Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

The journal Research in the Mathematical Sciences has selected a paper coauthored by Georgia Tech mathematicians Matthew Baker and Joseph Rabinoff as one of the inaugural recipients of its Best Article Award.

The journal recognized the paper – titled “Lifting harmonic morphisms I. metrized complexes and Berkovich skeleta” – as outstanding and highly influential. Other authors are Omid Amini, of CNRS, Paris, and Erwan Brugallé, of Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris.

“The paper provides a piece of foundational work that is useful in many areas of mathematics.”

The article is about finding algebraic functions between algebraic curves. Algebraic curves are one-dimensional shapes defined by polynomial equations. For example, X² + Y² = 1 defines a circle.

“In some sense, algebraic curves are well understood,” Baker says. He is a professor in the School of Mathematics and associate dean for faculty development in the College of Sciences. “But the theory is very rich, and there’s still a lot we don’t know about them.”

The essential idea of the paper is to chop algebraic curves into simpler pieces and then keep track of two things: which pieces are connected to what others and which pieces of one curve are sent by the function to what pieces of another curve.

“It turns out that this method is enough to recover a lot of information about the original pairs of curves and the function between them,” says Rabinoff, an associate professor in the School of Mathematics. “One subtlety is that the whole construction is carried out in an exotic context called “Berkovich spaces” and their skeleta, which arise naturally in number theory.”

“The paper provides a piece of foundational work that is useful in many areas of mathematics,” Baker says. “For example, it has become an important tool in a relatively new area called tropical geometry. It is also the starting point for studying wildly ramified functions between algebraic curves. This topic is of interest to several groups of mathematicians around the world.”

Research in the Mathematical Sciences, launched in 2013, is an international, peer-reviewed hybrid journal covering the full scope of theoretical mathematics, applied mathematics, and theoretical computer science. The journal launched the Best Article Awards to celebrate its fifth anniversary.

SoM Awards Best of 2019

For graduate students the Best of 2019 awards were:

• Top Graduate Student:
  • Marcel Celaya,
• Best TA:
  • Alex Hoyer,
• Best PhD Thesis:
  • Chi Ho Yuen,
• FESTA Fellowship:
  • Stephen McKean,
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship:
  • Sarah Collins and Michael Wigal.
• SIAM Students Chapter Certificate of Recognition 
  • Jiaqi Yang

For outstanding TAs the awards were:

• Outstanding Undergraduate TA: 
  • Talha Khawaja and Wilson Ly
• Outstanding Math Lab Tutor: 
  • Marc Harkoenen and Jorge Viquez
• Outstanding Student Evaluations: 
  • For Spring 2018 - James Anderson, Catherine Chen, Sally Collins, Kisun Lee, and Shu Liu. 
  • For Fall 2018 - Diego Granizo, Jarad Hosking, Stephen McKean, Jack Olinde, and Jad Salem.

The CTL Awards 2019

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Awards for 2019 are:

• SoM Graduate Student Instructor of the Year: Marcel Celaya 

• SoM Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year: Hangfan (Frank) Li 

The institute-wide teaching award went to one of SoM's UTA's (Undergraduate Teaching Assistant) as well.

• CTL and SoM Undergraduate Teaching Assistant of the Year: Sebastian Fernandez

Sebastian was also featured in a news article for his online MATH 2552 Video Series on YouTube.

CoS Awards

There were several SoM undergraduates recognized in the CoS awards as well:

• Mathilda Avirett-Mackenzie, a recent graduate with a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Mathematics, is the recipient of the A. Joyce Nickelson and John C. Sutherland Prize.
• Steven Creech, a third-year mathematics major with a concentration in pure mathematics, is the recipient of the Mehta Phingbodhipakkiya Undergraduate Memorial Scholarship.
• Daniel Gurevich, a third-year triple major in mathematics, physics, and industrial and systems engineering won the Roger M. Wartell, Ph.D., and Stephen E. Brosette, M.D., Ph.D. Award for Multidisciplinary Studies in Biology, Physics, and Mathematics.

Georgia Tech and the College of Sciences celebrated 10 students for excellent academic performance during Georgia Tech’s 2019 Student Honors Celebration, on April 16, 2019, and the College of Sciences Spring 2019 Advisory Board meeting on April 18, 2019.

The student awardees are 

• Mathilda Avirett-Mackenzie 
• Katherine Roberts
• Alli Gombolay
• Dominic Sirianni 
• Steven Creech
• Daniel Gurevich
• Rebecca Durham
• Connor Huddleston 
• Tommie Robinson
• Kenneth Williams

Read the full story here.

Mathilda Simone Avirett-Mackenzie was born in Boston but grew up in Atlanta. For as long as she can remember, Georgia Tech had been an important part of her life.

Because her father, Kenneth Mackenzie, was a member of faculty in the Georgia Tech College of Computing until 2003, Mathilda grew up cheering for the Yellow Jackets while being encouraged to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects. No surprise that she developed a passion for science and mathematics at a young age.

While attending Atlanta Girls’ School, Mathilda spent two summers as an intern at the Materials Analysis Center, then a part of GTRI. Working there strengthened her love for STEM.

Through Georgia Tech’s Dual Enrollment program, Mathilda took college courses during her senior year in high school. That experience nailed her decision to attend Tech. “Actually experiencing the classroom environments here and walking around campus daily gave me unique insight into Georgia Tech culture,” she says. “I liked what I saw.”

Mathilda is the 2019 winner of the A. Joyce Nickelson and John C. Sutherland Prize, awarded to a top student in the College of Sciences studying at the intersection of physics and mathematics.

What is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?

I learned to never, ever give up.

I've struggled academically, personally, and socially. At times I felt like I couldn't possibly succeed. At times I couldn't imagine making it to graduation. And yet here I am, about to graduate with highest honors.

I don't think I really knew what to expect when I started here. Georgia Tech has given me the most challenging, the most rewarding, and the most fun experiences of my life. I don't even regret the many bad experiences I've had here. They have taught me my most vital skills of tenacity and courage in times of hardship.

What are your proudest achievements at Georgia Tech?

I'm the first author on a paper that is now in peer review in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, which is amazing. Papers are a big deal for undergraduate researchers. It's great to see the payoff from the past three years of work.

I got an A in a class I'd previously failed. In fact I went from struggling with motivation, class attendance, and performance to making straight A’s in my last four semesters.

Which professor(s) or class(es) made a big impact on you?

MATH 4317 (Real Analysis 1) is the only class I've ever failed. I took it in fall 2015, which was the worst semester I've had for many reasons including a death in the family. I was intimidated by the material and didn’t have friends in the class. I did not attend most of the lectures, nor did I do most of the homework.  

I learned that simply liking a topic is a terrible reason to pursue it, because the moment something happens to make it unpleasant there’s no reason to keep doing it. I concluded that the skills I was building with the math degree were too valuable to throw away because of one bad class in a tough semester.

I tried again in fall 2016, taking the class with Professor Christine Heitsch, who remains to this day one of my favorite instructors. This time I had the determination and diligence to succeed, as well as my professor’s support.

I had to work incredibly hard both to stay on top of my coursework and to overcome my fear of a repeat failure. It all paid. When I checked the final grades, I cried when I saw that I'd earned an A in the class I'd previously failed.

I thank Professor David Ballantyne for being an awesome research advisor. We've been working together for three years on a project designing and testing models of active galactic nucleus evolution.  He taught me nearly everything I know about being a good scientist. He challenged me, but remained supportive. He believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. I hope to be as good a mentor to young minds when I'm an experienced researcher.

What is your most vivid memory of Georgia Tech?

During my first semester, I took Honors Physics 2 with Professor Shina Tan. He is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and the class is one of the most difficult I’ve ever taken. His assignments were so difficult that it took all students working together to make a dent.

For a homework on special relativity, I got together with friends in Clough Commons. We quickly filled up one of the rolling whiteboards with calculations. But before we got to a meaningful result, we heard that a larger group was working on it in Howey Building.

To keep the progress we had made, we sneaked the whiteboard out of Clough and wheeled it all the way up to Atlantic Drive to Howey. We carried it down the steps to a lecture hall and proceeded to fill up the entire lecture hall board and the board in the one next door before finally finding the answer.

It was my first college all-nighter and probably the last time I actually had fun doing tedious calculations.

In what ways did your time at Georgia Tech transform your life?

It was at Georgia Tech that I first truly felt a sense of community.

I was a bit of a loner growing up, often perceived as weird and nerdy, and picked upon. I never really felt like I belonged anywhere.

Within my first week at Georgia Tech, that aspect of my life changed. I discovered the Georgia Tech chapter of the Society of Physics Students, a group dedicated to physics education, community, and Super Smash Bros. For the first time, I was surrounded by people whose interests were similar to mine, who were as nerdy as I was, and who accepted me for who I was and wanted to be my friends anyway.

This group is something unique and special about the Georgia Tech School of Physics. I would encourage every incoming student interested in physics to check it out.

What unique learning activities did you undertake?

I spent three years working on a research project. I also did an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) with Professor Heidi Newberg at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in summer 2017.

Research experience is indispensable for any science major planning on graduate school. My advice is start as early as you can. Learning the techniques and ways of thinking that go with research is so valuable, even if projects do not achieve results.

In January 2019, I attended the American Astronomical Society meeting. For the first time, I felt the energy and excitement of seeing innovations in my field. It convinced me beyond a doubt that astrophysics is what I want to pursue in my career.

I was an undergraduate teaching assistant in the School of Mathematics for six semesters. I love working with students, which is why I think I might make a good professor someday.

I also did a study abroad. In 2015 I was in Paris and Nice for the French LBAT. The adventure launched me to a French minor. I made lasting friendships and learned to travel by myself.

During long weekends, I explored Europe. I traveled to Slovakia, where I learned how to manage in a place where I didn't speak the language and most people didn't speak English. I visited a friend in Denmark, where I had the most confusing dinner of my life, as the conversation rapidly shifted between Danish, French, and English.

I went with a group to Chamonix, to see largest glacier in France. For the first time, I stood at over 10,000 feet from sea level. I popped champagne by a pristine mountain lake and learned that every day is leg day in Chamonix.

In Nice, I stayed with a host family that spoke very little English. I learned how to communicate effectively in French.

Studying abroad was one of the most fun, scary, challenging, and incredible experiences of my life.

What advice would you give to incoming undergraduate students at Georgia Tech?

Go to class. Even if you’re late, getting half the lecture is better than none of it, and it’s easier to get back on track after one or two absences than after a month. It’s also good exercise in self-discipline and diligence.

Don't give up your dreams just because you failed at something the first time you tried it. College isn’t a race. Everyone will find their own path to their degree and their career.

Georgia Tech is notoriously difficult. There's no shame in dropping a class or even failing one and retaking it. If you remain focused on your goals and keep fighting to achieve them, you will be successful in the end.

Where are you headed after graduation?

I'm headed for graduate school, but where exactly is still up in the air. If I have to get a job for a few years and then apply again to Ph.D. programs, that's okay, too.

If I've learned anything at Georgia Tech, it’s tenacity and versatility. I know that even if I don't achieve my goals immediately, I am 100% capable of working hard enough to make it happen eventually.

Editor's Note: This story was modified on April 26 to update Kimberly Short's professional status. 

The monthly series "My Favorite Element" is part of Georgia Tech's celebration of 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, #IYPT2019GT. Each month a member of the Georgia Tech community will share his/her favorite element via video.

Kimberly Short is a physicist. She earned her B.S. degree in the University of Arizona and M.S. degree in the University of California, Los Angeles. She is finishing her Ph.D. under the supervision of School of Physics Professor Kurt Wiesenfeld and expects to defend her dissertation in summer 2019.

"Mendeleev's periodic table is a triumph of human pattern recognition," Short says. "He had the foresight to leave holes in his periodic table for theretofore undiscovered elements. Using patterns in the elements in his table, he was able to make predictions of the properties, such as chemical behaviors and masses, of these undiscovered elements"  

Short was formerly the assistant director of the Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology (SCMB). SCMB is one of four NSF-Simons Research Centers for Mathematics of Complex Biological Systems (MathBioSys). The other three are the Center for Mathematical and Statistical Analysis of Biology at Harvard University, the Center on Multiscale Cell Fate at the University of California, Irvine, and the Center for Quantitative Biology at Northwestern University. 

Her favorite element is .... Watch the video!

Renay San Miguel, communications officer in the College of Sciences, produced and edited the videos in this series. 

Other videos in this series are available at https://periodictable.gatech.edu/.

March 2019: Elayne Ashley, scientific glass blower

February 2019: Amit Reddi, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry

January 2019: Jeanine Williams, biochemistry major and track star

Growing up in Alpharetta, Georgia, Bryson Graham Kagy thought he wanted to be an engineer because his father is an engineer. He did robotics summer camps and joined the robotics team of his high school, Milton High School. Although he enjoyed science and engineering, Bryson realized that what he enjoyed most about science and robotics was the mathematics.

As it happened, one of his high school teachers – Beau Chilton – was “passionate about and encouraged me to learn more about math outside the classroom,” Bryson says. This motivation led Bryson to pursue a mathematics degree in college.

“I initially was not that excited about Tech,” Bryson says. “Growing up near the school made me think it wasn’t as good as it really was. I thought I would not meet new people, because lots of people I know would be going here.”

Bryson now acknowledges how wrong he was. “I love the academic environment and community at Georgia Tech,” he says. “The people here are very nice and support and want to help each other.  And there are so many research opportunities, academic talks, and professional opportunities.”

What is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?

I learned the importance of hard work. I didn’t think would take as much work as it actually does to learn math.

I remember getting at 38 on my first analysis test and then really studying hard for the second test, and got an 85!

I am blown away by how much the students want to help each other succeed here. I love how not competitive the environment here is and the sense of solidarity within small classes to try and get everyone to succeed.

What are your proudest achievements at Georgia Tech?

I am proud to have served as president of Club Math for two years. I love that club. I hope it continues to support math students for years to come.

I am proud to have posted two research papers to arXiv. It feels great to have a tangible finished product from your work.

I am proud to be part the team that created Mathapalooza and the Seven Bridges of Königsberg concert. Both are mathematics outreach projects that I helped create with a team and Dr. Evans Harrell. I loved showing the public a glimpse of higher mathematics.

Which professor(s) or class(es) made a big impact on you?

Dr. Michael Lacey made the biggest impact on me. I had him for Foundations of Mathematical Proof, which was my first exposure to higher mathematics. He was my research advisor for my first research project. We have since done a reading course together and planned a new course curriculum and materials. He has given me invaluable guidance both professionally and for life in general. His support and mentorship is what has made it possible for me to pursue my passion in mathematics.

I talked to Dr. Mohammad Ghomi almost daily during coffee and tea times. He made me feel welcome and boosted my confidence about approaching professors.

Dr. Enid Steinbart gave me lots of support and advice. She let me know about lots of opportunities and cared about my well-being. 

What is your most vivid memory of Georgia Tech?

Some of the most enjoyable times are the breaks between homework with my friends. Once, after we finished our homework, we played bridge at 1:00 A.M. It was so much fun to play with them into the late hours of the night. I have had a lot of fun hanging out with friends. I will miss them.

In what ways did your time at Georgia Tech transform your life?

Georgia Tech is where I met my fiancée. It is also where I truly realized my passion as a mathematician. I can’t wait to take the skills and knowledge Tech has given me and continue my studies in math in graduate school.

What unique learning activities did you undertake?

I participated in two research experience for undergraduates (REU) programs, at Georgia Tech and at Carnegie Mellon. They cemented my love for mathematics research. I loved learning a specific topic deeply and being in an environment where I could just focus on research and immerse myself in math.

I highly recommend anyone thinking about research to apply over the summer to REUs.

What advice would you give to incoming undergraduate students at Georgia Tech?

Work with other people. When I got here, I did the work for my classes all by myself, because I thought it would make me understand the material better. I have found the complete opposite to be true. 

Working with others has made me understand material more deeply, because you can get different perspectives on the problem, as well as explain to each other parts of the material the other person didn’t grasp as well. It also gives you collaboration skills, which you will need in your career. Lastly, it is a great way to make friends, because working on homework together into the night is great way to bond.

Where are you headed after graduation?

I will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Mathematics in Michigan State University.

Georgia Tech has prepared me with its rigorous classes, research experience, and opportunities to present my research at conferences. All of these will help me succeed in graduate school.

The earliest memories of Hunter Andres Vallejos were his love for mathematics. He remembers becoming aware of negative numbers back in kindergarten. What was a kindergartner to make of a number less than zero?

Hunter’s parents were not mathematicians: his mother is a businesswoman and his father is an optometrist. But his love for mathematics was further cultivated by growing up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In a city rich in the history of the Manhattan Project, Hunter attended a school system that was exceptionally strong in the sciences and mathematics. He took many advanced placement classes while at Oak Ridge High School.

It was during high school that Hunter first experienced pure mathematics, which involved building a program to generate the Mandelbrot set in Java. “If you have never seen it, just look it up,” Hunter says. “It is remarkable how such beauty can come from complex numbers.”

For Hunter, The strongest draw to Georgia Tech was the student body. “There was a real passion for learning and growth which I found lacking at other universities,” Hunter says. “I honestly felt that the student body was genuinely interested in what they were learning – so much so that they would even spend spare time on projects for fun!

“Being able to make a joke about calculus and everyone on campus understand it is a very special thing – I will miss it.”

What is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?

I learned responsibility. I learned to balance a budget; file my taxes; balance my schoolwork, hobbies, and personal time; and build professional connections that will lead to future opportunities.

What are your proudest achievements at Georgia Tech?

I achieved many scholarly goals, such as being first author on a scientific publication, doing many research internships, getting all A’s while taking four graduate math courses at a time, etc.

But my proudest achievement was the opportunity to affect students as a teaching assistant in the School of Mathematics. Reading the anonymous reviews by students every semester always warms my heart.

My favorite part of teaching was when a student began to see the beauty and scope of mathematics in its entirety – the mysterious deep connections between algebra, geometry, and topology; the problems that arise when one wants to talk about infinity; and the insight that comes from generality.

Which professor(s) or class(es) made a big impact on you?

Professor John Etnyre and Dr. Caitlin Leverson had an enormous impact on me. The many topology and geometry classes I took from Professor Etnyre and Dr. Leverson’s mentorship in my research activities at Georgia Tech have shaped me as a mathematician, thinker, and person. I am very thankful for their mentorship and good example.

What is your most vivid memory of Georgia Tech?

My most vivid memories come from the inordinate amount of time I spent ballroom dancing. I competed in places like Baltimore, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; and Raleigh, North Carolina. The team is full of my closest friends. We had so much fun between dancing, board game nights, and our studies!

How did Georgia Tech transform your life?

Georgia Tech has made me an independent and capable thinker. The rigor of Georgia Tech’s academics creates some of the most sought-out talent by graduate and professional schools, as well as employers. I never felt held back at this university. It has enabled me to pursue my aspirations to their full potential.

What unique learning activities did you undertake?

I interned at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for two summers. In one internship, I developed a method of validating the forecast accuracy of feed-forward artificial neural networks. In the other, I published a scientific paper in a peer-reviewed journal on an agent-based model of wealth inequality.

As part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program of the School of Mathematics, I did research in Legendrian knot theory. Moreover, I received the President’s Undergraduate Research Award (PURA) to continue this research throughout my senior year.

The problems I worked on and the mentors I worked with have intimately shaped me as a thinker.

What advice would you give to incoming undergraduate students at Georgia Tech?

Find and build a support group of friends, whether that be in clubs or intramurals. They will be there for you in times of need, and you need to be reminded that there are more important things in life than your career and grades.

Learn the importance of good diet and sleeping habits to learning and why you shouldn’t stay up all night studying for an exam only to fall asleep while taking it.

Do not cram! Even if you can pass the test after cramming, you will remember none of the material, and this will hamper your success in future classes that depend on what you learn now. Learn how to study every week by completing exercises or by going over lecture notes.

When I did this, I found that all I needed was a few hour refresher before taking my final exams – which is nice when you see everyone else spending unhealthy amounts of time cramming for final exams.

Where are you headed after graduation?

I am continuing my studies in the Math Ph. D. program at the University of Texas, Austin. Georgia Tech has developed in me the mathematical maturity necessary to thrive in a school like UT Austin. I don’t think that such a great Ph. D. program would have been within my reach had I studied elsewhere.

Students in the School of Mathematics at Georgia Tech are known for their strong scientific background, motivation, hard work, academic potential, and for their love of organizing!

In Fall 2019 a new student run group, the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) Undergraduate Student Chapter will be coming to SoM for the first time. Here are some of the other math groups in SoM that are student run:

Club Math

Club Math is a social organization for students at Georgia Tech with an interest in mathematics. We meet weekly to discuss problems and puzzles, play games, and learn about interesting topics beyond the scope of what is taught in the classroom. Throughout the coming semester, we plan on expanding our catalog of activities to include crafts such as mathematical knitting and origami, talks organized and presented by Club Math students, and occasional events such as movie nights.

SIAM Student Chapter

Student chapters of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) are organized at colleges and universities to encourage the promotion of applied mathematics and computational science to young mathematicians. Student chapters provide opportunities to share ideas, learn about careers in applied and computational mathematics, and develop networks with faculty and fellow students.

The Georgia Tech chapter organizes a weekly student seminar and organizes/takes part in a yearly conference involving the other student chapters of the Southeast.

AMS Grad Student Chapter

American Mathematical Society's Graduate Student Chapters enhance opportunities for students to make contacts with students and faculty at their own or other institutions, interact with more established mathematicians, discover career opportunities, sponsor social functions for the mathematical community, find assistance for attending AMS meetings, and engage in outreach efforts to local middle and high schools.

Graduate Student Brainstorming Sessions

The brainstorming sessions were piloted in Fall 2017 and have continued ever since, offering graduate students to relate their research struggles within a relaxed and collegial atmosphere. 

Going forward, graduate students will be working with the SIAM Student Chapter to organize these sessions, with the help of Molei Tao.  

AWM Grad Student Chapter

The Association for Women in Mathematics chapter at Georgia Tech was chartered in 2016 by Samantha Petti and Cvetelina Hill. AWM programs inspire and empower individual students, faculty, and researchers and works to bring about institutional and societal change benefiting all. Membership is open to everyone.

Actuarial Club 

The goal of the Actuarial Club at Georgia Tech is to assist prospective and practicing actuaries from the Georgia Tech community enabling them to come together to help one another find resources, give guidance, and make new contacts.

Student Run Seminars

There are also several student run seminars that are active.

• Student Algebraic Geometry Seminar
• ACO Student Seminar
• Geometry Topology Seminar
• Research Horizons Seminar
• Dynamical Systems Working Seminar

Every year, Georgia Tech welcomes students who compete at the Georgia Tech High School Math Competition. Accompanied by teachers, coaches, and parents, the participants represent high schools from around Georgia and nearby states. Around 40 volunteers from among the Georgia Tech faculty, staff and students helped with registration, proctoring, and grading.

Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, the High School Mathematics competition was a huge success. In 2018, over 250 students from 37 high schools competed in this annual Georgia Tech tradition, dating back to 1958. This year, the 2019 competition challenged over 300 students from 43 high schools to complete the competition’s four exams in such topics as algebra, geometry, combinatorics, number theory, and basic calculus.

The top 59 students from the free response exam were invited to take part in a proofs exam during the afternoon in order to determine the individual winners.

Team Rank

1rst Place: Walton High School Team A

2nd Place: Fulton Science Academy Team A

3rd Place: Chamblee Charter High School Team A, Northview High School Team A (TIE)

5th Place: Asheville Homeschool Team A, South Forsyth High School Team A (TIE)

Individual Winners

1rst Place: Holden Watson (Fulton Science Academy Private School)

2nd Place: Russell Emerine (Walton High School)

3rd Place: Darren Key (Walton High School)

Two SoM graduate students, Sarah (Sally) Collins and Michael Wigal, have been awarded the prestigious NSF GRFP (National Science Foundation Graduate Reasearch Fellowship Program) fellowships. 

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. 

The fellowship offers a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance, opportunities for international research and professional development, as well as the prestige from winning one of the most competitive fellowships one can get in the sciences. 

Sally and Michael are two of the only three Georgia Tech College of Science graduate students to recieve an NSF GRFP fellowship this year. 

Sarah (Sally) Collins is a second year PhD student who recieved her B.A. in Mathematics from Boston College in 2015. Sally studies low-dimensional topology and geometry with a special interest in Khovanov homology and braided surfaces.

Michael Wigal is a first year student in the ACO (Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization) program working with Professor Xingxing Yu. Michael's research interests lie in graph theory and partial orders.

Previous NSF GRFP fellowships at SoM:

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

• 2011 Sarah Fletcher
• 2015 Anna Kirkpatrick & Joseph Walsh
• 2016 Justin Lanier & Samantha Petti
• 2019 Sarah Collins & Michael Wigal