Dr. Moira Chas is associate professor of Mathematics at Stony Brook University. She was born in Argentina in 1965. She discovered early in her life a passion for writing and, a bit later, a passion for math. She completed her “Licenciatura” (something like a masters degree) at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina and her Ph.D. in the Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. Soon after completing her Ph.D., she came to the US for a three-month work visit… and never left. She strongly believes in the benefits of teaching while interacting with students. In her work, she strives to find different representations of the concepts she is trying to understand. These representations are by means of computer programs, or pictures or knitted shapes. In the same vein, she believes in communicating mathematics to a larger audience than her colleagues and students. She is the recipient of the Godfrey Teaching Excellence Award. She also won the Simons Center Science Playwriting Competition with her play “The Mathematical Visions of Alicia Boole.”

She works in low dimensional topology and gravitates to mathematics that can be expressed by pictures. A large part of her research is rooted in finding and probing mathematical conjectures with computers. Many of these computer experiments have been conducted in collaboration with undergraduate students, graduate students and high school students. Jointly with Dennis Sullivan, they discovered and formulated “String Topology.”

Shanna is an NSF Mathematical Sciences Graduate Research Fellow, UCR Chancellor Distinguished Fellow, Caltech SURF Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study Women and Mathematics Ambassador, Associate Member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society, USC CUE & CETL Faculty Equity Fellow, and author studying Geometric Langlands, K-theory, and perfectoid spaces. She is Chair of the AWM-MAA Liaison Committee, Program Chair of the Southern California-Nevada Section of the MAA, Vice President of the AWM Chapter at UCR, officer of the AWM-MathFest Committee, officer of the AWM-Meetings Committee, the Alternate NSS Lecturer Representative to the Academic Senate at Cal State LA, the At-Large Representative and Secretary of the Faculty Council Committee at ArtCenter College of Design.

Shanna has authored two fantastical fiction books: Artemis Blu and the Solarium Multiversity, Artemis Blu II: Infinity Diamonds in Infinity Diapsalmata, in her book series The Artemis Chronicles of Imaginarium.

Shanna co-teaches Designing a Time Machine with Dr. Spruijt.

Dr. Nika Hogan is Associate Professor of English at Pasadena City College (PCC), lead designer for the California Community College Success Initiative (3CSN), and the Reading Apprenticeship College Coordinator for WestEd. Her work is focused on developing transformative inquiry-based learning opportunities that help educators and students alike reach their full potential. She helped to develop the First Year Pathways program at PCC, which was awarded the California Community College’s Chancellor’s Office Award for a Student Success Initiative. She has a B.A. in English and Women’s Studies from the University of Michigan, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Multiethnic U.S. Literatures from the University of Massachusetts.

Dr. Weitao Chen is an applied mathematician specialized in numerical methods, scientific computing and computational systems biology. On the perspective of numerical methods and scientific computing, her research is focused on the development of high order methods for solving hyperbolic conservation laws, shape optimization of elliptic type eigenvalue problems and efficient solvers for reaction-diffusion systems in high dimensions. On the perspective of computational systems biology, her research interest is to understand fundamental principles in developmental biology, such as the mechanisms underlying pattern formation and growth control by developing multiscale mathematical models. Specifically, her research involves modeling spatiotemporal biochemical signaling network during cell polarization, e.g. yeast cells and pavement cells, or tissue growth such as Drosophila wing disc and shoot apical meristem in Arabidopsis Thaliana, as well as cell mechanical properties and stochasticity in signal transduction.

Lesley Wiglesworth is an Associate Professor of mathematics at Centre College. Her current research is focused primarily in discrete mathematics, and more specifically, combinatorics and graph theory. Lesley is very involved in undergraduate research and has mentored close to 30 students during her time at Centre. She recently collaborated with students and faculty from Centre and Murray State University on a cross-institutional research project involving graph labelings. She has also co-authored two book chapters and one publication centered around undergraduate research.

Lesley developed a study abroad course on the mathematics and architecture of ancient Peru. In addition to traveling to sites of Inca, such as Cusco and Machu Picchu, students also explored the Chimú and Moche cultures while visiting the north coast of Peru.

Camille Korbut is the current UCR AWM Student Chapter President and a stem peer mentor in the STEM Connections Program. She is majoring in Applied Mathematics with an emphasis on Biology. Her research involves the study of desynchrony in circadian rhythms and their impact on human health at the University of Arizona.

Claudia Maria Schmidt, originally from Cologne, Germany, has encountered a multitude of disciplines in her education. She holds a PhD in German Linguistics form the university of Cologne, Germany, a BA with double major Music and Theater Arts and Dance (dance option) and a MA in Interdisciplinary Studies on Adult Performance in Music and Dance from California State University at Los Angeles. She currently works for the Los Angeles based local opera company LAMet Opera as a chorus master and ensemble leader. Inspired by the curriculum of her MA in Interdisciplinary Studies, she became again interested in Mathematics and devoted her final MA project to the embodiment of mathematical models of aging through performance in vocal and piano music and dance. Together with her MA, she also earned a Subject Matter degree for teaching Mathematics at the foundational level (grades 5 -10) and is now working towards her Master’s degree in Mathematics.