I grew up in Guilderland, NY, about 20 minutes from RPI. From a young age, I always loved math and knew that it was what I wanted to pursue after high school. I was familiar with RPI from living in the area; I knew it was a great school and that it was just what I was looking for to further my mathematics education. Upon arriving at RPI, I knew I had made the right choice. I loved my classes, not to say they weren’t hard. I was definitely more challenged than I ever was in high school, but it motivated me to work even harder, and it definitely paid off.

In the beginning of my sophomore year, I received an email inviting me to apply to the Accelerated B.S./Ph.D. Program. I had known for a while that I didn’t want my study of mathematics to end when I got my bachelor’s degree, but I hadn’t given much thought to where or what I would do for graduate school. Reading the email, I realized that this program was the perfect opportunity. It would give me the chance to get much more involved in mathematics, even starting research as an undergraduate, and I could graduate with my Ph.D. in just seven years!

One of the main reasons I wanted to get involved with research was that it has definite real-world applications. I can’t even count how many times, after inquiring about my major, people would ask me “Why? What do you DO with math? Teach?” For a while, I didn’t really know the answer to this question either. I knew there were many ways to apply math in the real world, I just didn’t know what they were yet.

By being given the opportunity to begin research at a young age, I have answered these questions. I chose to start my research by working with Professor Margaret Cheney in the field of radar imaging. My first summer in the program, I worked with Professor Cheney in the sensors department of the Air Force Research Lab in Rome, NY. I had my first hands-on experience working with real radars and radar data, and started to learn how to manipulate and analyze this data in Matlab.

I graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and minors in Music and Economics a year early, in May 2009. I then received my M.S., also in Applied Mathematics, in December 2009. I now just have a few more classes to take, and my main focus is my research. I am currently working at MIT-Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA for the second summer in a row. Last summer I was in their Intelligence, Test, and Evaluation group, while this summer I am in their Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Integration group. The work I do at the lab directly relates to my radar research at school, and helps me to stay focused on how what I am researching is actually used. I am very grateful for the opportunities the Accelerated B.S./Ph.D. Program has presented me with.

Although a good portion of my time at RPI is devoted to classes and research, I am also involved in other things on campus. I play viola in the Rensselaer Orchestra. I am a member of RPI’s chapter of the National Math Honor Society (Pi Mu Epsilon) and the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. I will soon begin my first year as one of the math department’s two Graduate Student Representatives. In my spare time I enjoy reading, shopping, watching movies, and hanging out with my friends.