Who are the people that make MathILy-Er happen?
Mostly it's students (perhaps you?), but there are also
instructors (see below).
We are assisted by the members of our Advisory
Amalgam.
The program itself is a project of the nonprofit organization
Mathematical Staircase, Inc. which has a board of directors.
Dr. Alice Mark,
MathILy-Er director and Lead Instructor ()
Alice is a senior lecturer at Vanderbilt University. Her main mathematical interest is group theory, and her favorite kind of groups are reflection groups. She has assisted in several inquiry-based learning college classes, has presented at the Austin Math Circle, has worked with the University of Chicago Young Scholars Program, and was an Apprentice Instructor at MathILy-Er 2015 as well as a Lead Instructor at MathILy-Ers 2016--2022 and the director of MathILy-Ers 2019--2022.
Corrine Yap, Lead Instructor
Any second now Corrine will earn her Ph.D. from Rutgers University specializing in discrete mathematics. She graduated in May 2016 from Sarah Lawrence College, where she concentrated on both mathematics and theatre. Corrine continues to pursue her acting and playwriting interests; her main project is a one-woman show about Sofia Kovalevskaya that incorporates math, music, movement, and foreign languages (see her website for production photos!). She was the MathILy PRiME in 2014, a MathILy Apprentice Instructor 2015--2019, and a MathILy-Er Apprentice Instructor 2019--2022.
Dr. Tom Mainiero, Instructor (2022)
Tom is a mathematics faculty member at St. Joseph's University, Long Island. He has taught inquiry-based physics labs at UT Austin and Rutgers. Trained as a mathematically-oriented physicist but---being confused about the direction of time---his interests un-specialize with the generally accepted flow of its direction, working slowly toward an "undecided major." His current interests involve a mix of geometry, topology, quantum mechanics, category theory, computer science, and the mysteries of entropy.
Cathy Hsu, Lead Instructor
Cathy is an Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College after finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses primarily on congruences between modular forms and arithmetic statistics, both areas of algebraic number theory. Cathy was very active in the Association for Women in Mathematics at UO and supervised several undergraduate projects related to group theory and number theory as part of the AWM Undergraduate Reading Program. While she (sadly) never attended a summer math program as a student, Cathy is excited to be back at MathILy-Er.
Max Everett, Apprentice Instructor
Max is a graduate student at The Graduate Center at CUNY, where he is studying mathematics. Thus far, he is most interested mathematically in algebra, graph theory, and combinatorics. In his free time, he enjoys board games, sudoku, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, and Netflix. He participated in MathILy-Er 2016 and was a MathILy-Er Apprentice Instructor in 2021 and 2022.
Kimball Strong, Apprentice Instructor
Kimball is a mathematics graduate student at Cornell specializing in algebraic topology. When he's not doing math (and sometimes even when he is), he can generally be found singing or baking (or both). He's currently trying to teach himself how to swing dance while juggling (it's exactly as hard as it sounds). He was a MathILy PRiME in 2018 and MathILy-Er Apprentice Instructor in 2022.
Natasha Ter-Saakov,
Apprentice Instructor
Natasha studied mathematics (and computer science and education) at MIT and is now a graduate student at Rutgers University. She participated in MathILy 2014 and 2015 and MathILy-EST 2019 and was an Apprentice Instructor in 2021 and 2022. When she is able to, Natasha enjoys fire spinning. At home, she can be found baking and even occasionally assembling IKEA furniture.
Gabe Udell, Apprentice Instructor
Gabe is a student of math
who will dance and pick flowers on paths.
His school is Cornell,
which he finds to be swell;
he likes algebra, comb(inat)o(rics), and snacks.
Thea Rugg, Apprentice Instructor
Thea is a senior math major at Haverford College and will be starting her PhD in the fall, studying topology. She enjoys reading, practicing her German, and has recently taken up tap dancing. Thea has never been to MathILy-Er before, and is excited to spend her first summer in Pennsylvania.
Katherine Khiev, PRiME FACToR (Protector and Responder in the MathILy-Er Environment, Facilitator of Academics and CriTiquer of wRiting)
Katherine loves bubble tea (but needs non-dairy milk because she is lactose-intolerant), spicy foods, getting to know people, and spending time in nature. She has recently completed her teaching credential at CSULB and will begin the masters program in mathematics with an option in education at CSULB this upcoming fall. She is super excited to learn, explore, and play with math as her first time at MathILy-Er this summer!
Cameron Gavaler, PRiME FACToR (Protector and Responder in the MathILy-Er Environment, Facilitator of Academics and CriTiquer of wRiting)
Cam just finished his undergrad at Haverford college, and he will be starting graduate school at CUNY in the fall. He is primarily interested in discrete mathematics but often dabbles in algebra and geometry as well. He enjoys reading and playing any kind of board, card, or video game he can find. This is his first time working at MathILy-Er, and he's excited to start!
MathILy, MathILy-Er, and MathILy-EST are projects of the nonprofit organization Mathematical Staircase, Inc..