How would you finish the following sentence: being a professor at Trinity means… 

Being a professor at Trinity means dedicating myself to being an excellent instructor for my students and a supportive research mentor for undergraduates looking to pursue graduate studies or careers in industry. I also actively seek opportunities to serve both the Math and Trinity communities and engage in outreach activities to promote STEM involvement among high school students.

You have participated in the TaP (Tigers as Partners) program on a couple of occasions in recent years, showing your commitment to expanding your pedagogical approaches and improving your courses to benefit student learning. What keeps you committed to exploring new pedagogical methods and what can you share with others who may be interested in doing their own exploration?

My passion for teaching drives me to continuously improve the learning environment for my students and help them prepare for their future. This is why no two iterations of my courses are ever the same – I actively seek student feedback to adjust the course pace and refine my teaching methodologies, ensuring that students find the material engaging and relevant to their majors and careers.

The TaP program has been invaluable in this process, as my student partner provides objective insights that help me enhance my courses even further. I believe Math is an exciting subject, and making it accessible requires presenting it at a level where students can appreciate both its content and applications. To foster engagement, I’ve moved away from traditional lecture-based teaching and instead incorporate group activities, projects, and study groups, where students can collaborate, build friendships, and work with peer tutors.

Creating a positive, active-learning classroom environment is my ultimate goal, and I encourage anyone interested in exploring new pedagogical methods to do so – your students will truly appreciate how your innovations enhance their learning experience.

Although you are a faculty member in the mathematics department here at Trinity, your expansive research intersects with fields ranging from biology to physics. What is your hope for the impact that your work will have for people in the academic community and in broader society?

As an applied mathematician, I enjoy collaborating with faculty in STEM departments and partnering with industry professionals to tackle real-world problems. My recent interdisciplinary research, at the intersection of mathematics, biology, and physics, seeks to bridge the gap between theoretical models and practical applications. I am particularly interested in developing new mathematical models and simulations inspired by experimental findings and insights from these fields.

Within the academic community, I hope my work encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, motivating mathematicians to engage with practical challenges in the natural sciences and fostering innovative solutions that emerge from cross-disciplinary perspectives. For broader society, my goal is to contribute to addressing complex challenges, such as enhancing our understanding of biological systems.

Beyond research, I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of learners. I aim to show undergraduate students at Trinity and high school students through outreach activities how mathematics serves as a vital tool for solving real-world problems. Ultimately, I hope my work not only advances knowledge in my research area of computational fluid dynamics but also plays a role in enriching Trinity’s research training opportunities for students, fostering both academic and personal growth.

In Winter 2023, you, along with Dr. Orrin Shindell and Dr. Frank Healy, received an NSF (National Science Foundation) grant to study how bacteria move through their fluid environment using flagella, which consist of a helical appendage rotated by a molecular motor, similar to how a tail works. First, Congratulations! How did this interdisciplinary project come to fruition and do you have any recommendations to other faculty who are seeking grant funding for their research?

Thank you! This collaborative NSF grant is the result of our longstanding and successful work investigating bacterial motility. Sharing a common research goal has allowed us to combine our diverse expertise to address the complexities of how bacteria navigate their fluid environment at a microscopic scale.

For faculty seeking grant funding, I recommend maintaining an open and curious mindset when facing research challenges. Sometimes, unexpected directions – though initially unrelated to your original goals – can lead to exciting new avenues of exploration. It’s also essential to stay persistent and continuously push the research forward, even when immediate results aren’t evident.

While navigating the current landscape of NSF funding can be challenging, I believe that focusing on interdisciplinary problems increases the potential for impactful discoveries. By consistently engaging in meaningful research, we position ourselves to develop compelling proposals when funding opportunities arise. Lastly, it’s important not to be discouraged by unsuccessful applications. The grant-writing process itself is invaluable – often leading to publications or refined ideas that strengthen future proposals and ultimately benefit both the researcher and the academic community.