Matthew Badger
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research:
mbadger@math.washington.edu
I am a new graduate student in the Mathematics Ph.D. program at UW. Prior to coming to Seattle, I completed a B.S. in Mathematics, and a B.A. in Political Science, both at the University of Pittsburgh. Politics is an interest. Math is a passion. While my research area is of course undecided, my interests broadly lie in the fields of number theory, combinatorics and probability theory. My temporary advisor is William Stein. I am currently serving on the VIGRE website committee.
Rebecca Bengtson
Department:Statistics
Area of Research:
rebeccab@u.washington.edu
I am a first year graduate student in the Department of Statistics with an interest in environmental statistics. Prior to beginning my graduate studies, I have worked with oak savannah prairie restoration (in central Wisconsin), as well as being involved in research at NOAA’s National Marine Mammal Lab in Seattle. I have a BS in Statistics from the University of Washington. I am currently involved with the undergraduate mathematical sciences seminar committee.
Ryan Card
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research: Stochastic Analysis
card@math.washington.edu
I'm a fifth year graduate student in the Department of Mathematics. My research interests are in Stochastic Analysis, and I'm currently working on diffusions with second-order boundary condition known as Wentzell's boundary condition. I'm a student of Chris Burdzy.
Walker Carlisle
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research:
walkernc@math.washington.edu
I am a first-year math student at UW. I have a BS in Chemical Engineering and a BS in Mathematics, both from Texas A&M University. I am interested in PDEs and various aspects of analysis and algebra, and I'm currently trying to narrow my focus so I can choose an approachably specific area of research. With VIGRE funding, I plan to spend my extra time investigating possible research areas and making progress towards choosing a thesis topic. Right now, I am working on VIGRE's Data and Evaluations Committee.
Jennifer Chunn
Department:Statistics
Area of Research:
chunn@stat.washington.edu
I graduated with honors from Cornell University in 2002 where I majored in Biometry and Statistics. Prior to pursuing a Ph.D. in Statistics at University of Washington, I gained further experience in applied social statistics while working as a market research analyst and also as a research support specialist, where I developed a microsimulation model and performed other analyses related to disability and employment public policy.
Chris Curtis
Department:Applied Mathematics
Area of Research:
curtchr@amath.washington.edu
Michael Decker
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research:
mdsd@math.washington.edu
Bill Dickerson
Department:Applied Mathematics
Area of Research:Numerical Analysis / PDE
dickrson@amath.washington.edu
I am a third year student in AMath. I received my BS in the ACMS program from UW in 2004. I have interests in numerics (tsunami simulation), digital signal processing (acoustics), and non-linear waves. This year I chair the Data & Evaluation committee. Prior to grad school, I worked as a programmer/analyst, a touring musician, and somehow became a Master Electrician along the way.
Anton Dochtermann
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research: Topological combinatorics
antondoc@math.washington.edu
I am a sixth year grad student in math studying the topology of graph maps. Prior to grad school I was an undergrad at UC Berkeley where I had some hobbies like photography and playing the clarinet. As a VIGRE fellow I serve as chair of the website committee and also help organize the student combinatorics seminar.
Julia Eaton
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research:
jreaton@math.washington.edu
Jonathan Gruhl
Department:Statistics
Area of Research:
gruhlj@stat.washington.edu
I am a first year graduate student in the Statistics program at UW. Prior to returning to school, I worked in the quantitative analytics group at a large fund of funds in New York. My professional experiences also include consultant positions in management consulting and financial advisory services as well as internships in the quantitative groups of a hedge fund and an automated trading firm. In terms of academic background, I graduated with a BS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford and later received a MS in Mathematics in Finance from NYU. Along with students from the math department, I am currently a member of the VIGRE website committee.
William Kleiber
Department:Statistics
Area of Research:
wkleiber@stat.washington.edu
I graduated from the University of Iowa with a BS in mathematics in May 2006, and am currently in my first year in the Washington statistics department. Along with a couple other VIGRE students, I am involved with the undergraduate mathematical sciences seminar committee.
Matthew Korson
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research:
mjkorson@math.washington.edu
I am a first-year graduate student in the Department of Mathematics interested in combinatorics and algebra. I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BS in Mathematics in 2006. I am currently serving on the VIGRE Problem of the Week committee.
Alex Lenkoski
Department:Statistics
Area of Research:
Lenkoski@stat.washington.edu
I am a first year graduate student in the statistics deparment. I did my undergraduate work at Amherst College, where I studied mathematics and economics. Afterwards I worked for an economic consulting firm in Boston where I analyzed the effects environmental regulations would have on the industrial producers, specifically focusing on the automobile and electricity markets. In my free time I'm an avid cyclist and frisbee player.
Jacob Lewis
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research:
jacobml@math.washington.edu
I am a third-year graduate student in Mathematics Department. My advisor is Professor Charles Doran. My primary interests are algebraic geometry and mirror symmetry. I earned undergraduate degrees in mathematics from Columbia University and in modern Jewish studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and I earned a Master's degree in math education from The City College of New York. As part of my VIGRE fellowship, I am organizing a seminar that brings members of the Math and Physics departments together to discuss mirror symmetry and supersymmetry. I am also on the Undergraduate Math Seminar committee and the PIMS-VIGRE committee.
David Lovit
Department:Applied Mathematics
Area of Research:
dlovit@amath.washington.edu
I'm a first year graduate student in Applied Math. While I have not yet chosen an area of research, I am interested in nonlinear waves. I am from Maine and graduated from Swarthmore College. I am on the VIGRE website committee.
Kurt Luoto
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research: Algebraic Combinatorics
kwluoto@math.washington.edu
I earned a BS in mathematics from Sonoma State University in California many years ago. After a brief 23 year stint as a software developer in the Silicon Valley, I returned to school and earned an MS in mathematics from California State University, Hayward. I arrived at the UW in 2004 and am now in my third year of the PhD program. My (co-)advisors are Sara Billey and Isabella Novik. I am currently studying algebraic combinatorics; in particular, quasisymmetric functions, matroids, their Hopf algebras, and the decomposability of matroid base polytopes. As my VIGRE activity, I help administrate the Combinatorics Seminar, including running the pre-seminar aimed at undergraduates and others with less experience in combinatorics. I also serve on the VIGRE Distinguished Lecturers committee. Other than that, VIGRE funds will facilitate my transition to the research phase of the program, by giving me long periods of time to "think deeply about simple things".
Uldarico Muico
Department:Applied Mathematics
Area of Research:
um@amath.washington.edu
Michael Nivala
Department:Applied Mathematics
Area of Research:
man9@amath.washington.edu
I am a third year graduate student in Applied Mathematics. I received my BS in mathematics from UW in 2004 and received my MS in applied mathematics from UW in 2006. My research interests are in Hamiltonian dynamical systems and nonlinear waves. I am a new VIGRE fellow and I am currently serving on the undergraduate projects committee.
Christine Oehlert
Department:Statistics
Area of Research:
ccbo@stat.washington.edu
Matt Patterson
Department:Applied Mathematics
Area of Research:
mpatters@amath.washington.edu
I was born in Illinois, but grew up mostly on the West Coast. I have been attending the University of Washington for a while now, and hope to attend for a while longer. The coolest thing in the world is my eleven-year old son Keegan!
McLean Sloughter
Department:Statistics
Area of Research:
seamusmclean@gmail.com
McLean is a fifth year graduate student in the department of Statistics. He is currently studying probabilistic weather forecasting under Tilmann Gneiting and Adrian Raftery. His other academic interests include clustering and undergraduate teaching. He is the current student coordinator for the VIGRE Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences Seminar, and the student director of the UW Statistics Tutor & Study Center.
Larissa Stanberry
Department:Statistics
Area of Research:
lstan@stat.washington.edu
I am a fourth year graduate student at the Department of Statistics with a background in math (MS from St.Petersburg State University, Russia). I am interested in mathematical and statistical methods for medical image processing and analysis. Though this is my first fellowship from VIGRE, I have been provided with travel funding twice in the past which allowed me to attend a medical imaging meeting (ISMRM) in 2005 and a statistical conference (Interface) in 2006. As a VIGRE fellow this year I am involved in organizing the distinguished lecturer series and am part of the PIMS - VIGRE committee.
Melissa Vellela
Department:Applied Mathematics
Area of Research:
tmbgnut@amath.washington.edu
I am a third year student in Applied Math, working with Prof. Hong Qian. We compare deterministic and stochastic models of general chemical reactions in open and closed settings. I grew up in Boston and got my BA in pure and applied math at Boston University.
Micah Warren
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research:PDE
mwarren@math.washington.edu
I graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, and am now in my sixth year of the Ph.D program in mathematics at UW. I'm studying nonlinear partial differential equations with my advisor, Yu Yuan. I will be continuing the "Topo-Geo" seminar, beginning in the winter quarter.
Catherine Williams
Department:Mathematics
Area of Research:Differential geometry
cwilliam@math.washington.edu
I'm now entering my 5th year in the math Ph.D. program at UW. My advisor is Dan Pollack, and my area of research is differential geometry -- in particular, general relativity. Among other things, I am studying the analytic properties of certain models for evolving black holes. Before coming to UW, I did my undergraduate work at Grinnell College (in Iowa) and briefly worked for the evil empire (Microsoft). Outside of math, I am the drummer for a rock'n'roll band and am learning to play the accordion.