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Six Undergraduate Students Receive 2007 Trjitzinsky Awards
September 25, 2007
Providence, RI: The American Mathematical Society (AMS) has made $18,000 in awards to six students, names and schools below, through the Waldemar J. Trjitzinsky Memorial Fund. The fund is made possible by a bequest from the estate of Waldemar J., Barbara G. and Juliette Trjitzinsky, which stipulates that the income from the bequest should be used to establish a fund to assist needy students who may be in danger of not completing the degree program in mathematics for financial reasons. The AMS chose six geographically distributed schools in a random drawing from the pool of the Society's institutional members, and the mathematics departments at those schools then chose students to receive the funds to assist them in pursuit of careers in mathematics.
The recipients, who each received $3000, are:
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Susan Christine Massey - University of Washington
Susan is a senior working toward her B.S. in mathematics. She spent the summer of 2007 working in the lab of Dr. Kristin Swanson, developing a mathematical model of glioma (a type of brain tumor) genesis and evolution, through funding by the Amgen Scholars Foundation. This past winter she took care of her mother and 10-year old brother during her mother's bone marrow transplant, taking off only one quarter from school, so that she could stay in school to achieve her dream of being the first in her family to graduate from college. She continues to support her family as her mother is still unable to return to work. Susan aims to pursue an MD/Ph.D. with a focus in neurology to research causes of and treatments for neurological diseases. Pictured here is Massey receiving the award from Prof. Tuncel. |
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Amy Streifel - Lewis and Clark College
Amy expects to complete her B.A. degree in mathematics next spring and plans to go to graduate school and eventually pursue an academic career. She graduated as co-valedictorian from Newport High School (OR) and majored in mathematics because she had middle and high school math teachers who made the subject fun. Amy has continued to have fun studying mathematics at Lewis and Clark, while also pursuing a minor in art and working as a tutor in the Math Skills Center. She recently returned from a semester overseas in Australia, where mathematics was not left behind, but rather became permanent with Euler's famous equation e^{i*pi} + 1 = 0 tattooed on her ankle. In her spare time Amy enjoys reading, gardening, origami and raising chickens and pheasants. |
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Rosemary Holguin - SUNY at New Paltz
Rosemary is majoring in mathematics and adolescence education, and plans to graduate in fall 2008. She was born in Colombia, has been in the U.S. for six years, and is a first-generation college student. She wants to become an effective and influential high school mathematics teacher, with the option to expand and apply her knowledge in research. Last summer Rosemary worked with faculty on two different research projects that she found to be challenging, but a great experience: "Positivity of Polynomials" and "Changes of Structure and Electron Density of Cadmium Sulfide Clusters with Zero to Four Organic Ligands Attached." |
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Emily Jean Ognacevic - Saint Louis University
In just her second year as a mathematics major at Saint Louis University (SLU), Emily is already moving into advanced mathematics courses. A graduate of Divine Savior Holy Angels High School in Milwaukee (WI), she received a Women in Math and Science award and scholarship, and was president of her high school's National Honor Society chapter. Since enrolling at SLU she has excelled in academics as well as service, working at SLU's admissions office and also tutoring local high school students. She enjoys playing the piano and doing crossword puzzles. Emily plans to pursue a career as a mathematician or cryptanalyst. |
Betsy Kay Barr - University of Tennessee Knoxville
Betsy is a senior in mathematics as well as a member of the University of Tennessee Chancellor's Honors Program, where she served as president of the Honors Council. Betsy came to the University of Tennessee after growing up in South Africa with missionary parents. She, with her husband Philip, would like to live overseas one day. One of their goals is to open a school in an underprivileged area where she would teach math and they would have the opportunity to impact students' lives in a positive manner.
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Kayla Rose Boyle - University of Northern Iowa
Kayla Rose Boyle was born in Natchitoches, LA and moved to Ankeny (IA) with her family when she was five. She graduated from Ankeny High School in May. She was active in her church community through high school, participating in youth choirs, the Religious Education program, and the Youth Ministry. Through the Youth Ministry Kayla volunteered for multiple organizations including food pantries and Habitat for Humanity, and helped families rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Her plans are to double major in mathematics and chemistry with a minor in Spanish at the university. |
Waldemar J. Trjitzinsky was born in Russia in 1901 and received his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1926. He taught at a number of institutions before taking a position at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he remained for the rest of his professional life. He showed particular concern for students of mathematics and in some cases made personal efforts to ensure that financial considerations would not hinder their studies. Trjitzinsky was the author of about 60 mathematics papers, primarily on quasi-analytic functions and partial differential equations. A member of the AMS for 46 years, he died in 1973.
For further information, contact:
Mike Breen or Annette Emerson
Public Awareness Office
American Mathematical Society
201 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
Email: paoffice at ams dot org
Phone: 401-455-4000
Fax: 401-331-3842
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Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.
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