Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

Mathematics major Jessica Pujols was one of the Georgia Tech students to release the drones during the half-time show at the Big Game this Sunday. We had a chance to interview Jessica about her experience.

Jessica has been a Chorale member since her freshmen year, which is a mixed choir ensemble at Tech that meets Monday & Wednesday's.

We got an email from the organizers [of the Big Game] and all the different ensembles, the choir and the band, were invited to participate.

There were three groups comprised of students from Georgia Tech, GSU, IGA, and Kennesaw, during the half-time show: the fan cast, the LED cast, and the tray cast. The "tray cast" was the most secretive as nobody really knew that there would eventually be programmed drones carrying lanterns to be released on the trays.

We had originally had seven rehersals planned with an extra weather day rehearsal, so we saw Adam Levine [of Maroon 5] for three dress rehearsals do the whole show, with all the band and the rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi which was super exciting.

Jessica told us that being on the field during the performance was "crazy", and "so cool". The drones that were released were programmed by Intel and spelled out "ONE" and "LOVE" during the performance in one of the more spectacular techological real-non-augmented-reality feats thus far in an event of this size. Jessica told us that she learned that the team who programmed the drones had also done something similar for the Lady Gaga half-time performance in 2017.

[As we went out on to the field] there were a ton of people from the media with cameras taking our picture. It was strange to have people so excited to see what we were holding. When we were gathering back stage we were getting so excited.

When asked to sum up the experience, Jessica said "I know I keep saying it, but it was just so cool!"

Jessica is also extremely proud of her LMC minor, which is Literature, Media, and Communications. Her speciality is Science-Fiction studies, and apparently there is a sci-fi lab on the third floor of Skiles which this reporter will definitely be checking out, as well as a treasure trove of old sci-fi pulp magazines from the first half of the last century in the library, which used to be in the Price Gilbert Memorial Library but has now moved to the new Crosland Tower building.

I basically have lived in Skiles for the last four years on the third floor in the sci-fi lab.

It's students like Jessica who make Tech such a special place for us professors who are lucky enough to teach them. Because like other students from top-tier schools across the country, they are full of potential, but it seems that Tech gets more than it's fair share of self-motivated and involved students, who are not just passionate about their studies but also about getting out into the world and making a difference, whether during an off-campus internship or in one of the many clubs on campus such as Chorale.

So whether its designing the fastest solar powered vehicle, or making a powered-bicycle to get to class, or releasing drones on national TV, its really our students who are CREATING THE NEXT, and it is our students that make Tech such an amazing place for all of us to be.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.

Professor Yao is an Assistant Professor in SoM, whose interests include mathematical analysis of nonlinear PDEs arising from fluid mechanics and mathematical biology, who has also been involved with research experiences for undergraduates (REU) programs.

Dr. Christine Heitsch received the Petit Institute "Above and Beyond" Senior Faculty Award December 14, 2018.

Dr. Heitsch is Professor of Mathematics at Georgia Tech, with courtesy appointments in Biological Sciences and Computational Science & Engineering as well as an affiliation with the Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience.

She is also Director of the new Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology (SCMB), an NSF-Simons MathBioSys Research Center, and finishing her tenure directing the GT Interdisciplinary Mathematics Preparation and Career Training (IMPACT) Postdoctoral Program.

Heitsch's research interests lie at the interface between discrete mathematics and molecular biology, specifically combinatorial problems "as motivated by" and "with applications to" fundamental biomedical questions like RNA folding.

The MATH 2803 Number Theory and Cryptograpy is a video class run through the School of Mathematics for high school students. This Saturday, December 1, 2018, around 60 students will participate by showing their final projects in the form of posters. The class was taught by Jonathan Paprocki, a graduate student.

The Georgia Tech Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization Program (ACO) has selected Chun-Hung Liu to receive the 2018 ACO Outstanding Student Prize. The award recognizes academic excellence in the areas represented by ACO.

Liu’s selection is based on two major accomplishments. First, he did breakthrough research as a Ph.D. student by resolving the Robertson conjecture for topological minors, namely that graphs that do not have a Robertson chain of fixed length as a topological minor are well-quasi-ordered.

Second, Liu developed and refined parts of the classical Robertson-Seymour theory, discovering entirely new methods alongside. In addition, he is honored for displaying an exemplary attitude toward research and scholarship.

Liu received B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from the National Taiwan University, in Taiwan. After completing the Georgia Tech Ph.D. program in Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization in 2014, he joined Princeton University as an instructor. In 2018, he moved to Texas A&M University as an assistant professor of mathematics.

“I am very grateful to Prof. Thomas for his constant support and encouragement during my life at Georgia Tech. His professionalism, passion, and leadership undoubtedly shaped my development.”

School of Mathematics Professor Robin Thomas was Liu’s supervisor at Georgia Tech. Thomas recalls Liu as “a very strong student,” passing the comprehensive examination early and then writing four strong papers in quick succession. This achievement earned Liu the school’s Top Graduate Student Award while only in his second year.  “I expect he will become a regular invitee to Graph Theory meetings in Oberwolfach, Banff, and elsewhere,” Thomas says.

Liu says he “deeply benefited” from ACO, which he describes as a “wonderful multidisciplinary program that integrates three fascinating and active directions in an amazingly terrific way.”

Liu adds: “I am very grateful to Prof. Thomas for his constant support and encouragement during my life at Georgia Tech. His professionalism, passion, and leadership undoubtedly shaped my development.”