FaculTEA is a COMP seminar designed to promote graduate student and faculty engagement. During these special seminars, a faculty member is invited to come have an informal discussion about their research with current graduate students while enjoying a cup of tea or coffee.
The featured faculty on 5/17 will be Patrick Guidotti
- What is your position in the Department?
Professor
- How long have you been at UCI? What did you do before joining us?
I joined UCI in Fall 2001 after a Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship that I spend partly in Germany at the Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and at partly at Caltech and after I was Von Karman Instructor at Caltech for two years. I did my undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
- What are your research interests?
I am interested in Applied Analysis and Applied Mathematics.
- If someone is interested in being your student, how should they introduce themselves? (i.e., email, in person, take a class with you, etc.)
Just get in touch and meet to explore common interests and mutual expectations. We can then identify potential research topics and start some introductory reading.
- If someone is interested in being your student, what kinds of classes should they take?
Depending on the focus of the research project an appropriate selection of Real, Complex, and Functional Analysis, PDEs, Numerical Analysis, Methods of Applied Math, Probability, and Introduction to Manifolds/Geometry.
The featured faculty on 5/10 was Paul Carter
- What is your position in the Department?
Assistant Professor
- How long have you been at UCI? What did you do before joining us?
I joined UCI in Fall 2021. Before this, I was an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota. And before that, I was a postdoc at the University of Arizona, and at Leiden University.
- What are your research interests?
My research area is applied dynamical systems and PDEs. I’m interested in the dynamics of nonlinear waves and patterns arising in mathematical biology, physiology, ecology, and physics. For example, the propagation of impulses in nerve fibers, the formation of stellar winds, or vegetation patterns in the desert, are all phenomena that can be described by PDEs which can be studied using methods from dynamical systems. The field is broad in terms of potential applications, and I get to use a range of analytical/geometric techniques, as well as computational/numerical methods. My website also has descriptions of some recent projects.
- If someone is interested in being your student, how should they introduce themselves? (i.e., email, in person, take a class with you, etc.)
Any of those options are good. Feel free to email me to set up a meeting to chat a bit about what I’m working on. Taking a class with me and/or doing some sort of reading course or summer project are good ways to see if there might be a good fit, and to get to know what the research area is like.
- If someone is interested in being your student, what kinds of classes should they take?
The 290 applied math sequence is especially helpful. In terms of related qual courses, real/complex analysis are the most relevant. The PDEs sequence 295, math/comp bio 227, or the numerical methods classes 225/226 could also be helpful.
The featured faculty on 5/3 was Jeff Streets
- What is your position in the Department?
Professor
- How long have you been at UCI? What did you do before joining us?
11 years, I was a postdoc at Princeton before coming here.
- What are your research interests?
Differential geometry, geometric analysis, and a tiny bit of statistics through information geometry.
- If someone is interested in being your student, how should they introduce themselves? (i.e., email, in person, take a class with you, etc.)
All of these are great options, but probably an e-mail is the simplest and most direct way. I am pretty responsive with e-mail in general.
- If someone is interested in being your student, what kinds of classes should they take?
Aside from all qual courses, 218, the differential geometry sequence, and 240, the geometric analysis sequence. Also algebraic topology (250) certainly helps.
Are there any (tv series/movies/books/podcasts) that you have particularly enjoyed recently?
I am a rabid cinephile, and watch most of what comes to theaters. Most recently I LOVED “Everything everywhere all at once,’’ and also “The Northman,’’ for very different reasons!
What was the first (CD/album/concert) you ever (bought/attended)?
The answer is the same for both: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
What is something a lot of people in the department do not know about you?
I was briefly a near-professional level Go player
If you could have a 10 minute conversation with any (mathematician/person-in-history) (alive or dead), who would you choose?
I would love to talk to Riemann and ask where he saw Riemannian geometry headed in the next two centuries.
The featured faculty on 4/26 is Jesse Wolfson
- What is your position in the Department?
Associate Professor
- How long have you been at UCI? What did you do before joining us?
I’ve been here since 2017. I was a postdoc (L.E. Dickson Instructor) at the University of Chicago from 2014-2017, and did my PhD at Northwestern University from 2009-2014.
- What are your research interests?
Pretty broad. I’m a topologist at heart, and I think topology is most fun when it’s interacting with other areas. A lot of the 20th century saw amazing interactions between topology and analysis (think Atiyah-Singer index theorem), and this is where I started out in grad school, and there’s a huge amount of work going on right now at the interface of topology and number theory and algebraic geometry, and that’s where the majority of my interest and work is right now.
- If someone is interested in being your student, how should they introduce themselves? (i.e., email, in person, take a class with you, etc.)
Any of the above. Email is best if you aren’t taking a class with me since when I’m in my office, I’m generally there for a scheduled meeting (or trying to get research done with the door closed). But if you see me in the hallway or at a department function, please come say hi.
- If someone is interested in being your student, what kinds of classes should they take?
My students have pretty broad interests and backgrounds, but everyone has a core interest and experience with topology (e.g. the 250 and 218 sequences). Algebraic geometry (234 series) and a solid grounding in commutative algebra and number theory (232 series) are also helpful.
Are there any (tv series/movies/books/podcasts) that you have particularly enjoyed recently?
Netflix recently added my favorite Japanese tv show Hajimete no Otsukai (“Old Enough”). If you haven’t seen it, it’s a reality tv show that follows small children (e.g. 2 year olds) as they go on big errands. I watched it a lot the year I lived in Japan, and it’s even better now that I have kids of my own.
If you could have a 10 minute conversation with any (mathematician/person-in-history) (alive or dead), who would you choose?
I would love to have gotten to talk with Vladimir Arnold about his idea that mathematics is like a mushroom, and about how he thought about Hilbert’s 13th problem and related questions.
The featured faculty on 4/19 was Alexandra Florea
- What is your position in the Department?
I’m an assistant professor.
- How long have you been at UCI? What did you do before joining us?
I started this past fall (2021). I was a postdoc at Columbia University before.
- What are your research interests?
I’m interested in analytic number theory, as well as in connections between number theory and random matrix theory.
- If someone is interested in being your student, how should they introduce themselves? (i.e., email, in person, take a class with you, etc.)
Any of these would work.
- If someone is interested in being your student, what kinds of classes should they take?
Due to my Some background in real/ complex analysis is needed. The 232 sequence could also be helpful. If you’re interested in working with me, we can discuss doing a reading course in analytic number theory.
Are there any (tv series/movies/books/podcasts) that you have particularly enjoyed recently?
I’ve recently read “Burying the typewriter” by Carmen Bugan, which I liked. The author recounts her childhood in communist Romania, and describes the dramatic repercussions her father’s political activities had over the entire family.
What is the best (food/drink fill-in-the-blank) around Irvine? (So, you can choose whatever you want to highlight — can be pizza, cappuccinos, boba, Thai food, etc.)
Best macarons: Honey&Butter Macarons (Spectrum).
Best drip coffee: Philz Coffee (South Coast Plaza)
The featured faculty on 4/5 was Chris Miles
- What is your position in the Department?
I’m an Assistant Professor.
- How long have you been at UCI? What did you do before joining us?
I started in July 2021. Before this, I was a postdoc at the Courant Institute at NYU.
- What are your research interests?
I’m a mathematical biologist. Questions I’m interested in often take the form: how and why does stuff move inside cells? My favorite (and most common) flavor of work is directly collaborating with biologists to help understand their data. My side typically looks like some combination of math modeling (PDEs, stochastics, agent-based simulations) and increasingly, data science and statistics.
- If someone is interested in being your student, how should they introduce themselves? (i.e., email, in person, take a class with you, etc.)
Anything works. Email me to set up a meeting or ambush me while I’m eating lunch outside Rowland. I became a mathematician to work with other people, not sit in a room alone and prove theorems. Therefore, I’m happy to chat if I’m available. If you’re interested in working with me, we can discuss setting up a test run of working together (e.g., a reading course) to see if it’s a good match.
- If someone is interested in being your student, what kinds of classes should they take?
Due to my newness, I’m a little fuzzy on the specific classes offered, but the most obvious would be the math & computational biology sequence, MATH 227. The new applied math qual sequence, MATH 290, would also provide a rock-solid foundation.
Are there any (tv series/movies/books/podcasts) that you cannot stop yourself from (watching/reading) recently? (i.e., hate-(watch/read/listen))
I’ve recently been into a reality TV show called Alone. The premise is contestants get dropped off with very basic tools (like a knife and axe) and the winner must survive as long as possible. The early seasons are entertaining in a cringe way because the firsts to sign up for the show way overestimated their skills and are a total mess (one guy drinks salt water and starts hallucinating). On the later seasons (7 is the best), the contestants are sincerely amazing with their skills (e.g., hunting oxen with just a knife). I think there’s something cathartic about the prospect of moving away from society and living like this.
What is the best (food/drink fill-in-the-blank) around Irvine? (So, you can choose whatever you want to highlight — can be pizza, cappuccinos, boba, Thai food, etc.)
Inspired by Anna’s response last week – I will slightly alter the category to best vegan Mexican food: Vegan by El Zamorano. My personal favorites are the chile relleno burrito and the classic California burrito. If you go, there’s a good chance you’ll run into me. I’m there embarrassingly often.
Is there an anecdote from your childhood you used to think was embarrassing but now you think is funny?
I was really into video games as a kid. I wanted to drop out of high school to pursue esports full time. This doesn’t seem quite as ridiculous now that esports have exploded in popularity (UCI even has an official organization!) but back then, it was effectively impossible. I won a little bit of money competing, but thankfully my parents pushed back on this plan and I ended up staying in school rather than playing Counter Strike and World of Warcraft full-time.
Fill-in-the-blank question. (Is there a question you would have wanted to be included here?)
No, but I will steal another good idea from Anna: taking the opportunity to share a picture of my cat, Piper. She loves soaking up the SoCal sun and that our new home has 5x the amount of space we had in NYC.
The featured faculty on 3/29 was Anna Ma
- What is your position in the Department?
Visiting Assistant Professor (i.e., Postdoc)
- How long have you been at UCI? What did you do before joining us?
I’ve been at UC Irvine since 2019. Before joining, I was a UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UCSD and before that, graduate school at Claremont Graduate University.
- What are your research interests?
Mathematical data science, numerical linear algebra, machine learning. Previously, I’ve worked on designing and analyzing new algorithmic approaches to solve problems, usually involving large amounts of data when traditional approaches are no longer appropriate. More recently, I’ve also been interested in data integration, visualization, and working with tensor (multiway) data.
- If someone is interested in being your student, how should they introduce themselves? (i.e., email, in person, take a class with you, etc.)
If you can take a class with me, it makes meeting a lot more natural and you can mention your interest in working together. Without taking a class, an email works best for a general introduction — information to include would be things like your year, research interests, what classes you’ve taken, and goals for your phd (i.e., industry/academia).
- If someone is interested in being your student, what kinds of classes should they take?
Applied math, Optimization, Numerical Analysis, and Probability
What is the best (food/drink fill-in-the-blank) around Irvine? (So, you can choose whatever you want to highlight — can be pizza, cappuccinos, boba, Thai food, etc.)
Best vegan fast food: Nice Guys in Costa Mesa. Although it’s vegan, it is not healthy in any capacity. I highly recommend it. 🙂
What is something a lot of people in the department do not know about you?
I’m Vietnamese-American and can read/write/speak Vietnamese at about a 1st grade level. Both my parents were born and grew up there before coming to the US as refugees during the Vietnam war.
(Is there a question you would have wanted to be included here?)
I am camera shy and in addition to submitting a picture of myself, I have submitted a picture of my cats Lubu and CaoCao. They’re the ones who really run the show.