Eliana Hechter: Not "Just" a Rhodes Scholar

UW Mathematics major Eliana Hechter made headlines last year when she was selected as a Rhodes Scholar at the age of 18. While certainly impressive on its own, this prestigious award is also the culmination of a noteworthy undergraduate career.

Four years prior to winning the Rhodes Scholarship, Eliana began her university career at the age of 14. After initially entering through the UW's Early Entrance Program, she studied abroad in Rome and took part in a marine biology research apprenticeship at the Friday Harbor Labs before setting her sights on mathematics as her field of study.

Eliana Hechter with UW President Mark Emmert and Provost Phyllis Wise at a scholarship recognition reception.

It was at Friday Harbor that she first caught the math bug. One element of the apprenticeship was an abstract mathematics course taught by Biology Professor Gary Odell, who used mathematical concepts to illustrate real-world occurrences in a way that was fascinating to her. Eliana didn't just take an interest in the subject; she even went so far as to revise the lecture notes in order to make them more accessible to those not as familiar with mathematics. Once the apprenticeship was over, she plunged into mathematics, taking as many courses as possible.

By March of 2004, Eliana's study in mathematics was strong enough to earn her the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. This scholarship, in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater, is designed to assist outstanding students in the pursuit of a career in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.

Propelled by the Goldwater and continuing to seek out as much in the way of mathematics study as possible, her path would soon lead her to the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, led by Mathematics Professor Jim Morrow (see article on page 8). After he had met Eliana in his Honors Advanced Calculus class, Prof. Morrow discovered that not only was she taking his course, but a senior-level algebra course as well. Impressed by her outstanding performance in his course and the ease at which she handled both courses simultaneously, he invited her to participate in REU.

Eliana's participation in REU was supported by a Phelps Fellowship, a departmental award made possible by an endowment established in 1999 by Professor Bob Phelps and Elaine Phelps.

Following REU, Eliana began her senior year in autumn of 2005. Still an undergraduate, she nevertheless had progressed to the point where all of her mathematics courses were at the graduate level. Beyond this, she also began to take on more duties, this time as a teaching assistant for the Honors Calculus (Math 134/135/136) sequence.

"She was very enthusiastic, energetic, and ambitious, too," Professor Steffen Rohde recalls. "She often encouraged me to challenge the students, for instance with an occasional more difficult homework problem, explaining that she liked those challenges herself when she took that course."

The autumn of 2005 also brought the Rhodes Scholarship's strenuous interview process. Yet even during this, atop her teaching and graduate courses, Eliana elected to cap her exemplary undergraduate career with the writing of her senior thesis. Entitled "Explorations in cohomology" and starting as an exposition of the Quillen stratification theorem, it evolved into an exploration into the theorem and related topics.

Professor John Palmieri, serving as her thesis advisor, enjoyed working with Eliana. Says Palmieri, "I was, and continue to be, impressed by her perseverance – both mathematically and personally when she's striving for something like the Rhodes – and her maturity and composure."

Looking back at her experiences at the Department of Mathematics, one of the things that impressed her was the accessibility of the faculty: "In the Math Department, I can pretty much knock on any professor's door about a problem I'm working on and he or she will be open to talking. The fact that the door is always open is really special. And the research opportunities here rival any I've ever heard of."

Finally, in June of 2006, Rhodes Scholar Eliana Hechter graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, also earning the Dean's Medal in Natural Sciences. The scholarship will fund up to three years at Oxford University. It serves as both a fitting cap to her undergraduate career at the UW, and a launching pad to her graduate future as she pursues her Ph.D. in mathematics. We at the Department wish her all the best in what is sure to be a brilliant journey into the frontiers of knowledge.

Mike Munz