News: page 6

Prof. Zajj Daugherty is the recipient of the 2021 Division of Science Excellence in Teaching, Curricular Innovation and Assessment Award. This award recognizes both the creativity and commitment of a full-time faculty member and the impact on student learning. Congratulations to Prof. Daugherty!

Mahameda Begum is graduating from CCNY in 2021 with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and a minor in Economics. She has been accepted to Teach for America!

Hear about it from Mahameda Begum herself!

My name is Mahameda Begum. I will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in June 2021, majoring in Applied Mathematics and minoring in Economics from The City College of New York.

I have always gotten a great deal of gratification from helping other people and knowing that my help could improve or change someone else's life. This quality in my character was sharpened by the most impactful mentors in my life, my high school teachers and college professors. I owe all of my academic and personal achievements to them. As a first-generation college student and recent immigrant from Bangladesh, I would not be on the educational path I am on if it wasn’t for the support and guidance I received from these caring individuals. They have also inspired me to channel my passion for helping others into a career path that will allow me to give back to students who face similar challenges that come from being a minority. That is why I am joining Teach For America, as a 2021 Corps member, a program that will provide me the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a classroom with students who come from underserved communities. While I continue to teach full-time, I will pursue a Master of Arts in Teaching at Relay GSE. So that one day I can give back to my community by being the best teacher I can possibly be.

I chose to study Applied Mathematics because I want to learn how math can be applied in real life and then teach it to my future students. I'd want to thank Prof. Joseph Bak for his guidance throughout my time at CCNY. I'd want to express my gratitude to Prof. Vladimir Shpilrain and Mr. Paul Clifford for providing me with wonderful recommendations for the Teach For America application process, as well as for their exceptional teaching talents. I'd also like to thank Prof. Brooke Feigon and Dr. Eli Amzallag for their outstanding lectures, and the list goes on. Finally, I'd like to thank Ms. Rhea Faniel for always being there to talk and give me guidance when I was having difficulty making career decisions.

Drs. Robert Aumann ('50), Herman Chernoff ('43) and Martin Davis ('48) were selected as Distinguished Alumni of CCNY on April 22, 2021. This event occurred during the Week of Science in order to honor the three mathematicians.

The​ Central Convergence Research Experiences for Undergraduates (CC-REU,www.cwu.edu/reu/CCREU) is a summer program with research across a broad range of mathematical topics including topology, number theory, applied math, probability, and statistics. Interlaced with the mathematical research projects are professional development training, seminars by guest mathematicians, and field trips to local sites. Students will give presentations at the CC-REU research symposium and produce a written report suitable for publication. Students will also be eligible for travel funding to present their results at regional or national mathematics conferences after the summer program. Given our current pandemic situation, CC-REU in 2021 will be conducted fully virtually. The program is a full-time eight-and-a-half-week summer research program, running June 28 – August 24, 2021.

Additional details:

Eligibility: The National Science Foundation requires every REU participant to be a US citizen or permanent resident. In addition, all participants must return to their undergraduate institution after the REU and be full-time undergraduate students in Fall 2021. We especially encourage students from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM and early career students (students with two or three years remaining of their degree) to apply. Participant support: Undergraduates accepted for this research experience will be eligible for a $5,100 stipend, additional weekly substance support that we are still working to finalize, and up to $1000 in travel funds to support travel to national research conferences in 2021-2022. Participant Expectations: CC-REU is a full-time eight-and-a-half-week summer research program. Student participants are expected to commit at least 40 hours every week the program is in session and, as such, should not commit to other activities (such as courses or part-time jobs) during the REU program.

Apply Now, applications will be reviewed beginning April 15th.

Contact us: If you have any questions regarding the CC-REU program at CWU, please contact us at brandy.wiegers@cwu.edu

Acknowledgment: The 2021–2023 CC-REU is currently funded by the NSF (DMS-2050692) and will expand on the previous programs funded by the MAA National Research Experience for Undergraduates Program (NSF DMS–1652506). CC-REU program is directed by Dr. Brandy Wiegers and Dr. Sooie-Hoe Loke.

Nazifa Taha is a senior applied mathematics major at CCNY. She is now a data analyst intern at NASA!

Hear about it from Nazifa herself!

My name is Nazifa Taha and I am a senior studying applied mathematics. My primary interests lie in applying data science, mathematics, artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in sustainability and climate science domains. Currently, I am an intern at NASA Headquarters and my primary role is to analyze data. I am working on a project with NASA mentors to build a standardized package to help Science Mission Directorate staff track their program statistics. My work is very rewarding because I am contributing to NASA Missions and learning to work with real life data which is a dream come true. I am seeing applications of Mathematics unfold in the real world.

I decided to study Applied Math because of two reasons. First, I enjoyed doing math problems and second, I wanted to learn how Mathematics is applied in our day-to-day life. I want to thank Prof. Gennady Yassiyevich for supporting me in my journey and for his excellent teaching skills. I was able to walk out of his lectures with competency and curiosity to learn more. I want to thank Prof. Jack Hanson for his continuous support and kindness in my endeavors. I also want to thank Jason Redman for always being there to chat and giving me advice whenever I was having a hard time in making academic and career decisions.

Lastly, to all the students – I want to share a message that continuously inspires me. “If you really want something, you're going to have to work hard, you'll have to take advantage of every opportunity but don't give up.” - Dr. Jane Goodall.