Students and faculty at the Elon Mathematics and Statistics Department attended and presented at MathFest, the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America on Aug. 5-8 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Elon University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics had a strong showing this August at MathFest, the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), held Aug. 5–8 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Four Elon students and five faculty members attended the conference, presenting research and scholarly work spanning mathematical biology, mathematics education, artificial intelligence and undergraduate research.
Student Accomplishments:
- Lisa Kranec ’28, a double major in applied mathematics and engineering and a Lumen Scholar, presented her research project, “Mathematical Modeling of Cardiac Macrophages in COVID-19,” during a poster session. Kranec is mentored by Associate Professor of Mathematics Hwayeon Ryu, and her research is supported by the National Science Foundation through an award to Ryu as principal investigator.
- Pagnapech Ngoun ’26, an engineering graduate, and Nicolas Alvarez ’27, a double major in mathematics and engineering and a Lumen Scholar, presented their published research in a poster titled “Mathematical Modeling of COVID-19 Reveals Immune Cell Dysfunction.” Their research presents findings from a mathematical model that accounts for interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and the human immune system. Ngoun and Alvarez are mentored by Ryu, and their work is also supported by the National Science Foundation through the award to Ryu.
Faculty Accomplishments:
- Professor of Mathematics Todd Lee gave a contributed talk titled “MAA Journal Problems Provide a Foundation for Undergraduate and High School Research Programs.”
- Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Kristen Mazur gave a contributed talk on her work titled “Same Course, Different Outcome: Reflecting on Failure after Success in a Mathematics Capstone Course.”
- Associate Teaching Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Brittany Riggs gave a contributed talk titled “An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Women throughout the History of Mathematics.”
- Associate Professor of Mathematics Hwayeon Ryu gave an invited talk titled “From Failure to Insight: Rethinking Writing-to-Learn through Projects in the Age of AI” during the special session “MAA Project NExT and its Impact on Teaching and Learning.”
- Associate Professor of Mathematics Aaron Trocki gave a contributed talk titled “Using GenAI to Include Students’ Interests in Calculus.”
The students’ and faculty members’ participation at MathFest highlights the department’s commitment to undergraduate research, innovative teaching and engagement with the broader mathematical community. Their presentations provided opportunities to share work developed at Elon while connecting with mathematicians, educators and students from across the country.