MSRI-UP 2016: Sandpile Groups
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Dr. Suzanne Weekes is a Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts. She received her PhD in Mathematics and Scientific Computing from the University of Michigan in 1995 and her undergraduate degree at Indiana University. At WPI, she has also served as the Director of the Center for Industrial Mathematics and Statistics (CIMS), and has led the NSF-funded WPI REU Program in Industrial Mathematics and Statistics for many years. Prof. Weekes is also a co-PI and co-director of the PIC Math program (Preparation for Industrial Careers in Mathematical Sciences) which is a program of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). She encourages students and faculty to watch the PIC Math Solving Real World Problems videos that highlight some research problems that mathematicians and statisticians encounter outside of academia.
Her research interests are in numerical
methods for PDES, spatio-temporal composites, industrial mathematics and
modeling. Prof. Weekes also served as the Lead Director of the 2011 MSRI-UP. She will be sharing this summer experience with her two daughters who are looking forward to living the west coast life. |
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Luis David García Puente, Research Director |
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Dr. Luis David García Puente was born and raised in Mexico City. He received his Bachelors degree in Mathematics from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 1999 and his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Virginia Tech in 2004. He has held postdoctoral appointments at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and at Texas A&M University. In 2009, he was a New Researcher Fellow at the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute. Currently, he is Associate Professor of Mathematics at Sam Houston State University. His research focuses on computational and applied algebraic geometry. He is an associate editor for the American Mathematical Monthly and the Journal of Algebraic Statistics. His professional activities are motivated by the need to increase the number of underrepresented students that pursue advanced degrees in mathematics and the sciences. He is an active member of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science and The National Alliance for Doctoral Studies in the Mathematical Sciences. He has directed research projects for 15 years, involving close to 100 undergraduate students in his work. Several resulting projects have culminated in award-winning student presentations and joint research publications. He is happily married and has three young daughters. |
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Ashley K. Wheeler, Post-doc |
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Dr. Ashley K. Wheeler is a post-doc in the
Department of Mathematical Sciences at the
University of Arkansas, where she is also the assistant faculty advisor
for Arkansas Women in Statistics and Math (AWSM). She received her PhD in Commutative Algebra
under Mel Hochster from the University of Michigan in 2014. In 2009, Ashley was one of the graduate
assistants for the MSRI-UP: Coding Theory session. Ashley was also a McNair Scholar at her
undergraduate institution, Kansas State University, and in the summer of 2008
she was the instructor for the quantitative reasoning portion of the program’s
GRE-prep course. Her current research
interests include local cohomology of Stanley-Reisner rings, and ideals
generated by the principal minors of a generic matrix. Ashley’s hobbies include playing bridge and sewing. She is a karaoke fanatic and also recently began learning to swing dance. |
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Natalie Hobson, Graduate Assistant |
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Natalie Hobson is a graduate student in the Mathematics Ph.D. program and Mathematics Education Masters program at the University of Georgia. Her research interests include algebraic geometry and students' thinking and reasoning in undergraduate mathematics. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Washington in Mathematics with a minor in Education and Diversity. She has been involved in many outreach programs in mathematics and loves working with students. When not doing math Natalie can usually be found riding her bike, swing dancing, or sewing. |
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Jacob Russell-Madonia, Graduate Assistant |
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Jacob Russell-Madonia is a second year Ph.D. student in the Department
of Mathematics at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. He received his BA
in Mathematics from California State University, Sacramento in 2014. His
research interests lie in geometric group theory, which aims to
study the relationship between groups and the spaces that they act on.
When not contemplating poorly drawn chalk board pictures, Jacob enjoys
gymnastics, martial arts, hiking and playing board games. |
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MSRI-UP 2016 Students
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Carlos Agrinsoni Santiago |
Diane Christine Alar |
Angel Burr |
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University of Puerto Rico, Cayey |
San Francisco State University |
University of Arizona |
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Ernest Castorena |
Jonathan Celaya |
Anna Comito |
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University of California, Berkeley |
Rice University |
Wesleyan University |
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Karlie Elliott |
Jennifer Garcia |
Micah Henson |
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Humboldt State University |
University of California, Berkeley |
Spelman College |
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Cecily Santiago |
Ruben Hurtado |
Tafari James |
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Mount Holyoke College
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California State Polytechnic University |
Haverford College |
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Casandra Monroe |
Drisana Mosaphir |
Dominika Palinko |
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Princeton University |
Harvard University |
University of California, Berkeley |
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Maleek Richardson |
Justin Rivera |
Ricardo Rojas-Echenique |
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North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University |
Wentworth Institute of Technology |
Reed College |