Contents
- Alina Iacob, Ph.D. 2005, Algebra
- Matt Menzel, Ph. D. 2004, Discrete mathematics
- Carl Lutzer, Ph. D. 2000, Partial differential equations
- Colin Starr, Ph. D. 1998, Algebra
- Al Schueller, Ph. D. 1996, Analysis
Alina Iacob Ph.D. 2005 Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia |
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Deciding to go to graduate school at the University of Kentucky was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. The faculty is wonderful and the environment is both challenging and supportive. The years I spent in graduate school provided valuable experience in doing research; graduate school was also an excellent teaching experience for me.
My advisor, Dr. Edgar Enochs, introduced me to homological algebra. I became particularly interested in the branch that is called Gorenstein homological algebra and its connections with Tate cohomology. My dissertation was about a generalization of Tate cohomology. I am very grateful to Dr. Enochs for his endless patience, and for encouraging me to publish. I think having a few publications was a plus when I was on the job market. I am very happy for the opportunity to work with Dr. Enochs while I was in graduate school and also after I graduated.
There are active research groups at the University of Kentucky and students are always encouraged to participate in these groups. Giving talks (both seminar and conference talks) is something that I learned in graduate school and which I found very helpful when preparing for interviews.
The Mathematics Department at the University of Kentucky gives its graduate students the opportunity to teach a wide variety of classes at several levels. I taught (as a primary instructor) College Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus II and III, Linear Algebra, Geometry for middle school teachers, and I was a workshop leader in MathExcel. This experience was a significant advantage in finding a good job in academia and it has proved to be very useful experience ever since I become an Assistant Professor.
My entire graduate experience at the University of Kentucky was a happy and very rewarding one. I could not have asked for a better one.
Alina Iacob, July 2007
Matthew Menzel Ph.D. 2004 Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio |
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Coming from a small liberal arts college, the transition to graduate school was difficult (actually, I have not come across too many people who find graduate-level mathematics to be easy), and I am confident that I would not have made it through the first two years without the help of my fellow graduate students. Especially in the beginning, we often worked on homework in groups, and I enjoyed getting together on Saturday mornings to study for prelims. When we'd get stuck on a problem, we always could find a more experienced graduate student or professor to point us in the right direction.
I remember two things that the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Fugate, told me when I visited UK as a prospective graduate student. He first said that most faculty members relish opportunities to teach graduate courses. I have heard horror stories about graduate students at other schools trying to talk with their professors, but at UK, I don't recall ever wanting to meet with a professor and not being able to do so. Secondly, Dr. Fugate said that the approach he took to recruiting prospective students was to allow them to spend as much time as possible with graduate students. Clearly, the graduate students can offer the most insight into what it's like to study mathematics at UK, and this approach provides motivation for the Director of Graduate Studies to see to the wants and needs of the current graduate students. After all, those who are unhappy will not make good recruiters. As a prospective graduate student, I urge you to talk to as many current UK graduate students as possible and to see how satisfied they are with their experiences at UK.
I cannot imagine a better place to live as a graduate student than in Lexington, and on a personal note, I met my wife while we were at UK (for that, I will be forever grateful). I had the opportunity to teach ten different courses as the primary instructor and to be a MathExcel workshop leader. My goal was to return to a small, private liberal arts college, and the experience that I gained while at UK played a large role in the success of my job search. I am thankful to the University of Kentucky for preparing me to attain the job that I wanted (a tenure-track position at Marietta College in Ohio), and I hope that all prospective graduate students will be as satisfied with their choice as I was with mine.
Matthew Menzel
Carl Lutzer Ph.D. 2000 Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology |
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When I was looking for graduate schools, I knew I was interested in combinatorics and graph theory and that I tended to do well under high expectations in a supportive environment. That's what I found when I visited the University of Kentucky. I wasn't just a number, or one of a thousand students. I was a person, a professional mathematician in training, and the faculty wanted me to succeed.
When I began classes, even though I had been well prepared by my undergraduate education at Michigan State University, I found that the cooperative, collaborative atmosphere of UK was important to my success. Forming study groups was easy, and wandering down the hall to talk with another graduate student or a professor about a problem was expected. Professors' doors were always open (literally) and, if they couldn't talk at the moment, they would always schedule an appointment to see me later.
After a year (or was it two?) at UK, I realized that I was interested in the fields of mathematics that are classically associated with physics, and that led me to partial differential equations. Professors were eager to speak with me about their areas of research, and possible research problems that I might find interesting and challenging. As I worked further and further into my dissertation, Dr. Peter Hislop (my advisor) was a great help to me, as were Drs. Peter Perry, Russell Brown, Ted Suffridge, Chi-Sing Man and Ronald Gariepy. Each taught me something different, and I came away with a wonderful breadth of knowledge.
I was afforded the opportunity to teach many different courses during my time at UK, including College Algebra, Business Calculus, Calculus, Differential Equations, and Matrix Theory. This wealth of teaching experience was very important when I was on the job market, because I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in academia at an institution where I would both continue research and be involved in teaching. Moreover, I was able to bring my experience with the MathExcel (a collaborative learning initiative that targets first year calculus students) to RIT and help restructure how calculus is taught.
I came out of UK with experience in research and teaching, with ideas for research and teaching, and with energy for research and teaching.
Carl Lutzer
Colin Starr Ph. D. 1998, Algebra Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Stephen F. Austin State University |
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Since I have been here, my initial impression has been not only amply confirmed, but amplified! The students here pull together. Graduate school is tough, and the support of one's peers can make all the difference in the world. But the community -- surprisingly, to me -- extends to the faculty, as well! Almost without exception, the faculty are readily available and happy to help.
My teaching experience has been wonderful. I've taught a very wide variety of courses at several levels; I'm certain that the opportunity that UK gave me to do this was a major advantage in finding a job. I've also had the chance to work with Math Excel, to work with the Freshman Summer Program, and to serve as a "Senior TA", all significant in developing my teaching philosophy. I find it hard to believe that very many other graduate schools are able to afford their students this wealth of opportunities.
My advisor, Dr. David Leep, has been another plus to my experience here. Research is of course a major part of a Ph.D. program, but most of us have no idea how to begin doing research when we come. For this reason, it's very important to find an advisor you can work with. In my case, it was difficult to narrow it down to just one! I eventually settled on Dr. Leep, who started me looking at sums of squares of polynomials (in several variables). I enjoy the elegance of the problems in this area: they are very simple to state, in general, and often very difficult to solve. Dr. Leep's example and advice helped to show me just w hat is necessary to do mathematical research.
Dr. Ted Suffridge was also a great help in this regard. I took several seminar courses from him in which we (the students) would read papers and present them to the rest of the class. I found this extremely helpful in terms of learning how research mathematicians think.
Overall, my experience has been wonderful. I have had many unique and interesting teaching opportunities, I have enjoyed the support of my fellow graduate students, and I have been exposed to very high-caliber researchers who cared enough to share their expertise with me.
I'm looking forward to commencing my duties at SFA, but I am sorry to have to leave UK to do it.
Colin Starr, May 1998
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Albert
Schueller Ph. D. 1996 Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Whitman College |
There are two main career paths for persons holding graduate degrees in mathematics, industry and academics. I can't really speak to the industrial path, since that's not the path that I chose. However, having recently been through a successful search for a tenure-track job, I do have some insight into how well Kentucky prepared me for an academic career. Increasingly, administrators in higher education are demanding a combination of high quality research and high quality teaching from their tenure-track faculty. As such, departmental hiring committees, wanting their hires to be successful and receive tenure, are choosing candidates with proven track records in both research and teaching.
The math department faculty at Kentucky has a number of very talented members in a broad array of pure and applied mathematics. The potential for interdisciplinary projects is great. Past and present research collaboration with engineering, physics and medical applications have been quite successful. I was fortunate enough to receive several summer research assistantships from the interdisciplinary EPSCoR project on Non-destructive Evaluation. The assistantships relieved me from teaching duties and allowed me to make great progress in my research. I received travel funding from the UK Graduate School to attend several national mathematics meetings; among them the Joint Meetings in San Antonio, San Francisco and Orlando. Not only is it important to produce quality mathematics, you must learn to communicate your results to the mathematics community. Attending meetings as a graduate student was a great learning experience. The UK Graduate School and graduate math faculty provide a fertile research environment. If you are up to the challenge, the opportunities to produce world-class mathematics results exist at the University of Kentucky.
The opportunities available in research are complemented by an unusually rich array of teaching opportunities available at UK. Teaching assistants at most schools are generally restricted to teaching only introductory courses in algebra and perhaps calculus. Many hiring committees will shy away from even the most talented mathematicians if the candidate doesn't have a proven teaching record. I was able to teach six different courses during my five years at Kentucky. I was able to participate in Math Excel, a reform calculus project; the Freshman Summer Program, a head start program for incoming minority students. Participation in these programs, a variety of teaching experiences and my Departmental Teaching award certainly helped me on the job market.
The graduate mathematics program at Kentucky offers a well-balanced combination of research and teaching opportunities. Its graduates are well-prepared for the competitive academic job market. Good luck in your search for a graduate school.
Albert Schueller
Department of Mathematics
Whitman College
Walla Walla, WA 99362