HHMI
HHMI Scholars At Denison
Colleen Hughes
Testimonial:
In the summer of 2004, I received a research grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to conduct research with Professor Lew Ludwig in the mathematics department at Denison. This was my first experience with mathematics research. Learning how to conduct mathematics research took time, but as the summer went on I became attached to my project and truly came to appreciate the topic and embrace the research as my own. My research project became well-known in the department as evidence of my work covered the hallways of Olin (as it turned out, a very helpful way of visualizing our research question was to produce models composed of straws ad marshmallows). I finished the summer with a publishable (has since been published) result in the field of knot theory. This research experience was more for me than a published article. Through my HHMI-funded research at Denison, I was introduced to the opportunities to pursue mathematics research beyond the undergraduate level. The HHMI grant allowed me the opportunity to attend the MAA and AMS national meetings to present my result. At these national meetings, I gained exposure to the larger mathematics community. Through this exposure to mathematics research, I developed a real passion for mathematics and I went on to Brigham Young University the following summer to participate in a 10 week research experience in non-Euclidean geometry.
I just completed my first year of graduate school in mathematics at Clemson University. This summer I am in the beginning stages of a research project in multicriterion optimization with the intent of pursuing a PhD in this focus area. I recently returned to BYU to speak with their undergraduate research students about my experiences in graduate school. Speaking with this group gave me the opportunity to reflect on the value of the introduction to mathematics research that I was able to receive with the support of HHMI. This opportunity was the start of what continues to be a successful and fulfilling pursuit of mathematics beyond the undergraduate classroom.