At the tri-border of Slovenia, Austria, and Italy!
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Soka University of America - Go Lions!
kperry at soka dot edu
Office: Gandhi 416
Welcome! I am an Associate Professor at Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, CA. Before Soka, I was a postdoc at the University of Denver where I was mentored by Paul Horn. And before that, I attended graduate school at Auburn University in southern Alabama (War Eagle!) where I was advised by Chris Rodger for both my PhD and MSc.
Broadly speaking, my research focuses on graph theory, combinatorics, and design theory, but lately I have also been interested network science.
I'm also a member of the U.S. - Africa Collaborative Research Network, which aims to improve the human infrastructure in mathematical sciences in both the US and Sub-Saharan Africa, especially among underrepresented groups, with hopes of creating high quality, long-term U.S. - Africa research partnerships among researchers from diverse backgrounds. Through this research network, I have been attending the Masamu Advanced Study Institute's research workshop since 2016.
For more information, please see my cv.
News and Announcements
I was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure and will be on Sabbatical for AY 2025-2026 ! 🥳🎉
Looking forward to visiting the IBS Discrete Mathematics Group (DIMAG) in Daejeon, South Korea Sept 1 - Oct 31 this fall !
As part of Soka's takeover of NPR's The Academic Minute, I was featured this spring. You can listen here. 🎧
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to my four capstone students and research assistant who graduated this spring: Mahir Anand, Nina Battioni, Ngoc (PN) Doan, Sarah Johnson, and Devin Weber !!
I am also so excited and proud to share the following updates from my current and former students and RAs:
My research assistant, Hiroshi Nonaka, was awarded Soka's Ikeda Scholarship! This award is based on academic accomplishment with experiences in leadership and service and is the most prestigious scholarship program at SUA! Hiroshi also participated in an REU on Combinatorics, Algorithms, and AI for Real Problems at the University of Maryland this summer.
My capstone student, Mahir Anand, will be starting his PhD in Computer Science at Iowa State University this fall - Go Cyclones !
My former capstone student, Parik Chalise, passed his preliminary Graduate Board Oral Examination for his PhD in Applied Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University this summer and I was honored and excited to have beeen on his GBO exam committee ! Congratulations, Parik !
My capstone student, Ngoc Doan, is working as a Software Engineer at both DoorDash and SmartSolar.
My capstone student, Devin Weber, will be starting his Master's in Mathematics Education at Teachers College, Columbia University this fall.