MSU Denver Math & Stats Graduate Program Panel
On November 5, 2021, the MSU Denver Department of Mathematics and Statistics hosted its annual Graduate Program Panel.
The panel was filled with MSU Denver faculty, MSU Denver alumni, and representatives from local graduate programs, and it was moderated by our own Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Dr. Robert Niemeyer.
List of Panelists and Bios
Laura Albrecht – Laura graduated from MSU Denver in Fall 2017 (math major with a concentration in prob and stats), and she is currently a 4th-year Ph.D. student at Colorado School of Mines. She has been working on research in a variety of different areas; biochemistry, sports, climate, disease modeling, but her main focus has been on modeling the spread of COVID-19 on the Mines campus under different testing strategies and analyzing all of the campus data. Laura has also been interning at Los Alamos National Lab building a Spatiotemporal model of the West Nile virus in North America.
Dave Montgomery – Dave is a Ph.D. Candidate in Computational and Applied Math at the Colorado School of Mines, and he graduated from MSU in the spring of 2018 with a BS in Applied Math with a minor in Physics. Dave is in the 4th year of his Ph.D. He spends most of his days researching, but he also teaches a section of Intro to Scientific Computing, a junior-level class that introduces students to algorithms used in root finding, interpolation, integration/differentiation, and basic ODE solvers.
Dave’s research is focused on developing a numerical model to simulate the coagulation process in an extravascular injury. This includes solving the Navier-Stokes equations with a Finite-Volume method and tracking the number of platelets in the domain that become activated after a series of biochemical reactions.
Dr. Mark Tomforde – Dr. Tomforde is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. He works in the areas of functional analysis and algebra, and he earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Dartmouth College.
Dr. Tomforde’s research interests are in operator algebras and C*-algebras, and he has made contributions to the study of graph C*-algebras and Leavitt path algebras. He has received several awards for his teaching and outreach efforts, including the Phi Beta Kappa Award for Engaging Broader Audiences, the AMS Award for Programs that Make a Difference, and the MAA Haimo Award for Distinguished Teaching of Mathematics.
Dr. Jim Velayas – MSU Denver Class of ’71, sponsor of Janice L. & James M. Velayas, Ph.D., Endowed Scholarship
Valerie Bartell – MSU Denver Class of ’02, Valerie began working in the Finance industry in 2004 and started working for a mutual fund company, giving financial advice. Her experience with stock selection, portfolio allocation, and portfolio management propelled her to achieve her MBA at the University of Denver – Daniels College of Business in 2011 while working full-time. Valerie is now a Real Estate Appraiser for HDR and sits on the Board of Assessment Appeals for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.
Dr. Brendan Fry – Dr. Fry is an Associate Professor in the Mathematics and Statistics Department at MSU Denver, and he attended graduate school at the University of Arizona. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics in 2013, and his research interests are in mathematical biology.
Dr. Robert Niemeyer – Dr. Niemeyer has been with MSU Denver since 2019, and this semester he is teaching two sections of College Trigonometry and one section of Chaos and Nonlinear Dynamics. Dr. Niemeyer’s current research is focused on billiards on fractal tables and their associated fractal translation surfaces.
Other MSU Denver Math & Stats Faculty Panelists:
Please see the recording of this event below.