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Otto Reed, Class of 2026
Why did you decide to major in mathematics?
When I was a prospective student I was the then-president of math club’s prospie. I remember sitting through her 209 lecture and truly having no clue what the class was about. I was really completely baffled anyone had any idea what was going on. I had never been exposed to something as utterly incomprehensible before and I think that the experience allowed me to see how little I actually knew. This feeling motivated me to start in IBL instead of the 180s physics sequence, even though I was still planning on being a MENG major. I really fell in love with math that first quarter. It helped that my physics and chemistry classes were fairly boring, but I found myself spending as much time on math as I could (often neglecting my other classes to do so). Strangely enough the tipping point for committing to a math major was learning the construction of the real numbers via Dedekind cuts. I remember struggling for days to grasp what exactly a real number was and there was an incredible sense of accomplishment once everything clicked. From that point forward it was just a matter of time before I formally switched to a math major.
What have been your favorite mathematics courses and why? (Feel free to include more than one!)
The first quarter of honors analysis, taught by Prof. Wilkinson, was a really eye-opening class. It was my first exposure to topological spaces, but it also was the course that convinced me I wanted to continue studying math after college. That class led me to take Prof. Calegari’s point-set which was really a wonderful course. The subject can seem pretty dry, but he really made it feel lively. To this day my favorite theorem is Brouwer’s characterization of Cantor spaces as a result of that class. When I took Prof. Calegari’s graduate algebraic topology class it felt like the second chapter in the topology saga. I just fell in love with the subject all over again. Even though it was a brutally difficult class (and he was not always the clearest lecturer) I was always impressed by his fluidity in geometric intuition. Watching him give relatively simple geometric proofs which seemed algebraically insurmountable was really inspiring. I’ve also done a number of reading courses that have been wonderful. The one I’m in currently with Prof. Masur on moduli space and hyperbolic geometry might be my favorite. It feels like the culmination of a two year journey in mapping class groups and a big step towards learning deeper mathematics.
Which electives have you taken, in mathematics or a related discipline, and why did you choose them?
I’ve taken quite a lot of math electives: the logic sequence, PDEs, riemannian geometry, complex analysis, point-set topology, manifolds, representation theory and Galois theory as well as some reading courses and graduate classes. There’s some story or another behind each class I took—I almost never took a math class simply because I had room in my schedule—but the overarching theme was I felt that, at the time I took the class, it expanded my mathematical foundations in some meaningful way towards a bigger goal. Occasionally I took a class just for mathematical culture, for instance Galois theory to see the Galois correspondence or computability theory to learn Gödel’s theorems, but typically I had a more advanced subject in mind that I wanted to learn the necessary tools for.
Share a story that reflects your experience as a mathematics major. What experiences have most shaped your academic or career goals?
I feel incredibly lucky to have made friends with a wide range of mathematics students with whom I’ve shared many memorable moments. My favorite story is from Prof. Csörnyei’s 209 class, which will probably go down as the most difficult class I took in my time in undergrad. She would assign five problems a week and it wasn’t unusual for there to be at least one that no one in the class knew how to do. It really felt like we were all in it together (the midterm average being a 23% also contributed to this feeling). Near the end of the quarter there was a particularly bad week where one of the problems seemed completely unsolvable. As it got closer and closer to the deadline for the problem set there were around seven of us on the A-level in various states teetering between despair and the feeling of lightness you get from filling out the form to switch majors to Business Economics. Ultimately, the most relevant thing we could find was an obscure paper from the 1940s on something called the Banach Indicatrix, which also happened to be in French. Of course, none of us spoke French, but desperate times called for dubious interpretations by Spanish speakers. We ended up with various levels of questionable proof, varying from sweeping a few key details under the rug to hand-waving so aggressively that we began to hover a few inches above the ground. In the end we had certainly failed in adequately solving the problem, but we had failed collectively. It was an experience of total collaboration. Looking back at all the moments I spent working on math, the most memorable and most significant were the ones that involved collaboration. I remember how enjoyable great teamwork was more than I remember individual problems solved. These experiences showed me that a big piece of why I want to pursue mathematics is the community.
What are your career or academic aspirations after graduation? (Ex. Do you want to pursue a career in industry, finance, or consulting? Do you want to study Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Biology, Law, Business, or Medicine?) How has studying mathematics prepared you for this direction?
I plan on doing a math PhD, probably in something relating to topology, geometry and group theory. Obviously in a literal sense my math classes have prepared me for graduate studies by teaching me the necessary prerequisites, but they also contributed significantly to the psychological aspect of math research. At various points throughout my undergraduate coursework I had some form of imposter syndrome—struggling on a problem set, doing poorly on a test in a class I felt strong in etc. It was only through realizing I was growing mathematically—mastering concepts I used to struggle on, doing problems I previously got stuck on or rereading chapters of textbooks I once thought incomprehensible and understanding the proofs—that I was able to work through these mental hurdles. When you do a lot of math and especially math research you find that being a good mathematician is more about learning to be stuck than it is solving problems. I’ve spent—and will almost certainly continue to spend—most of my time doing math stuck on various things. The most important thing I learned from my classes and research was how to become comfortable with this feeling of not making progress and not become mired in a feeling of hopelessness. The other important thing was work/life balance. When I started doing research I noticed that more hours didn’t equate to more progress; you get four good hours of thinking per day and beyond that you’re just pushing yourself closer to burnout. A PhD is a mathematical ultramarathon and it can be quite a mental battle to push long stretches of stagnancy, so it’s critical to have this kind of balance to maintain your health and wellbeing.
If you are a graduating senior, what advice would you offer to students exploring different pathways through the mathematics major?
I would say two things. Firstly, never be intimidated by how much other people know about a given subject area. People have vastly different journeys through math and relatively speaking everyone in undergrad is near the beginning of theirs. Don’t feel rushed to learn about advanced topics quickly because other people have seen more math than you; it’s not a race. You will become a much stronger mathematician if you have broad foundations that you understand inside and out than if you know all the names of the big theorems in an advanced and niche area. In that same vein, don’t rush to take graduate classes. You will get significantly more out of them if you have a broad background of undergraduate electives under your belt first (and grad schools don’t care that much anyway). Secondly, have fun! You won’t enjoy every class you take and if you take enough classes there will probably even be some that you hate, but you should generally be motivated in your math learning by your own curiosity. With that being said, you should still also try to push your comfort zone and take a wide range of classes; you might be surprised by how much interesting mathematics there is in a subject area that didn’t initially seem appealing. In general there is no “right” or “wrong” way to be a math major, but I think these are good guiding principles.
Samuel Garcia, Class of 2027
Why did you decide to major in mathematics?
I loved math in high school and was good at it. I also didn't know what career I wanted to pursue after graduation. Mathematics was a good option because it is versatile major that can help in many fields!
What have been your favorite mathematics courses and why? (Feel free to include more than one!)
My favorite courses have been Algebra 1 and 2 because the proofs are very elegant and intuitive. Another course I loved was Math for Machine Learning because I understood the basics for topics in technology that are very common today.
Which electives have you taken, in mathematics or a related discipline, and why did you choose them?
In related disciplines, I took Intro to Data Science and Intro to Computer Science. Both classes helped me develop a strong coding background in various languages. I also loved the Investments class. It was at the intersection of finance and mathematical methods. I loved applying my math background to problems in finance.
Share a story that reflects your experience as a mathematics major. What experiences have most shaped your academic or career goals?
I remember after every class in Real Analysis 1 accelerated, I was confused and could not repeat back any of what I had just been taught. I would stay after class in the empty classroom for 10-20 minutes to rewrite the proofs from the lecture.
What are your career or academic aspirations after graduation? (Ex. Do you want to pursue a career in industry, finance, or consulting? Do you want to study Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Biology, Law, Business, or Medicine?) How has studying mathematics prepared you for this direction?
I will be working at a bank on a team in the asset-backed finance industry.
Josh Johnson, Class of 2027
Why did you decide to major in mathematics?
I've always enjoyed doing mathematics in school, although I didn't discover pure mathematics until coming to UChicago. I love the challenge of figuring out tricky proofs and working through dense arguments. It feels like an endless supply of puzzles to solve.
What have been your favorite mathematics courses and why? (Feel free to include more than one!)
My favorite courses thus far have been complex analysis and point-set topology. In all of the core classes leading up to these, it felt like I was just learning what I needed to know to get by, but in these courses, it really felt like I was learning the content just because it was beautiful. It's still important stuff that I use pretty much every day, but I think they were the first classes in which I was truly able to appreciate what I was learning just for its own sake.
Which electives have you taken, in mathematics or a related discipline, and why did you choose them?
I've already spoken about my math electives. In physics, the electives I've taken are advanced quantum mechanics and general relativity. I chose both of these courses partially because of the math that they contained. Advanced quantum taught me a lot about lie algebras and representation theory, while general relativity has essentially been my introduction to differential and Riemannian geometry. Both have been great for getting a feel for different areas of math and from a different perspective that what's shown in pure math courses.
Share a story that reflects your experience as a mathematics major. What experiences have most shaped your academic or career goals?
In my first year, I struggled a lot with Math 160s, as I had never done proof-based mathematics before. It was really discouraging at first to have trouble with a subject I'd always thought I was good at, and I thought about dropping the class. But the friends I'd made in class and my professor gave me the push I needed to keep going. I think it's the connections I made in this class that really propelled me to continue the math major.
What are your career or academic aspirations after graduation? (Ex. Do you want to pursue a career in industry, finance, or consulting? Do you want to study Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Biology, Law, Business, or Medicine?) How has studying mathematics prepared you for this direction?
I want to study mathematics and/or mathematical physics in grad school.
Darshan Kommanapalli, Class of 2027
Why did you decide to major in mathematics?
Mathematics offered a way of thinking that felt disciplined. Starting from a set of assumptions, I had the ability to reason logically about anything. If I couldn’t, then either I needed to learn more, I was incorrect, or my assumptions were incorrect. Of course, not everything reduces to this kind of clarity, but I have found this perspective useful in objective, STEM-based subjects and as a starting point for engaging with the world that is often far more subjective. The philosophy of mathematics also reminds me that simple truths–axioms–are capable of driving really influential and meaningful results.
What have been your favorite mathematics courses and why? (Feel free to include more than one!)
I really enjoyed Basic Complex Variables. Professor Fefferman frequently reminded us that this branch of mathematics emerged entirely from someone considering the square root of -1. The geometric interpretations of the course were very interesting, and many of the results were surprising and counterintuitive following my study of real analysis––for example, Liouville’s Theorem, which states that a bounded and infinitely differentiable function over the complex numbers must be constant. I also enjoyed Markov Chains, Martingales, and Brownian Motion with Professor Yearwood, as it offered very elegant and nuanced solutions to otherwise intimidating combinatorial problems.
Which electives have you taken, in mathematics or a related discipline, and why did you choose them?
I took Basic Complex Variables because I was interested in applying many of the introductory proof-based methods of real analysis to a new subject area. I also took Markov Chains, Martingales, and Brownian Motion because I am broadly interested in probability theory as it relates to topics in finance and economics. I am currently taking Theory of Auctions–a course offered by the Economics department–because it uses rigorous mathematics to prove game-theoretic results and has wider applications to decision-making under uncertainty outside an auction setting. I plan to take additional courses in machine learning theory in order to use mathematics in even more applied settings.
Share a story that reflects your experience as a mathematics major. What experiences have most shaped your academic or career goals?
During my first-year summer Math REU, my mentor walked me through a few different methods of proving the Perron-Frobenius Theorem and encouraged me to write about the one that felt most intuitive. Except after hours of staring, none of them felt intuitive to me. However, I persisted until I could piece together a slightly different proof from those that my mentor presented. In proven mathematics, while the assumptions and conclusions may be fixed, the path between them is not. Approaching problems through this perspective provided me with the greatest opportunity to build intuition rather than brute-forcing proofs (though there is a time for that as well). Mathematics has taught me to be comfortable with confusion and trust that satisfaction will come when I finally achieve a result.
What are your career or academic aspirations after graduation? (Ex. Do you want to pursue a career in industry, finance, or consulting? Do you want to study Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Biology, Law, Business, or Medicine?) How has studying mathematics prepared you for this direction?
I plan to work in quantitative finance and pursue different research capacities. Mathematics has supplied me with the technical skills for the field, but more importantly, it provided me with a framework to systematically approach research questions and reason through them holistically. Exploring the intersections of different branches of mathematics has also shown me that many questions are multi-faceted, and that I need to be willing to constantly learn new things in order to understand them in entirety.
Kaan Bengi, Class of 2027
Why did you decide to major in mathematics?
Mathematics was the first academic subject I truly enjoyed, and my love for the subject is the primary reason I have continued to study it in university. I have always been interested in not only what things are true but why they are true, and the biggest appeal of mathematics for me is that it provides a clear, concise, and irrefutable reasoning for why a particular statement must be true. It is the most direct method of discovering how the universe works.
What have been your favorite mathematics courses and why? (Feel free to include more than one!)
My favorite course was the Complex Analysis course I took with Professor Fefferman. I enjoyed complex analysis particularly because of its elegant and often surprising results that makes the subject so unique. It was also fascinating to learn about the complex numbers themselves, and how even though they do not exist in the tangible sense, they are the backbone of many discoveries and theories in physics which so accurately describe the real world. The fact that the physical universe is based on such an intangible abstract concept is amazing to me.
Which electives have you taken, in mathematics or a related discipline, and why did you choose them?
Many of the courses that I have taken outside of mathematics were from economics, which is my second major. I think that economics is a natural complement to mathematics and gives a real-world outlet for the abstract reasoning that mathematics relies on. This is particularly true in the Elements of Economic Analysis sequence, which relies heavily on Lagrangians and partial derivatives to derive economic models that accurately represent real-world observations. Furthermore, the Econometrics course utilizes mathematical and statistical models to make inferences based on real-world data.
Share a story that reflects your experience as a mathematics major. What experiences have most shaped your academic or career goals?
One of the experiences that really fueled my desire to pursue mathematics further was the Math REU program during the summer of my first year. The program was my first experience with learning mathematics outside of the structured classroom environment. I was able to pursue my interest in Algebra with my curiosity as a guide rather than a textbook, and through discussions with my mentor Pranjal Warade, I was able to connect what I learned to different fields of math such as geometry. I also greatly enjoyed the process of writing my first paper on Ring Theory. This experience greatly contributed to my desire to pursue an academic career in mathematics.
What are your career or academic aspirations after graduation? (Ex. Do you want to pursue a career in industry, finance, or consulting? Do you want to study Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Biology, Law, Business, or Medicine?) How has studying mathematics prepared you for this direction?
I am looking forward to continuing my studies in mathematics as a graduate student. I am particularly interested in the fields of algebra and statistics, both of which have applications in the technology sector. Beyond graduate school, I would like to apply my mathematical expertise to conduct research on artificial intelligence and contribute to the development of tools that can improve peoples’ lives. I had the opportunity over the summer to intern as an AI research assistant at an AI startup, and greatly enjoyed learning about the logic behind how an AI tool functions and the coding that goes into it. During that internship, I realized that mathematics has prepared me for a career in AI by teaching me how to solve problems in a systematic way, and to clearly describe my solution process, both of which are fundamental skills for working in technology.
Yili Wen, Class of 2027
Why did you decide to major in mathematics?
I have always been interested in mathematics (since elementary school) and deeply appreciate its beauty in my life. My first-year math course helped me realize that what I enjoy most is proof-based mathematics, making me even more determined to become a math major.
What have been your favorite mathematics courses and why? (Feel free to include more than one!)
I had a very positive experience in the first-year Introduction to Proof sequence, Honors Analysis I–III (IBL), with Professor Ziesler. We began with basic point-set topology and the construction of the integers, rational number, and real numbers using Dedekind cuts, an approach I found particularly elegant. This, along with the study of various interesting functions in analysis, played a key role in my decision to major in mathematics.
In my second year, Honors Analysis III with Professor Csörnyei was interesting and inspiring, as her unconventional introduction to measure theory exposed us to topics not typically covered, such as the Denjoy topology and Kakeya sets. This was especially timely, as recent breakthrough on the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture, by Wang and Zahl, coincided that quarter, which helped me better understand the talk by Professor Wang when she visited our school to present her findings.
As a third-year student now, I have so far greatly enjoyed Professor Emerton’s Honors Basic Algebra II in ring theory. He presents the motivation behind rings and number theory in an intuitive way, making insightful connections to concepts we first encountered as early as middle school.
Which electives have you taken, in mathematics or a related discipline, and why did you choose them?
For math electives, I have taken Abstract Linear Algebra, Point-Set Topology, Complex Variables, and Mathematics for Quantum Computing. Point-Set Topology with Professor Rudenko was especially enjoyable, as we explored many unusual spaces and were introduced to elements of basic manifold theory. I found Complex Analysis particularly elegant, and Professor Fefferman’s teaching style was both engaging and approachable. Mathematics for Quantum Computing with Professor Razborov deepened my understanding of the mathematical structures underlying many seemingly mysterious quantum algorithms.
In addition to my mathematics major, I am pursuing a music minor. As a math major, I find it especially exciting to see mathematical concepts arise in advanced music theory, such as equivalence classes of pitches, modulation, and even an entire area of music known as set theory!
Share a story that reflects your experience as a mathematics major. What experiences have most shaped your academic or career goals?
My favorite experience has been the mathematics REU at the University of Chicago, where I encountered many interesting topics across a wide range of areas, thanks to the organization by Professor May and Gwynne as well as many speakers. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to delve deeply into a specific topic with the guidance of my mentor, Carlos, through which I discovered a strong interest in topology. This experience provided a precious chance of free exploration of math and abundant access to mathematical talks, which closely resembled the lifestyle of a graduate student (without the teaching responsibilities). I found myself enjoying it a lot, and this gave me valuable insight into graduate study and inspired me to pursue math further.
What are your career or academic aspirations after graduation? (Ex. Do you want to pursue a career in industry, finance, or consulting? Do you want to study Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Biology, Law, Business, or Medicine?) How has studying mathematics prepared you for this direction?
I plan to apply to graduate programs in mathematics, and I am interested in applying ideas from pure mathematics to other fields. I have recently been inspired by the work and perspectives of Professor Shmuel Weinberger and Professor James Evans, especially their applications of topology to social science research. For example, I was introduced to persistent topology, a framework for encoding data into topological spaces and using cohomology theory to perform meaningful computations, which has yielded fruitful results in social science studies.
Vincent Tran, Class of 2027
Why did you decide to major in mathematics?
I have a passion for math; for me it is one of those pursuits that despite being hard, despite my laziness, despite the overwhelming amount of it, I am continually drawn to it and find it endlessly rewarding. I love the perspectives math gives: you get experience with a bunch of examples and later learn it is a general phenomenon, you can look at object in so many different ways—from an algebraic, rigid, point of view, from an analytic infinitesimal point of view, from an algebraic topology, deformation-y, point of view, etc. There is almost always an "enlightened" way to look at something, to really understand even the simplest things at a deep level.
What have been your favorite mathematics courses and why? (Feel free to include more than one!)
I have enjoyed a lot of math classes, but Intro to Algebraic Geometry with Professor Rudenko and Intro to Algebraic Number Theory with Professor Schlank were among the best.
In the class with Daniil Rudenko, we learned a lot of concrete geometry that interweaved with the abstract machinery of algebraic geometry. I hadn't learned much geometry before this class, so it was very interesting to really see the geometry in algebraic geometry. He is also a great lecturer and adds a lot of humor to his class.
In the class with Tomer Schlank, we obviously learned things in algebraic number theory, but he would infuse geometry to the picture where I hadn't seen it before. I had some idea that algebraic geometry reformulates number theory, but I really began to understand this perspective from this class. He gave me a lot of great perspectives on bigger picture things in mathematics.
I have also greatly enjoyed doing reading courses with not just the professors above, but also Professor Nori and Professor Mathew.
Which electives have you taken, in mathematics or a related discipline, and why did you choose them?
I've taken a lot of math electives, some out of "necessity" (in the sense of being foundational), some out of pure interest. I think despite my lack of interest in these classes, this was a pretty good decision. Having a good and broad foundation has helped me learn other math. I wish I paid more attention though, even in the classes I didn't enjoy as much.
I have mostly chosen algebraic electives, because I really enjoy algebra.
Share a story that reflects your experience as a mathematics major. What experiences have most shaped your academic or career goals?
I don't think there's a story that encapsulates my experience in the math major. The math experience is formed from collective frustration on psets, continued conversations from classes, and amazement after lectures.
A fun story though is that once I was entering Eckhart and randomly saw a bunch of my friends talking about math. A class they were all in was cancelled so they just hung around and yapped.
A reading course with Professor Schlank shifted my interests from algebraic geometry and number theory to now also include homotopy theory. I got to see very cool ideas in homotopy theory and started to understand what algebraic topology is really about.
What are your career or academic aspirations after graduation? (Ex. Do you want to pursue a career in industry, finance, or consulting? Do you want to study Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Biology, Law, Business, or Medicine?) How has studying mathematics prepared you for this direction?
I hope to enter grad school to get a Ph. D in math and enter academia.
Owen Law, Class of 2028
Why did you decide to major in mathematics?
Engineering & Creation requires an understanding of nature, math is a model that helps us understand, thus, studying maths increases my capacity to create. Methinks that humans are gifted with ability to create, thus math helps me spiritually reflect on what it means to be human, with respect to nature through the act of creation.
What have been your favorite mathematics courses and why? (Feel free to include more than one!)
Statistical Mechanics: Entropy is a concept of statistics and is a superb model for modelling why processes happen, thus is critical in creation, studying it is empowering.
Share a story that reflects your experience as a mathematics major. What experiences have most shaped your academic or career goals?
Taking Honors Chem and Honors Physics, Accelerated stats and analysis together in my second year allowed me to touch on multiple topics of maths at the same time, was special in allowing me to see how rigor of pure maths is converted to application in chem and physics, this sparked my appreciation in maths and engineering, I realised how maths imbues a person the power to create and design what they put their minds to.
What are your career or academic aspirations after graduation? (Ex. Do you want to pursue a career in industry, finance, or consulting? Do you want to study Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Biology, Law, Business, or Medicine?) How has studying mathematics prepared you for this direction?
Engineering is broad, and once you know the maths, you can engineer whatever you want, and I'm patient in deciding what I wish to engineer.
How did you decide to become a math major?
Coming into college, I knew that I wanted to do Math and/or something related. I love the problem solving, pattern recognition and rigorous reasoning aspects of math, and was honestly slightly surprised by how different college math is from high school and competition math. I thoroughly enjoyed the 160s sequence, and really enjoyed my first-year REU experience thanks to lectures by Professors May, Rudenko, Babai, Lawler and others, and especially thanks to reading and writing an expository paper with Professor Shabani. After that experience, I realize there is so much more to learn and know, and I am still trying to figure out what I like the most; there is really so much out there.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
A lot of things have been super interesting to me, but I'll just list out a few. Aaron Calderon's courses on Complex Analysis and Dynamical Systems were really cool experiences for me; not only were the materials and his lectures engaging, but I also got to explore a relevant topic of my own choosing for a final presentation and expository paper, sort of like a mini-REU. This component of the course enabled me to deploy techniques we visited in class in a different setting of my interest, and that was fun. Professor Babai's Combinatorics was also really good - we learnt how to count :) The use of linear algebra in combinatorics was somewhat surprising to me. Professor Rudenko's Honors Basic Algebra I on group theory was a joy because he is a super engaging lecturer, and gave us a lot of motivation and intuition for what we were doing. And as a whole, the entire Honors Analysis sequence was eye-opening too.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
To me, math has been about learning new, potentially advanced and difficult things, and then repackaging that into my framework of understanding. I think that process is super grueling (why don't I get it?) but the feeling of finally intimately understanding something, perhaps having an abstract visualization of what's going on, is really nice. I got to experience a lot of that from a few "semi-independent learning periods", such as Professor Gwynne's reading group, my REU experiences, and doing final projects in Aaron's courses. Besides, it is unnerving but also very enjoyable to be able to do some independent reading and then clarify my (sometimes bad) questions with the leading experts in that very field.
Of course, one also can't do math without doing problem sets -- so big thanks to all the math friends that I've made through "suffering" together. And contrary to the stereotype of "math majors", these people have such varied interests in so so many things (academic and otherwise), and I am honestly inspired by them all the time.
What are your aspirations?
I want to pursue grad school in some realm of applied math. Something that I am currently interested in is generalization theory of neural networks, how they manage to work (empirically) is still somewhat a mystery to me. Generally, I would love to apply the rigorous lens of mathematics to discover insights about how things work.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I would love to travel for a while, meet up with old friends and spend a bit more time (than previous summers) at home.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I was drawn to the math major for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the biggest was that I wanted to more deeply understand concepts that I had encountered in high school. Why is there no quintic formula? How does the determinant relate to volume? How does one rigorously formulate Stokes’ theorem? These questions, among many others, motivated me to study proof-based math. My studies of math have, in turn, provided an uncountable number of new fascinating questions that I want to investigate, so learning math has become a wonderful interplay of curiosity and fulfillment.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
This question is difficult since I have loved so many of the math courses that I have taken here. If I had to pick one, I would probably choose Prof. Neves’s MATH 20900 course on measure theory. I absolutely fell in love with the subject. It is so unifying in nature: for every notion of size—volume, probability, number of elements, etc.—there is a corresponding notion of integral—Riemann integral, expected value, sum, etc. Furthermore, the Lebesgue integral is so strikingly flexible and powerful, and many theorems in the subject (e.g., the Radon-Nikodym theorem) have beautiful physical interpretations.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
I think that learning math is primarily about stacking little improvements of knowledge and understanding on top of each other. Every time that you understand a new definition, or make a connection between two concepts, or work through the details of a proof, or figure out an exercise, or discuss math with a friend, is a special moment; these are the moments that reflect what learning math is all about.
What are your aspirations?
Learning math has been immensely fulfilling for me, so I want to keep studying as much math as I can.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
This fall, I will be a PhD student at MIT studying pure math, specifically analysis or probability.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I was introduced to proof-based math in my freshman year and quickly grew to enjoy the problem-solving and concepts involved. Problem-solving was especially rewarding as it developed my intuition and conceptual understanding through practice. Becoming proficient at it required perseverance and determination. Lastly, the math community has provided incredible support and encouragement, and I would not be where I am today without them.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
My favorite math course has to be Professor Gwynne’s Markov Chains. It was very interesting to see the applications and importance of random walks in varying dimensions. I also enjoyed MATH 27000 because it introduced elegant and pretty cool results when working with functions defined in the complex plane.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
One common theme in my time as a math major has been the moments of understanding, just clicking into place while working on understanding concepts or solving problems. Often, I would be stuck on a problem, only to have something to click, and then suddenly, everything falls right into place and makes sense.
I like to think of the process of solving mathematical problems as building a puzzle. Initially, it may be unclear, but by slowly experimenting around with different methods and approaches, there is a pivotal moment, a point where everything naturally comes together. I believe that this transition from unknown to known is one of the most rewarding aspects of math.
What are your aspirations?
Learning mathematics has been very rewarding and fun during my undergraduate years, and I can’t wait to learn more advanced material in graduate school!
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I am excited to have the opportunity to pursue research-level mathematics.
How did you decide to become a math major?
Coming out of high school, I had some idea that I liked working through rigorous lines of reasoning and gaining insight from data. I wanted to major in some combination of math, statistics, and economics. To my surprise, I ended up doing all three. However, to be honest, I didn’t know what any of those majors entailed before I came to Chicago. I never saw a proof in high school, and at times in the 160s, the learning curve felt too steep. I stuck with it, though, and I’m really glad I did.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
I most enjoyed MATH 20310 Accelerated Analysis I with Prof. Alex Eskin and MATH 27100 Measure & Integration with Prof. Carlos Kenig, both of whom are amazing teachers. I took 20310 in autumn of second year and it was the first time I made a leap in mathematical maturity. So much of what felt hazy in the 160s “clicked” in 20310. I took 27100 because I caught a glimpse of measure theory in Analysis III and wanted a more thorough grounding in the subject, and the course did not disappoint. I also liked MATH 23500 Markov Chains, Martingales, and Brownian Motion with Prof. Ewain Gwynne, which spurred my interest in statistical theory.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
I’ve had so many moments that reminded me how lucky I am to study on such hallowed ground. To give an example, in summer after second year, I was reading “A Beautiful Mind” outside of Eckhart and came to a passage recounting a particular lecture John Nash gave at Chicago. I realized that this had probably happened fewer than fifty feet from where I was reading about it almost seventy years later.
More importantly, I’ve met some of my best friends in the math major, whom I’ve learned so much from and had many great times. They’ve made it such that I’ll be nostalgic for long nights in the A level and the Barn. The best stories are those I can’t share in this forum.
What are your aspirations?
I don’t know what I’ll be doing long-term, but I can see myself pursuing graduate work in statistics or economics in a few years. I’ve loved studying pure math at the undergrad level and I wholeheartedly believe what my professors have told me: that the mathematical way of thinking will stay with me and serve me well, regardless of where my career takes me.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I’m looking forward to moving to Washington, D.C. to work for an economic consulting firm. I’m excited to get to know D.C. but I’ll miss Chicago and the University, which has been a very special place for me.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I was a history major in my first year and a half at UChicago. I took a lot of history courses and was determined to become a historian one day. However, during the winter quarter of my second year, I decided to take Abstract Linear Algebra just because I was curious what abstract proof-based mathematics was like, and I thought that my college experience would be incomplete without learning some hard abstract math. I ended up falling in love with that course and realized how elegant mathematical proofs can be. I also just loved the feeling of finally understanding a concept or a proof and solving a problem after hours of being stuck and confused. It's truly an amazing feeling. Eventually, I figured that since math is more intellectually challenging and mentally fulfilling, I should be a math major.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
My favorite math course at UChicago is Measure and Integration, which I took with Professor Kenig. I loved learning about Lebesgue integration in particular because it was presented in a very methodical and elegant way. We started with the integral of simple functions and gradually worked our way up to any integrable function. I also really loved the proof of Fubini's Theorem using the space of integrable functions L^1 and proofs that build on each other to show that the space of functions satisfying the conditions of Fubini's Theorem is a subset of L^1. That was amazing. I also think Professor Kenig was very clear and passionate in his teaching and that Stein and Shakarchi's Real Analysis is the best math textbook I've ever used.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
I think my special experience as a math major was that I started learning abstract math later than a lot of math majors. I was a pure humanities student my first year and a half here and only started taking math courses extensively starting the second half of my second year and my third year. Another special experience of being a math major was that I met all my good friends in college through taking math courses together. We became really good friends after grinding through math problem sets for so many classes. The countless hours working through math problems in the library with my friends are definitely the best memories of my 4 years at UChicago.
What are your aspirations?
My aspiration is to get a PhD in either Economics or Statistics. I would really like to do research in either macroeconomics or some applied stochastic processes since I just love these two areas a lot. After a PhD the goal would be to either become a professor or a researcher in the central bank.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I'll be working in economic consulting after my graduation this June. I'm looking forward to learning some more advanced statistics and econometrics on the job and using them in practice. But of course, I'm also looking forward to reading more math textbooks in my spare time and just learning on my own.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I have been interested in math since middle school, and pursuing a math major seems the most natural path to take.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
For analysis I really enjoyed MATH 209 because of both the beauty of measure theory and Prof. Neves' passionate style. I also enjoyed MATH 314 which provided an elegant connection between probability theory and complex analysis. MATH 263 was also quite fun as it introduced to me the basics of algebraic topology and established parallels with Galois theory.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
I started out being a double major in mathematics and computer science. After quite some internal struggling and reflection I realized that compared to mathematics my passion in CS was almost negligible. So then I started focusing exclusively on math. As part of being a math major, besides exposing myself to the diverse and rich branches of mathematics, I feel like a crucial part of the journey is also to figure out which areas I don't like, and thus gradually narrowing and realizing my interest.
What are your aspirations?
I want to delve deeper into mathematics and be passionate about life in general (maybe even be a barista or sommelier someday, just kidding)
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I want to go to graduate school for mathematics.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I decided to become a math major after my first year at UChicago because I found the problems to be the most challenging, interesting, and rewarding out of all of the subjects I was taking. As I reflected on what major I wanted to declare, the thing that stood out to me about math is that it is completely objective -- every question has a right answer -- a unique feature that I really appreciate. I also began to wonder to myself whether mathematics was invented or discovered, and why it is so well-suited to describe the phenomena of the world we live in. These questions are what motivated me to major in math and learn as much about it as I possibly can. Also, I am a big fan of cartoons, so learning that some of the writers of many of my favorite shows were also math majors was the icing on the cake.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
My favorite math courses are Measure and Integration, as well as Honors Algebra II. I used to think that the different subareas of math were very different from each other. However, in my Measure and Integration class, we recently constructed a non-measurable set and one of the techniques in the construction involves quotienting the real numbers by the rational numbers. I learned all about quotient groups in Honors Algebra, which feels very different from analysis-focused classes, so I was very surprised that this came up in a class about measure theory! This was one of several moments in which I have been able to observe the interaction between the different subfields of math, and overall it has been a very enriching experience that has strengthened my appreciation for the subject as a whole.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
When I think about my experience as a math major, the quote "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know" by Albert Einstein comes to mind. Most people would probably tell you that math is the study of numbers, but as I keep learning, I realize more and more how hard it is to even define math. What exactly is a number, anyway? I think the only definition that truly does it justice is Galileo Galilei's famous line "math is the alphabet in which God has written the universe." It's remarkable how math has helped the human race study and understand natural phenomena from probabilities to particle motion to symmetry, and how we can apply this knowledge to man-made things like the stock market and the Rubik's Cube and everything in between. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I have yet to learn.
What are your aspirations?
In light of my answer to the previous question, my aspiration is to attend graduate school because I want to learn more about math and how it encodes the world around us. I would love to someday contribute some original result to the field of mathematics, no matter how small. Pursuing graduate school would also give me the opportunity to serve as an instructor, where I could be part of others' academic journeys and pass down the knowledge that I have received so far.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
Time will tell! Right now, I am focused on maximizing my chances for acceptance to graduate schools next year. Aside from that, I'm looking forward to spending lots of time with family and friends, and doing as much traveling as I can after graduation.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I took a gap year before coming to college and decided to try self-studying pure math, a topic I've always been interested in but never previously explored much outside of class. I started with Michael Spivak's \textit{Calculus} and found learning math very intellectually rewarding. I then took the undergraduate analysis sequence during my first year and thoroughly enjoyed the class too, after which I officially decided to pursue the math major.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
Oof, that's a difficult question because I've enjoyed so many math classes I've taken here, but if I have to choose, it will be any math class I've taken that covered manifolds (MATH20800 with Professor Rozenblyum; MATH27400 with Professor Sun; MATH31800 with Professor Looijenga), learning measure theory with Professor Neves (MATH20900), and learning about brownian motion and its connection with complex analysis with Professor Gwynne (MATH31400). I generally love describing geometric concepts using an analytical language. I find topics of this flavor very beautiful and well-motivated by physical phenomena, and Professor Looijenga, Professor Neves, and Professor Gwynne have all been great at answering students' questions and conveying deep intuitions in a way that's accessible to an undergrad.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
If I were to share any personal story, it'll be the fact that I never considered studying math seriously until after I graduated high school–––not for a lack of interest, but because I believed that I wasn't capable enough. I think math (amongst other STEM subjects) is shrouded in a lot of intellectual elitism, where we believe only those born with sufficiently high intelligence or have some natural talent will succeed. Growing up hearing this narrative (while having never excelled in math olympiads) led me to preclude myself from studying math, despite my (now looking back) obvious interest in mathematics. I'm not saying that talent doesn't matter at all, especially if your eventual goal is to succeed in the academia, but I do believe that this talent-centric narrative is flawed and has scared away many others like me, thus robbing the mathematical community of potentially strong students. Even for those who are already studying math, this narrative also promotes a fixed-mindset and isn't great for our mathematical growth and mental health.
Aside from challenging this focus on talent, I'd also like to question our definition of mathematical success. Perhaps one reason some people care about talent so much is that they don't want to pursue math unless they are sufficiently talented to become a tenured faculty at a top university or even win a Fields Medal. To them I'd ask: Why is that the only "successful" relationship one could have with math? To me, studying math in graduate school, undergrad, as a kid or even in your free time (while eventually pursuing another career) is not any less meaningful, as long as you found it genuinely intellectually rewarding. All in all, I believe a decrease in fixed-mindset and ego in our conception of math can benefit the math community by drawing in new students and helping existing students grow.
Lastly, I've found that women in male-dominated fields tend to underestimate ourselves, so to all the girls out there: you belong here, you're not any less than, and don't let underserving reasons stop you from doing what you want to do.
What are your aspirations?
I love math and would love to eventually join and contribute to the math academia, hopefully get tenured somewhere, do research, and teach; but I'm also open to the possibility of my intellectual interest / personal values shifting in the future. In that case, I'm not sure what I'll do, but hopefully it'll be something just as rigorous, creative, and intellectually stimulating.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I'll be applying to graduate programs next year and plan to pursue a PhD in pure math after. I haven't decided on the specific field yet, but it'll be somewhere in the vicinity of dynamical systems, differential geometry, and probability. I'm very excited to attend grad school (fingers crossed that I get in somewhere) and get to know what math research is like.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I was really into astronomy when I was younger. One of my teachers told me that I should learn as much math as I could if I wanted to become an astronomer. I took his advice and just couldn't stop learning math because I enjoyed it so much!
Favorite math course(s) and why?
My favorite courses were the ones I took through the Paris Mathematics program. We got to hear in-depth about really interesting areas of math that wouldn't get much airtime in an average course. Not only that, but we got to do math *in Paris*, exploring the city of light while talking about fun problems!
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
In the fall of 2020, when all of our classes were on Zoom, I was in an Honors Analysis study group with some housemates who were also in the class. The last part of a particularly long problem was "take a victory lap." After just barely making the midnight deadline, we all met outside the door to Burton-Judson and raced each other around the block. That class was so incredibly difficult, but we had a ton of fun with it anyway.
What are your aspirations?
I want to continue doing math! Right now I'm particularly interested in logic and formal math, and I hope I can find exciting practical and abstract applications for all the things I'm learning.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I'm currently waiting to hear back from graduate schools, but this summer I'm really excited to be spending a few weeks at the Hausdorff Institute working on projects bridging formal and "informal" (natural language) mathematics.
How did you decide to become a math major?
Nanyue Huairang stated that those who come to Zen do so because it is ``just what is needed." For me, mathematics is just what is needed. I have enjoyed mathematics for a long time; and now, most of my friends are other mathematics students, and the natural thing for us to do is to talk about mathematics. The wonderful student community at Chicago -- especially Chengyang Bao, Aaron Slipper, and Claudia Yau, all of whom have taught me so much -- has kept my interest in mathematics alive for so long. I am so happy for all of my friends who do math; without them, I do not know where I would be today. The professors here have also been greatly encouraging and inspiring, and above all extremely generous with their time, answering all number of my (sometimes ridciulous, confused, or ill-posed) wonderings. In particular, I must thank Sasha Beilinson, Luis Silvestre, Lucia Mocz, and Amie Wilkinson -- and most of all Matt Emerton, who has been an incredible guide and mentor through my time at Chicago. Learning from him has been a true treat, and I am so grateful for everything he has taught me.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
To me, the most exciting feature of mathematics is its unity -- when doing math in my life, I have the good fortune of being able to use results from every class I have ever taken. This makes all my courses blur together a bit; it's sometimes hard to recall what results I learned from which class, which makes it a little hard to pick a favorite course. Still, I massively enjoyed Luis Silvestre's MATH 275 (the undergraduate PDE course). I will never forget his exercises about what numerical schemes for solving PDEs do when you give them a PDE without solutions. These exercises still haunt me, because they break so many of my intuitions about causality. In the end it seems I have drifted towards algebra in my interests, but Luis Silvestre's lectures really made me wonder about becoming an analyst! Plus, it gave me an opportunity to turn a lot of abstract results of analysis (which I had learned from Prof. Silvestre in the previous quarter) into tools to solve incredible problems -- it was only in this course, when solving very concrete differential equations, that the true utility of the proposition ``a convex lower semicontinuous function is weakly lower semicontinuous" dawned on me. I think this course was the first time in my life that I learned to really appreciate the importance of concrete examples to ground one's learning of abstract machines. This lesson has served me very well in life.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
A friend once asked me to give her a tour of Eckhart hall (she became curious after noticing how often I would reply ``Eckhart" to her texts asking me where I was). When we entered, I was a little confused about what to say -- to me Eckhart had always been a bit of an unremarkable building. But when walking through, I realized exactly what to tell her. Whenever I can, I love to work at a chalkboard; chalkboards are a bit hard to find on campus, which means I have spent many many afternoons (and nights...) working in an empty classroom in Eckhart. It dawned on me, when walking through Eckhrat and trying to find remarks to make about its various rooms, that I had worked in each of them, and had specific memories about each. I remembered the chalkboard in Eckhart 202 I used to prove that flasque sheaves had no cohomology (and I remember the many failed attempts before I had solved the problem); I remembered the chalkboard in Eckhart 207-A on which I had computed my first integral over Q_p. I also remembered the rooms where I first enter Chicago's number theory student community by joining in the Weil conjecture student learning seminar; I remembered the blackboard in the Barn on which I nervously rehearsed to Claudia what was to be my first talk for this seminar. I remembered the chalkboard on which Chengyang helped me understand a paper of Serre that has been completely incomprehensible to me before her clarifications; and I remembered the chalkboards which Aaron used to help me understand BunG. Most of my time as a math major has been spent at a chalkboard, either by myself or with someone else, attempting to understand some piece of mathematics. Watching someone standing still, holding a piece of chalk, and waiting for an idea to come does not make a good movie, but I feel that the encounters above were some of the most exciting, tense, and dramatic moments of my life.
What are your aspirations?
I aspire to be a kind person; to be a creative mathematician; to seek truth in math and life; and to continue having fun discussing math with my friends. Professionally, I hope to become an academic mathematician, so that I can stay in the world I love so much.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
In the summer, I will go to Park City to attend a summer school, and I hope to help out at the Chicago REU. Both of these are very exciting to me; I am happy to meet some graduate students from outside of Chicago as I start my own graduate studies, and I am happy to get a chance to give back to the Chicago REU, a program which has given me so much.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I had two friends in my second year that kept doing honors analysis homework in the house lounge. I got pretty curious and started talking to them about the material, and decided I wanted to learn it for myself. By my third year, I was officially a math major. We still work together all the time!
Favorite math course(s) and why?
I really liked Markov Chains with Professor Gwynne. He is a great professor and the course material is really cool. I am also in functional analysis with Professor Souganidis, and it is shaping up to be the best course I have ever taken. The material is crazy cool and I am getting really inspired to study more analysis!
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
While there are so many stories I could tell that are deeply meaningful to me (special shoutouts to Professor Gwynne, Professor Eskin, and Abhijit Mudigonda), I think the most precious thing about my time in the math major has been the truly wonderful friends I have made. The constant joy of sharing ideas with them, learning with them, growing with them, and having so, so much fun with them will be near and dear to my heart always. While I know you guys are going to read this and clown me for it: Dante Strollo, Cameron Chang, Rohan Soni, and Ben Scott - I love you all and can't wait to see how far you all go.
What are your aspirations?
I think for now I just want to have a bit more fun doing math! I love probability so I definitely want to study more of that, but I think something like PDE or dynamics would be super fun to get into as well. Honestly, I am just a huge fan of analysis and pretty much anything doing that would be fun.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I'm going to graduate school next year (still waiting on a few so I'm not completely sure where yet), I'm really looking forward to it! I'm also going to mentor for the apprentice program over the summer which will be super fun.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I originally came in wanting to do Econ/Philosophy but then I took the 160s and realized math wasn't what I thought it was, (and Econ wasn't what I thought it was), and a couple of really great professors and great friends I met in these classes made me switch over.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
The entire analysis IBL sequence, fantastic professor fantastic way to conduct class, this class is optimized for depth of understanding rather than speed and it was also so much fun because the class really got to know each other.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
It took me almost the entirety of Calc 161 to solve problem and write up a proof for it completely on my own, I felt really really dumb the entire quarter basically. Calc 161 made me cry more than any person ever did, but when I figured it out with no help from classmates (or the internet) and it was the most rewarding thing and also helped convince me I had the capacity to do this.
What are your aspirations?
Currently going to work at a hedge fund and am also an aspiring author so we are all over the place.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
Going to do a lot of painting and reading and traveling before work starts.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I have always enjoyed studying math, but was not sure if I wanted to pursue it in college. I decided to take IBL Calculus my first year and had an incredible professor and TA. It was their support and enthusiasm that inspired me to become a math major. The course material was extremely interesting to me, and I also enjoyed the way in which proof-based math helped me to develop my analytical, problem solving, and reasoning skills.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
As mentioned above, I really enjoyed IBL Calculus. I also enjoyed Markov Chains, Martingales, and Brownian Motion. This was the first course in which I worked in depth with random variables, and I was interested in both the theoretical side and practical applications of stochastic processes.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
One of my favorite aspects of my time as a math major is the community I have found through the Society of Women+ in Math (SWiM). I first joined SWiM as a first-year and have been significantly involved throughout my four years at UChicago. SWiM has continually been a welcoming and supportive community for me. Through SWiM’s study breaks, talks with professors, and workshops, I have enjoyed spending time with and learning from other women in the major as well as professors in the department.
What are your aspirations?
I plan on attending law school and pursuing a career at the intersection of public policy and law. I realize that, on the surface, law and math are very different. However, through the math major, I have grown my ability to solve complex problems, conduct detailed analysis, and think critically and analytically. I believe that these skills will support me in my future career.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
After graduation, I will be joining the law firm of Mintz in New York as a Project Analyst. I look forward to exploring my future in law, continuing to learn, and enjoying New York City!
How did you decide to become a math major?
My participation in Ross in high school was one "historical" factor. More concretely, I think of mathematics as the supreme unity of sciences and humanities -- it is scientific for its rigor, and humanistic for the creativity it inspires. I had a preference for clarity, and math is almost the only subject that, albeit hard, one is able to understand concepts "clearly and distinctly," in Descartes's words. Mathematics is the language of nature; it's simply indisputable that no other discipline achieve such high degree of diversity and unity at the same time.
What are your aspirations?
I'm going after a math PhD, but let's see what happens after that.
How did you decide to become a math major?
I always knew I wanted to do math once I got to college; what solidified this for me was meeting with mathematics professors from different universities and really talking with them about mathematics. They were so enthusiastic about what they were studying that I felt I could learn it as well.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
I really enjoyed Galois Theory (MATH 25900) last quarter. I think what was particularly exciting about the subject was how it combined notions we had learned in the previous two quarters of Algebra to study polynomials more deeply than we had before. It really felt like a culmination of previous quarters which I left feeling like I had learned a lot.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
Nothing particular comes to mind. Overall, I would say the striking thing is how much you learn without realizing it. There are conversations I've had and lectures I've been to which I was able to follow, but which I looked back on amazed that I understood as much as I did. Your progress is gradual enough that you don't realize it if you're too caught up in the moment—stuck on a particular problem or concept you don't understand. When you look back, you then realize you've come a long way.
What are your aspirations?
I'm hoping to go into graduate studies in mathematics or physics. There's so much in mathematics that I have yet to learn, and I want to make the most of my opportunities to do so.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I don't know—there are too many possibilities for me to choose from!
Emanuel Green, Class of 2022
How did you decide to become a math major?
I came into UChicago as a physics major and just took MATH 15300 and planned to be done. I had space in my schedule and decided to take MATH 15910 just for fun. I took that class with Marco Mendez-Guaraco and it was his passion and enthusiasm for math that made me really start to become interested. I found the course fascinating and decided to take MATH 20250 the next quarter since Marco was teaching it. Once again, he amazed me with the things he taught us. It is because Marco opened my eyes to the beautiful world of math that I am now a physics and math double major.
Favorite math course(s) and why?
MATH 15910. As previously stated, this was the first class that really made me interested in math. I was so amazed by my introduction to proofs and the power of math. A strong second would be MATH 25500. Ring theory was really fun.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
Outside of my experiences with Marco, I would say that being a math major has allowed me to really help other people learn and appreciate math. I have tutored my younger sister in math as well as some friends at other universities. I have had a lot of fun showing how interesting and counter-intuitive math can be.
What are your aspirations?
My main passion right now is physics, specifically the world of nanoscale and quantum engineering. I hope to learn more about the way materials work and how we can control them at the microscopic level. I think topological materials are especially interesting and highlight a really cool intersection of math and physics.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I will most likely be attending graduate school for physics. After that I will simply explore the opportunities available to me.
Derek Zhu, Class of 2021
How did you decide to become a math major?
I decided to become a math major early in high school, when I picked up a book about obscure Trigonometric identities and thought it was super cool. Some of the identities were stunningly simple yet seemed impossible, and I would spend hours trying to come up with my own. Math is about discovering new beautiful ideas, like a quantitative form of art, and I soon figured out that other fields in math beyond trig were even more beautiful (and useful).
Favorite math course(s) and why?
I like all of them, but CMSC 27530 (Graph Theory) is by far my most favorite. I signed up for the class because I am fascinated by the simplicity and elegance of these important data structures that shape our world. As someone who knew some graph theory from high school, I'm still learning exponentially more concepts every class and the problems on the psets are super fun to solve. Professor Laszlo Babai is not only a combinatorial genius but also a fantastic teacher, and his style makes a difficult topic such as Graph Theory fun and easy to learn.
Do you have any special story to tell that reflects your experience as a math major?
I don't have any special stories about classes because they were all online, but the people in the math department are very special. Coming into UChicago as a freshman, I didn't know a lot of things, and when I reached out to upperclassmen they were very willing to help me navigate through math classes and the school itself. They are super nice and a testament to the department's philosophy of a curious and collaborative community.
What are your aspirations?
I want to work in an applied field that is very quantitative, such as Computational Biology, Quantum Computation, or Algorithmic Game Theory. These fields are CS-heavy by nature, but require a lot of rigorous mathematical thinking and problem solving. Hopefully I can become a Professor or be at the forefront in one of these industries.
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
I'm a freshman, so I don't know. I'm excited for what will happen, and perhaps my aspirations will be very different from what they are now.
Zihao Li, Class of 2021
How did you decide to become a math major?
cannot imagine a life without math
Favorite math course(s) and why?
MATH 25700 by Calegari, the only class that keeps me focused
What are your aspirations?
Probability/Statistics/Optimization/Financial Math
What are you excited about doing after graduation? (If you know)
Princeton ORFE PhD