UNews - Nathan Ng

Wilk inspired to forge ahead with academic career in mathematics

trevor.kenney — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 21:14:54 +0000

Having recently returned from the 25th annual Women and Mathematics (WAM) program at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey, the path to an academic career in mathematics is clearer than ever for fifth-year mathematics student, Kirsten Wilk.

Wilk grew up on a farm near Vauxhall, Alberta, and says that her high school math teacher, Nadine Schellenberg (BSc, BEd, ’08) was an incredible mentor and someone who always expressed enthusiasm about math. After attending an open house at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge (U of L), Wilk was inspired by the passion she encountered from people in the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science and, despite being uncertain what kind of career she desired, she decided to pursue a degree in math.

Throughout her time at the U of L, Wilk has taken full advantage of opportunities such as participating in co-op work terms, foreign exchanges and working as a research assistant with several of her professors.

“Going on an exchange to La Rochelle, France was an unforgettable experience. I got to live and study in another country for eight months, during which time I met incredible people from all over the world, learned French and gained confidence,” says Wilk, who was able to complete a minor in French over the course of her exchange.

She believes her experience growing up on a farm gave her the work ethic needed to succeed in post-secondary study. She has had the opportunity to return to agriculture through the Co-operative Education program and is currently completing her fourth co-op work term, this time with the Cereal Agronomy program at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge.

During her previous co-op work terms with the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, Wilk had the opportunity to work as a research assistant with Drs. Habiba Kadiri, Nathan Ng and Dave Morris. A direct result of these co-op opportunities is that she has one research paper that has been submitted to a journal, and two more that will be submitted after the final edits are complete. Her work as an NSERC USRA with Kadiri and Ng led to a presentation given during the U of L’s Number Theory and Combinatorics Seminar in Fall 2017, as well as a talk at the 2018 Alberta Number Theory Days X conference in Banff.

“It was a valuable experience to speak at a conference as an undergrad, and to be able to meet other math students and researchers in the province,” says Wilk.

She hopes that her published papers, speaking opportunities and attendance at conferences will help with acceptance into a master's program.

Both Kadiri and Ng speak highly of Wilk’s ability to absorb new material quickly, along with her enthusiasm, determination and curiosity during the course of their research project.

“I appreciate how determined Kirsten is to work in mathematical sciences. She has enough confidence to attack problems and does not shy away from the work it requires,” explains Kadiri.

Recently, Wilk’s professors encouraged her to apply to the WAM program at the IAS, a program dedicated to mentoring young female math students and researchers. This year was the 25th anniversary of the program, and many of its past participants have continued on to become great mathematical researchers and lecturers.

“It was inspiring to learn about mathematics from female lecturers, in a room full of female math students, as part of a program organized almost entirely by women,” says Wilk. “This year, the topic was modern cryptography and I really enjoyed learning about some practical applications of math to the real world – one of the lecturers showed us the math behind how the Enigma machine from WWII was broken. This lecturer was from the National Security Agency (NSA), so she had access to an actual Enigma machine, which she brought with her to demonstrate how it worked!”

While her acceptance and participation in the WAM program was a humbling experience, Wilk says it inspired her to continue pursuing a MSc and possibly a PhD.

“One of the most valuable takeaways from my experience at the IAS was the opportunity to talk about math with other women similar to myself at various stages of their academic careers,” says Wilk. “For example, I talked to one woman who did her master’s studying the mathematical theory behind general relativity. It never occurred to me that this was something that could be studied from a mathematical perspective and it got me excited about continuing my academic career in math!”

After she graduates in August, Wilk looks to fulfill her dream of a working holiday in Scotland before pursuing a master’s, either in Canada or Europe, studying applied mathematics in either physics, astronomy or mathematical engineering.

“I am very proud to be a woman studying math. I’ve been lucky to have several great mentors in math, many of whom are women. I think it’s important for women to support and encourage each other in any discipline, but particularly in a male-dominated discipline such as math.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge awarded record $3.9 million in NSERC funding

trevor.kenney — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:04:26 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge was awarded a record $3.9 million of funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) this year, with U of L researchers earning support for projects in neuroscience, biological sciences, psychology, chemistry & biochemistry, physics & astronomy, geography and mathematics & computer science.

This unprecedented level of support was announced earlier today by Canada’s Minister of State (Science and Technology), the Honourable Ed Holder, at a national funding announcement in Oshawa, Ont.

Dr. Robert McDonald’s base grant of $355,000 (over five years) is the largest NSERC grant awarded to the U of L this year.

“This latest round of NSERC funding clearly demonstrates the outstanding research our faculty and students are undertaking,” says Interim Vice-President (Research) Dr. Lesley Brown. “That our research portfolio continues to grow as it does is testament to the quality of the work being done and also speaks to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ striking the right balance as a comprehensive teaching and research institution.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers receiving NSERC Discovery Grant funding include: Dr. Gerlinde Metz (neuroscience); Dr. Aaron Gruber (neuroscience); Dr. Alice Hontela (biological sciences); Dr. Jean-Baptiste Leca (psychology); Dr. David Logue (psychology); Dr. Artur Luczak (neuroscience); Dr. Robert McDonald (neuroscience); Dr. Majid Mohajerani (neuroscience); Dr. Gregory Pyle (biological sciences); Dr. Masami Tatsuno (neuroscience); Dr. Paul Vasey (psychology); Dr. Robert Laird (biological sciences); Dr. René Boeré (chemistry & biochemistry); Dr. Paul Hayes (chemistry & biochemistry); Dr. Locke Spencer (physics & astronomy); Dr. Mark Walton (physics & astronomy); Dr. Christopher Hopkinson (geography); Dr. Robert Benkoczi (mathematics & computer science); Dr. Shahadat Hossain (mathematics & computer science); Dr. Habiba Kadiri (mathematics & computer science); Dr. Nathan Ng (mathematics & computer science).

In addition, Drs. John Zhang and Olga Kovalchuk were each awarded NSERC Discovery Development Grants.

Luczak and McDonald will also both receive an additional $120,000 in funds through the Discovery Accelerator Supplements program (over a three-year period), while McDonald’s base grant of $355,000 (over five years) is the largest NSERC grant awarded to the U of L this year. He is studying neural circuits and mechanisms of context-specific conditioned inhibition.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s doctoral students were extremely successful in the NSERC Doctoral Scholarship competitions, led by Katie Wilson (chemistry & biochemistry), who was named a Canada Vanier Scholar, demonstrating leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies. Jason Flindall (neuroscience) was awarded a Canadian Doctoral Scholarship, while Kayla Stone (neuroscience), Allonna Harker (neuroscience) and Stefan Lenz (chemistry & biochemistry) were awarded NSERC Postgraduate Doctoral Scholarships. Additionally, five masters students were awarded the NSERC Canadian Graduate Scholarship, including: Justin Lee (neuroscience), Serena Shandik (neuroscience), Matthew Robbins (physics & astronomy), Rhys Hakstol (chemistry & biochemistry) and Douglas Turnbull (chemistry & biochemistry).

“We are pleased with the amount of money invested in our researchers and what this could yield in terms of the results they will achieve and the benefits their work will bring to society,” adds Brown. “Our continuing success with the federal research funding agencies is testament to our researchers’ ability to compete on the national stage.”

NSERC grants aim to develop, attract and retain the world’s most talented researchers at Canadian universities who are working in a multitude of scientific and engineering disciplines.

2010 faculty research awards

trevor.kenney — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:36:52 +0000

External SSHRC Grants
(Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council)

Paul Vasey and Martin Lalumiere (Aid to Research Workshops and Conferences in Canada) $23,663
Claudia Malacrida is a co-applicant on a $1 million CURA through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta

Independent Foundational Grants

Fangfang Li $4,800
Duane Rockerbie $4,000
Ed Wasiak $3,000
David Gregory $11,780
Malla Stavroula $11,500

CREDO Applications
(Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities)

Kiki Benzon
Robin Bright
Lynn Kennedy
Kevin McGeough
Janice Newberry
Claudia Steinke/Helen Kelley
Wei Xu

CIHR
(Canadian Institutes of Health Research)

Ute Kothe
Igor Kovalchuk
Gerlinde Metz
Paul Vasey
H.-J. Wieden
Kelley Williams-Whitt

AGRI
(Alberta Gaming Research Institute)

Noella Piquette-Tomei, $10,000
Robert Williams, $44,000

Alberta Innovates-Health Solutions
(formerly AHFMR)

Igor Kovalchuk

ARDN
(Alberta Rural Development Network)

Noella Piquette Tomei
Steve Ferzacca

NIH
(National Institutes of Health)

Bruce McNaughton (2 grants awarded by NIH to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Arizona were successfully transferred to the U of L)

Alberta Cancer Research Institute

Roy Golsteyn

Sport Science Association of Alberta

Jennifer Copeland

Alberta Family Wellness Initiative
(Norlien Foundation)

Noella Piquette-Tomei

NSERC CREATE Grant

Phil Teillet, Physics $1.5 Million over 6 years

NSERC Discovery Grants
(Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada)

Robert Laird, Biological Sciences (Developing and testing the evolutionary reliability theory of senescence) $24,000
Rene Boere, Chemistry & Biochemistry (Redox-generated free radicals: basic science to nanomaterials) $40,000
Paul Hayes, Chemistry & Biochemistry (Organometallic complexes of new pincer ligands: Structure, reactivity and catalysis) $61,000
Steven Mosimann, Chemistry & Biochemistry (Structure and function of PTP like inositol polyphosphatases) $31,000
Nathan Ng, Mathematics & Computer Science (Prime numbers and L-functions) $15,000
Aaron Gruber, Neuroscience (Dopamine modulation of neural dynamics and behavioral flexibility) $27,000
Brian Kolb, Neuroscience (Brain plasticity and behaviour) $105,000
Artur Luczak, Neuroscience (Neuronal population patterns - studying interactions among hundreds of neurons) $26,000
Deborah Saucier, Neuroscience (Neural and hormonal bases of sex differences in spatial ability) $42,000)
Masami Tatsuno, Neuroscience (Quiescent dependent memory consolidation: memory-trace replay during REM sleep) $23,000
David Euston, Psychology (Neural mechanisms of decision making in frontal cortex) $23,000
Martin Lalumiere, Psychology (The nature and functions of genital sexual arousal) $27,000
Paul Vasey, Psychology (The comparative biopsychology of non-conceptive sexuality) $30,000

NSERC Equipment Grants

Aaron Gruber, Neuroscience $96,373
Rene Boere, Chemistry $22,024

* We are unable to post SSHRC winners at this time as SSHRC has not officially announced its award recipients. They will be published once they are made available.

Thom makes most of his return to campus

trevor.kenney — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:12:04 +0000

Some students can't wait to get out into the workforce and apply the knowledge they've accrued while earning their university degree. Mark Thom (BASc '06), on the other hand, had a taste of the working world and couldn't wait to start learning again.

Armed with a computer science degree, Thom was quick to apply his knowledge in the private sector, but soon discovered the work he was doing was simply unfulfilling.

"Even while I was finishing off my degree, I really started to enjoy problem solving a lot more than the concrete aspects of developing software," Thom says. "After graduating and working for a year in software development, I decided I didn't like it so much and came back to do a degree in math."

If there were any doubts as to whether he made the right move, they were quickly dispelled when Thom applied for, and won, the prestigious CMS-NSERC Math in Moscow Scholarship. The scholarship allows him to spend the fall semester in Moscow, Russia to study advanced courses in mathematics as well as a Russian language course. With only three such scholarships awarded each year to an undergraduate student in a Canadian university, it's obvious Thom is one of the country's elite mathematicians.

The Lethbridge native and Winston Churchill High School graduate revels in the challenge of solving some of math's great mysteries. He's spent the summer working with Dr. Nathan Ng in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science as they research analytic number theory.

"It's essentially using the methods of calculus to answer questions about the integers," Thom says. "A lot of the questions we have concerning the integers have been around for several hundred years and we still have not really come close to answering them. It's a very challenging and interesting field."

The work he's been able to do with Ng has prepared him well for the rigors of his semester in Moscow; an experience he expects will be very demanding.

"The people who have recently come to the department are more or less in my field, and have built up a very strong number theory group in the province," Thom says. "They've been offering courses that hadn't really been offered previously, and developing a curriculum to areas that weren't covered unless you were involved in an independent study with a professor."

Thom is the second U of L student to win the Math in Moscow scholarship after Kyle Hambrook captured the award last year. He sees the opportunity as another step toward his ultimate goal, working in academia.

"This will be a really good opportunity to establish contacts in research," Thom says. "These are people who are interested in the same sorts of work, and the same sorts of problems and who I may potentially want to work with in the future."

UNews - Nathan Ng

Wilk inspired to forge ahead with academic career in mathematics

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Thom makes most of his return to campus

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge awarded record $3.9 million in NSERC funding