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Four Lafayette students presented research at the annual Joint Meetings of the American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America Jan. 5-8 in New Orleans, La.
Mathematics major Lindsay Bryant ’07 (Clinton Corners, N.Y.) and Jinjin Qian ’08 (Shanghai, China), who is pursuing a B.S. mathematics and A.B. with a major in economics and business, collaborated with Qin Lu, assistant professor of mathematics, on EXCEL Scholars research this past summer.
In Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, students conduct research with faculty while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
Bryant and Qian gave a 25-minute talk on their work with pricing convertible bonds using different models. Bryant compared and contrasted different pricing methods for the bonds, which can be converted into stock from the issuing company.
“The conference was a great opportunity for me,” says Bryant. “The preparation for the conference and experience of speaking at the event are very valuable for me now and for the future. I learned how to prepare for a presentation, remain calm while speaking in front of an audience, and explain a project to an audience that may or may not be familiar with the topic. This experience was great practice for future presentations associated with my career.”
Bryant will begin working for Bloomberg, a global provider of data, news, and analytics, after graduation. This year, she is conducting honors thesis research with Lu and Michael Kelly, assistant professor of economics and business, on credit derivatives.
Qian programmed a model that Lu and Donald Chambers, Walter E. Hanson/KPMG Professor of Business and Finance, designed last year.
“[The conference was] a great experience,” says Qian. “Not only did I get the chance to present my own work and get comments and suggestions, but I also was able to meet a lot of people from other schools and [learn] what others are doing in various research areas. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.”
Qian also has performed EXCEL research with Robert Root, associate professor and associate head of mathematics, on modeling the dynamics of fish muscle. She is a past recipient of the Benjamin F. Barge Mathematical Prize.
Mathematics major Kristen Mazur ’08 (Fayetteville, N.Y.) presented research she conducted with L. Thomas Hill, professor of mathematics, and students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Ursinus College, and Boston University. The team collaborated through Lafayette’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.
The REU program is an intensive, eight-week summer research experience in which undergraduate students from colleges and universities throughout the country investigate unsolved problems in mathematics. Student participants work in small groups directed by individual faculty members.
Mazur presented the research on delay differential equations at the conference with the three other members of her REU team. The equations they studied are used to model vertically transmitted diseases and correspond to birth and removal rates for susceptible and infected individuals.
“I really enjoyed the conference,” says Mazur. “It was my first time going to a big conference, and I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a good experience. I am also glad that I was given an opportunity to present my research. I feel that I will be giving these types of talks the rest of my life. It is good to get experience in them now.”
Mathematics major Jordan Tirrell ’08 (West Grove, Pa.) presented EXCEL research he conducted with Clifford Reiter, professor of mathematics, on generalizations of a perfect cuboid. They plan to submit a manuscript on the work for publication in an academic journal.
The two collaborated on a previous EXCEL project called “Pursuing the Perfect Parallelepiped.” Results from that work have been published in JP Journal of Algebra and Number Theory and Applications. Tirrell presented his work at last year’s joint meetings in San Antonio, Texas.
Tirrell was one of four Lafayette students awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship last year. He plans to pursue a doctorate in mathematics.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty students were accepted to present their research at this year’s conference.