels nice.

My friends and family have also been supportive of me in every step of my journey through my undergraduate. They have always wanted me to follow my dreams, no matter where they lead. I am truly blessed and thankful to have such wonderful, supportive people in my life.