Bryn Mawr College Mathematics Department

Professor John Bergdall teaching students how to win $1M at DMC last night. But in all seriousness, John talked about elliptic curves, the subject of both an elective he will be teaching this spring and the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, a Millenium Prize Problem. DMC is every Wednesday at 7 PM.

The first DMC student talk of the year was Natalie Meacham '19! She presented her summer REU research on extending memory in Markov chains. The Distressing Math Collective is a weekly meeting where students, faculty and alumnae present math in an informal and friendly setting. There are always snacks, and all are invited to stay for cards after the talk. This semester, DMC is every Wednesday at 7 PM.

Congrats to the class of 2018 math majors, plus Professor Leslie Cheng - Anassa Kata!

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Lexie Xinyue Zhang '18 (she/her) from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Favorite math class at Bryn Mawr: MATH303 Abstract Algebra with professor Melvin Why major in math? "Logical reasoning, proving, and being able to solve real world problems really intrigues me." Best part about being a math major? "Definitely the people, my fellow math majors and professor. A really close-knit and supportive family!"... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ About Xinyue ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fun fact: Xinyue was a Software Engineer Intern at Google in 2016 and at Facebook in 2017. Aspirations: "Software Engineering, Programming Languages Research in Type Verification, Finance, Management and Business."

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Nuoya Wang '18 (she/her) from Beijing, China ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Favorite math class at Bryn Mawr? Linear Algebra (with Prof. Peter Kasius) Why major in math? "Math can be applied to everything." Best part about being a math major: "No labs~"... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ About Nuoya ~~~~~~~~~~~ Fun fact: "I gave a DMC* talk with my partner!" Aspiration: "Studying business analytics in grad school." *DMC = Distressing Math Collective, a weekly informal mathematics colloquium that takes place every Thursday in Park 328! Snacks always provided.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Sanjana Sen '19 (she/her) from Kolkata, India ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Favorite math class at Bryn Mawr: Abstract Algebra Why major in math? "I realized it was the only thing I was good at, and that I should probably stop fighting my natural ability and trying to be an Econ major instead. And then after taking Transitions to Higher Math, I realized that I actually like math and it wasn't just something I happened to be decent at." Best part ab...out majoring in math? "The community. All the people I'm close to this semester are math majors--they are wonderful, fun, kind people and the support system is amazing." ~~~~~~~~~ Fun facts about Sanjana ~~~~~~~~~ - Hall Advisor - Radnor Hall - learned Indian classical dance for 8 years - frequents fitness studios - has the most extensive knowledge of Philadelphia restaurants of anyone you'll ever meet - lived in 3 countries - this summer she learned how to ride a bike in an hour and the next day she biked the entire Lehigh Gorge Trail and didn't fall down once ~~~~~~~~~~~ Sanjana's Aspirations ~~~~~~~~~~~ "I want to be really good at what I do. It's harder than you think."

DMC happening right now! We got pizza

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Dina Benedetto '18 (she/her), a senior from Jerusalem, Israel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Favorite math class at Bryn Mawr: Applied Mathematics - Why major in math?: "I love numbers"... - Best part of being a math major: "The Math community (professors, students, teas)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About Dina ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fun facts: - "I love rock climbing and working out." - "I am a triplet" - "I like chocolate. Food is my life" - "My favorite color is blue" Aspirations: "Be as accomplished as I can and travel :)"

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Nehel Shahid '18 (she/her) from Karachi, Pakistan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Favorite math class: "That's a tough one! I'd say Real Analysis I and II because proofing has changed the way I structure my thoughts now. Also, Computational Modelling because I love applying math to real-world problems and using code." - Why major in math? "Leslie Cheng <3 Weirdly enough, I almost failed one of my first calculus courses and she encouraged me to not ...Continue reading

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Rachel Miller '18 (she/her), from Pasadena, CA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Favorite math class: "All of them? Highest is probably one of the Math 295 electives in Spring 2017 - Codes and Cipher. Super fun!!!" Why major in math? "I realized I couldn't not take a math course, and math had been one of the few interests in high school that always clicked for me. When I got to Bryn Mawr, that interest grew, and by the end of my first year, I knew math ...was where I belonged. :)" Best part about majoring in math? "The super supportive community. Every professor I've had a class with in the department has pushed me farther than I thought I could go, encouraged me to do better, and given me all the tools and help I needed. The graduate students are amazing! The rest of undergrad students create an inclusive environment where anyone feels welcome. Also, DMC is awesome, and everyone should come to DMC every week (we have cookies!)." ~~~~~~~~~~~~ About Rachel ~~~~~~~~~~~ Fun facts: "I'm an avid reader always in search of a good recommendation (I like fantasy and mysteries in the style of Doyle or Christie). I like to build origami pieces, modular over single pieces, and my biggest piece to date involved 90 pieces. I have 3 puppies at home (Darwin, Galileo, and Marie Curie), and I will show anyone and everyone pictures of them." Aspirations: "Short-term: survive my final year in one piece. Succeed in recreating the 90-piece origami statue. Take a gap year after graduation (no idea what I will be doing during it - any suggestions will be considered!). Long-term: become a certified math teacher at the middle school or high school level."

Shots from last night’s BMC Math Department Poster Session! These students worked throughout the semester on various projects in Multivariable Calculus and Computational Modeling classes