Math 480 is a semester-long research seminar for graduating UH Mānoa math majors. Students learn LaTeX/Overleaf, computational tools, and how to write a research proposal and short paper, then develop an independent or small-group project over the semester. Each student gives three oral presentations, including a midterm project-idea talk. [Syllabus]
The course culminated in a public Project Showcase (May 6, 2026, Keller Hall), where 13 student groups — 17 senior math majors — presented talks and posters on topics ranging from combinatorial game theory and cubical polytopes to models of planetary rotation, coral mixing dynamics, and optimization. Two of the projects, DispersalNim: A Combinatorial Game on Graphs (Adam Inamasu) and Vertex Minimal Cubical Surfaces (Rowan Miller), were advised by Hailun Zheng and connect directly to her research in geometric combinatorics. [Details]