Inquiries from prospective students
Undergraduate Students
If you are an undergraduate student at U of A who is interested in working with me please feel free to reach out to me via email. Before embarking on research, I generally expect that you have demonstrated proficiency in a few upper-level (300+) mathematics and statistics courses. When you email me I ask that you please send me:
An acknowledgement that you have done your due diligence and have read this page. Mention this in your email.
Your most recent transcript and a CV.
Commentary on what areas interest you and why you find them exciting.
Any other relevant experience and skills that you have.
Master's and PhD Students
If you are a prospective graduate student that is interested in working with me I encourage you to apply here. Due to time constraints, I unfortunately cannot respond to most email inquiries before the graduate school application deadline. Please do not get discouraged. If you are admitted into the program I am more than happy to address any questions you may have.
If you choose to apply and wish to work with me here are a few tips for your application:
Describe some cutting-edge, statistical theory or methodology that fascinates you and outline some potential directions that you would like to work on. This is particularly important if you are a PhD applicant. The more specific the better. Stating that you are interested in mathematical statistics or machine learning is probably not specific enough. Do not worry; what you say on your application will not confine what research topics you end up working on. Also, do not worry if what you propose has some flaws. This is a normal part of doing research.
Mention my name somewhere in your application.
Connect your research interests with mine. As you will likely work on a topic related to one of our common research interests, I want to know that there would be a topic that would be a good fit for you. A lot of my work involves applications of geometry and algebra to statistics. Any abstract mathematical background you have, while not necessary, is an asset.