Mathcamp 2024 Staff

The summer staff at camp is made up of Faculty, Mentors, JCs, and the Camp Nurse. In addition, we bring several Visiting Speakers each summer who give guest lectures and courses.

Faculty at Mathcamp are professors (and professionals) in mathematics and related fields; Mentors are graduate students in mathematics and computer science. The Faculty and Mentors teach classes at camp, picking the course topics freely from among their favorite kinds of math. They also supervise projects, and serve as academic advisors, helping students choose their classes and work towards their mathematical goals for camp.

JCs, all of them camp alumni, are undergraduates who run the non-academic side of camp. They handle everything from camp setup to events, surveys, and social media. JCs also help out with academics, including TAing for classes and talking with campers about math.

Mentors and JCs live in the dorms with students, and each student is assigned a Mentor or JC as their residential advisor: RAs live on the same hall as their advisees and look out for them on a day-to-day basis.

Like campers, the staff often return year after year to Mathcamp!

The 2024 Directors, Faculty and Academic Coordinators:

  • Ben Dees has been teaching at Mathcamp since 2018, and returns this year as one of the Academic Coordinators. In the year, he teaches at Brown University and does research in geometric analysis. When not puzzling over weird integrals, he spends a lot of time baking cookies, birding, and solving crosswords. He'd like to get back into rock climbing, one of these days.
  • Eric Stubley works at Google doing things with computers and numbers. He enjoys math across the spectrum of algebra and number theory. He likes being outdoors in the pacific northwest, change ringing, reading science fiction, learning to cook new foods, and experimenting with herbal tea blends. He has been teaching at Mathcamp since 2019.
  • Kevin Carde started at Mathcamp as a Mentor in 2011. He joined the Mathcamp yearround staff after receiving his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 2014. His interests include combinatorics (especially algebraic) and solving and writing puzzles of all sorts.
  • Marisa Debowsky is the Executive Director of Mathcamp. Her mathematical interests include Topological Graph Theory and other combinatorial pursuits; outside of math, she enjoys playing guitar, solving puzzles, and delicious coffee. She has been teaching and singing at Mathcamp since 2006.
  • Mark Krusemeyer has recently retired from his position as a Professor of Mathematics at Carleton College. His mathematical interests include algebra, combinatorics, number theory, and problem solving. His non-mathematical interests include recorder playing, hiking/scrambling, duplicate bridge, and table tennis. He has been a faculty member at Mathcamp since 1997.
  • Maya Saran is a descriptive set theorist by training, and has been the Program Manger at Mathcamp since December 2023. She's excited about being at her first Mathcamp this summer!
  • Misha Lavrov teaches and does research at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Mathematically, he specializes in graph theory and Ramsey theory. Non-mathematically, he drinks many different kinds of tea, studies foreign languages, reads poetry, and bakes cookies. Misha was a student at Mathcamp in 2006 and 2007, and has been teaching here since 2014.
  • Susan Durst has been working for Mathcamp since 2008, and enjoys teaching classes in abstract algebra and mathematical logic. She received her PhD from Rutgers in 2013, and is currently a math faculty member at Proof School in San Francisco. Her nonmathematical interests include west coast swing dancing and choral music.
  • Tim Black has been around Mathcamp since 2005. He received his PhD in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Chicago in 2019. His interests include computational complexity theory, coding theory, and discrete math, and their connections to group theory. He also enjoys volleyball, pickleball, hiking, Morris dancing, change ringing, and puzzles.
  • Zach Abel is a lecturer at MIT, teaching discrete math and algorithms. His mathematical interests include geometry and theoretical computer science, and he also enjoys puzzles, designing mathematical sculptures, and chocolate. He has been teaching at Mathcamp on an off since 2013.

Mentors:

  • Arya Vadnere is a grad student at University at Buffalo, where he studies hyperbolic-esque geometry. Arya also plays a lot of frisbee, watches panda reels on Instagram and spends all his money on board games.
  • Athina Avrantini just finished her first year as PhD student at UPenn. Her mathematical interests include algebra, number theory, and theoretical computer science. Outside of math, she enjoys performing aerial circus, playing board games, putting outfits together, and reading books.
  • Chloe Stewart is a grad student at Colorado State University studying number theory. Outside of math she spends her time hiking, reading, and playing games.
  • Della Hendrickson is a grad student at MIT studying computational complexity. She enjoys square dancing, puzzles, and pandas.
  • Glenn Sun is a grad student at the University of Washington, where he broadly studies theoretical computer science and is especially interested in symbolic computation. He likes dumplings, trains, and NYT games.
  • Kailee Lin is a grad student at Johns Hopkins studying graph theory using polynomials and linear algebra. Outside of math she enjoys dancing, baking, and spending time outside.
  • Kevin Chang is a grad student at Columbia working on algebraic geometry and number theory. He likes watching movies, listening to music, and playing the guitar and dislikes getting tilted in online video games.
  • Krishan Canzius is a grad student at UPenn studying logic (model theory together with a bit of combinatorics). Outside of math he enjoys reading, running, baking, and playing the sort of video games that require spreadsheets.
  • Ahmed Ellithy (Laithy) is a grad student at the University of Toronto, working on general relativity and geometric analysis. He enjoys squash, rock climbing, chess, and all kinds of games.
  • Narmada Varadarajan is a graduate student at the University of Toronto who claims to do combinatorics but really does geometry that is secretly combinatorics. Non-mathematically, she enjoys reading horror novels, play-fighting with her cat, and being a coffee snob.
  • Sonya Bykova is a grad student at Penn State studying algebraic geometry and topology. She likes hiking, playing badminton, watching old movies, and listening to music.
  • Travis Dillon is a grad student at MIT studying combinatorial and discrete geometry. When it's snowing, he likes to ski down mountains; when it's sunny, he doesn't mind hiking up them. He also likes mixing ingredients together in unusual ways and reading a good book.

JCs:

  • Abi Tenenbaum is a rising senior at Yale University studying physics and cognitive science. She enjoys folk music, board games, and long walks.
  • Alyona Nefyodova just graduated from Higher School of Economics in Moscow with B.Sc. in Math, and she is excited to start PhD in Analytics at the University of Notre Dame in the fall. She likes ice skating, thinking about different languages, and being involved in educational projects.
  • Amelia Liu is a freshman at NYU studying Math & CS. She enjoys cooking, collecting stationery, playing tennis/table-tennis, and reading.
  • Jennifer Gao is a recently graduated senior at Harvard University majoring in math with a minor in english. In her free time, she enjoys playing golf, going to yoga, being outdoors, reading, and crafting.
  • Mariam Baghdasaryan is a freshman at the University of Cambridge studying Mathematics. She enjoys walking, dancing, drinking hibiscus tea and learning how to cook.
  • Phoebe Lin just finished her senior year at MIT studying atmospheric sciences and math along with some music. She enjoys music and poetry relating to the environment, listening to video game soundtracks, and laying on the ground watching clouds.
  • Rina Lagutina just finished her first year of graduate studies in management at HEC Paris and will spend her second year at MIT. She loves face glitter, biking, and doing creative things. She probably drinks too much tea.