Bianca Viray
Padelford C-525 | Department of Mathematics | 206.543.7986

I am a firm believer in the axioms laid out by Federico Ardila.


Mathematical potential is distributed equally among different groups, irrespective of geographic, demographic, and economic boundaries.

Everyone can have joyful, meaningful, and empowering mathematical experiences.

Mathematics is a powerful, malleable tool that can be shaped and used differently by various communities to serve their needs.

Every student deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

Here are some resources that I've created or found helpful at various points during my career.


Communicating Mathematics Effectively

(In 2018, John Voight and I coorganized a Communicating Mathematics Effectively Workshop, which I later turned into a course that cotaught with Chris Hoffman. )

The Value of Mathematical Storytelling: Our Perspective on Giving Talks (joint with John Voight)
Slides on creating a storyboard
Slides from the first day of the workshop
Talk tips


Conference Listings


Arithmetic geometry, number theory, and algebraic geometry.


Software and Templates


Computer algebra software: Magma, Sage, Macaulay 2.
C.V. templates: mine and Ezra Miller's.
Website templates: Open Web Design and Start Bootstrap.
Text editors: TextMate and Sublime.


Academic Advice


Ten Lessons I Wish I Had Been Taught by Gian-Carlo Rota
Tips of giving talks by Jordan Ellenberg
How to Give a Good Colloquium by John E. McCarthy
Practical suggestions for mathematical writing by Bjorn Poonen
Advice for the Young Scientist by John Baez
Tips for asking for recommendation letters by Ravi Vakil
General advice: UC Davis, Bjorn Poonen, Ravi Vakil, and Terence Tao



Study Guides for the Qualifying Exam at Berkeley


MGSA's list of past qualifying exam questions.
My qualifying exam syllabus.
Past Princeton General Exams.