Department of Mathematical Sciences Welcomed Alumni
The Department of Mathematical Sciences invited two of its successful alumni — Helena McGahagan (S’99) and Joseph Mileti (S’99) — to speak to students and faculty about their work during Carnegie Mellon s annual Homecoming and Reunion weekend, held Oct. 27–30.
“Helena and Joe were highly distinguished students as undergraduates. This was a great opportunity to welcome them back four or five years later as colleagues, and to hear about their research achievements. Our current students were greatly inspired to hear of Helena and Joe’s successes,” said Roy A. Nicolaides, professor and head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
McGahagan currently is a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in mathematics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has undergraduate degrees in mathematical sciences and physics, and her postdoctoral research incorporates both of these interests. She studies differential equations, especially those that are relevant to the physical sciences. Specifically, she is interested in the mathematical properties of Schrödinger equations, which are used in physics to address questions in quantum mechanics. In 2002, McGahagan received the Sandra Bleistein Prize for notable achievement by a woman in applied mathematics or computer science at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, where she earned her doctorate in 2004.
Mileti, who graduated with a double major in mathematical sciences and computer science, decided to pursue his graduate degree in mathematics. He received a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2004. He shared the international Sacks Prize for one of the two best doctoral dissertations in mathematical logic that year. Currently, Mileti is an L.E. Dickson Instructor in the department of mathematics at the University of Chicago. Mileti’s research interest is in mathematical logic and computability theory. Some naturally occurring problems aren’t mathematically computable, according to Mileti, who uses computability theory to study mathematical complexity.
Both McGahagan and Mileti spoke highly of their experiences as undergraduates at Carnegie Mellon.
“The education I received in the department of mathematical sciences gave me a terrific background for going on to graduate school,” McGahagan said. “I was very well-prepared.”
Mileti agreed, adding that he was impressed and encouraged by the high level of interaction between faculty and undergraduates within the department of mathematical sciences when he was a student.
November 9, 2005
Amy Pavlak
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