Events

April 19, 2025. CSU Fullerton and Cal Poly Pomona hosted their 2nd annual joint SIAM Student Chapter Research Conference. This conference allowed students to present their research in a friendly, supportive environment. Students gave research talks and participated in a poster session. This conference was entirely planned and coordinated by student members of the CSUF and CPP SIAM Student Chapters, giving them a unique opportunity to participate in service to the mathematics profession at an early stage of their career. Registration was free and lunch was provided with support from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

March 14, 2025. The Math/Science Teacher Initiative and the CSUF SIAM Student Chapter sponsored a screening of the documentary Counted Out. This event gave the audience an opportunity to think about the role of mathematics education in perpetuating or disrupting long-standing inequities in society. The film has what is probably the last recorded interview with Bob Moses, the civil rights icon who in later years developed The Algebra Project as a way to address what he saw as the lack of access to rigorous mathematics learning in urban and rural schools.

February 11, 2025. This workshop was designed to help students start the process of applying to the CSUF Math Department scholarships and provide tips for making their applications stand out. Resources were provided to help students draft their applications.

February 6, 2025. We started off the new semester by having fun and playing some board games with students and faculty!

December 5, 2024. CSUF faculty and SIAM Student Chapter members enjoyed snacks and board games! We had special guest appearances from Dr. Brubaker and Dr. Wynne.

November 7, 2024. Getting feedback on your statement is one of the most important (and sometimes scariest) parts of the application process. This workshop allowed students to read their peers' statements and receive feedback on their statements. This was a judgment-free space for students to make their statements even better and help their peers improve their writing. Resources were provided to help students give and receive feedback. This workshop was led by Dr. Kristin Kurianski.

October 24, 2024. This workshop helped students make edits and customize their drafts to more effectively connect their experiences with the programs to which they are applying. Resources were provided to help students with the editing process. This workshop was led by Dr. Kristin Kurianski.

October 10, 2024. This workshop helped students start the process of writing a personal statement and provided tips for making their statement stand out. Resources were provided to help students draft their statements. This workshop was led by Dr. Kristin Kurianski.

October 1, 2024. Victor Sanchez was our founding CSUF SIAM Student Chapter President. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Fluids and Thermal Sciences at Brown University. Victor shared about his experience in graduate school and his research on data-driven methods for understanding bubble dynamics in materials.

September 26, 2024. This workshop focused on helping students find programs to apply to and create an action plan for their application materials. Resources were provided to help students organize their search. This workshop was led by Dr. Kristin Kurianski.

September 12, 2024. Members built community by bowling together at the Titan Student Union Bowling & Billiards.

May 4, 2024. The CSUF and Cal Poly SIAM Student Chapters hosted a mini-conference designed to show students what mathematical research looks like and to give students the opportunity to present their research. The conference included a poster session and talks given by students. This conference was entirely organized by the Student Chapter Executive Boards, who handled room reservations, parking permits, talk registration, scheduling, and lunch.

May 2, 2024. CSUF faculty and SIAM Student Chapter members enjoyed snacks and board games! We had special guest appearances from Dr. Soto and Dr. Glesser.

April 19, 2024. Joey Jefferson of NASA JPL shared about his journey from earning math degrees at Cal Poly Pomona to supervising Voyager's attitude control system. He stepped into his current role with minimal field-specific experience, and in his talk, illuminated the profound impact a strong mathematical foundation can have on overcoming complex engineering challenges. He underscored the significance of persistence and the open-minded approach needed to turn every challenge or opportunity into a stepping stone for success.

Joey Jefferson brings a decade of experience from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and is currently an Attitude Control Systems Engineer for the Voyager mission and an Operations Systems Engineer for the SMAP and NEOWISE missions.

April 10, 2024. Five Math Department faculty members who were looking to recruit student researchers each gave short presentations on their research interests. Time was made available after the talks for informal networking between students and faculty.

Faculty Speakers included:
Amelia Stone-Johnstone (math education)
Chris Lyons (pure math)
Nick Brubaker (applied math)
Stephanie Reed (applied math)
Sunny Le (stats education)

March 14, 2024. We hosted a Pi Day celebration! All faculty and students were invited, and some baked their own pies. The event included pizza, snacks, and socializing. There was a great turnout by both students and faculty!

February 22, 2024. This workshop was designed to help students start the process of applying to the CSUF Math Department scholarships and provide tips for making their applications stand out. Resources were provided to help students draft their applications.
List of Scholarships Available

February 6, 2024. CSUF faculty and SIAM Student Chapter members enjoyed snacks and board games!

November 30, 2023. Students learned about the UCLA Department of Statistics & Data Science graduate programs, namely, the Ph.D. of Statistics & Data Science, the Master of Statistics & Data Science, and the Master of Applied Statistics & Data Science (MASDS). Guest speakers included two faculty members: Dr. Mark Handcock and Dr. Nicolas Christou, as well as a current graduate student, DuoDuo Ying. 

November 17, 2023. The guest speakers included a professor of Biostatistics (Dr. Gauderman) and two current Biostatistics PhD students at USC (Brittney Marian and Daniel Rud). Topics that were discussed included “What is Biostatistics?”, USC biostatistics MS and PhD programs, and the USC graduate-student experience. The speakers also shared information about the USC summer biostatistics program, LA's BeST.

November 9, 2023. CSUF faculty and SIAM Student Chapter members enjoyed snacks and board games!

October 17, 2023.  This workshop allowed students to read each other's statements and receive feedback from peers. We created a judgment-free space for students to make their statements even better and help their peers improve their writing. Resources were provided to help students give and receive feedback. This workshop was led by Dr. Kristin Kurianski.

October 3, 2023.  This workshop helped students make edits and customize drafts of their personal statement to more effectively connect their experiences with the programs to which they are applying. Resources were provided to help students with the editing process. This workshop was led by Dr. Kristin Kurianski.

September 29, 2023.  Natalie Quach and Maggie Elliott of UCSD's PhD in Biostatistics program gave a presentation about what biostatistics is, the UCSD biostatistics MS and PhD programs, and student outcomes.
Resources: FAQs, Application requirements

September 19, 2023. This workshop helped students start the process of writing a personal statement and provide tips for making their statements stand out. Resources were provided to help students draft their statement. This workshop was led by Dr. Kristin Kurianski.

September 5, 2023. This workshop focused on helping students find programs to apply to and create an action plan for their application materials. Resources were provided to help students organize their search. This workshop was led by Dr. Kristin Kurianski.

April 25, 2023. CSUF faculty and SIAM Student Chapter members enjoyed snacks and board games to relax before finals week!

April 7, 2023. Dr. Sean Breckling is a technical manager and group leader in the division of Computing & Data Science at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The NNSS houses research programs spanning areas such as nuclear weapons science, global and homeland security, and environmental programs. Dr. Breckling spoke about some of the mathematics he uses in his research, and he shared about internship and career opportunities at NNSS.

March 14, 2023. Dr. Natalie Gasca earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics (with a statistics emphasis) from Cal Poly Pomona and a PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Washington. After training as a Science Policy Fellow, she now coordinates outreach, communication, and legislative efforts at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. She shared how she leveraged mathematical thinking and a service-oriented drive throughout her journey, including how she navigated the decision to go to graduate school, the opportunities that arose while there, and how she adapts and contributes to policy discussions in Sacramento. You can read more about Natalie's journey here.

February 7, 2023. Students learned how participating in Research Experience for Undergraduates (REUs) can help achieve their academic and career goals. They also learned about the application process, how to ask for letters of recommendation, and gained other helpful resources for finding and applying to research opportunities. Panelists included (in photo from right to left) CSUF students Aubree Krager, Sasha Tafolla, Cadee Pinkerton, and Ayah Halabi (not pictured).

November 15, 2022. Lauren earned a Bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics from Cal Poly Pomona and a Master's in Management Science from Stanford University. She now leads investment operations at Sozo Ventures. Her talk tracked the journey of a Cal Poly Pomona math major into the corporate world and beyond. Topics included how to prepare for graduate school, what it’s like to attend Stanford and the many (and sometimes surprising) math applications in the global supply chain and venture capital.

October 13, 2022. Many applications for research opportunities, fellowships, and graduate programs require you to write a personal statement or statement of purpose. This workshop helped students start the process of writing a personal statement and provided tips for making their statement stand out.

September 27, 2022. This student poster session was designed to show what mathematical research looks like. Students who participated in mathematics research presented their findings. The event also shared resources for finding and applying to similar opportunities. Presenters included (in photo from left to right) CSUF students Justin Solis, Brittnie Villasenor, Aubree Krager, Victor Sanchez, Cadee Pinkerton, and Sasha Tafolla.

March 15, 2022. Dr. Rock is a Professor of Mathematics at Cal Poly Pomona and Director of the BAMM! Program for 2021-2022. He shared information about BAMM! and Cal-Bridge, two programs designed to help students get into and thrive in a mathematical sciences PhD program. Both programs offer scholarships up to $10,000 per year for two years.

November 5, 2021. Joey Jefferson is a flight systems engineer currently supporting flight operations for Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and NEOWISE spacecrafts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in pure math from Cal Poly Pomona and is currently studying for a space systems engineering Master’s at Johns Hopkins University. His talk focused on how a mathematics major can leverage their mathematics background for a systems engineer position in the industry. Topics included what programming/networking skills should be learned, how mathematical thinking can help in the aerospace industry in general, interview tips, internship advice, and more.

February 18, 2021. The CSUF SIAM Student Chapter watched the Perseverance Rover landing on Mars and heard commentary from Cal Poly Pomona graduate and NASA JPL Systems Engineer Joey Jefferson.