Graphical illustration of a wire diagram from Compact Closed 2-Categories: Duality,
Enrichment, and Strictification by N. Gurski, J. Orendain, and D. Yetter.

Gurski, who is an Associate Professor in the department, says the most exciting aspect of this work for him is “seeing a topic that we once thought of as a minor technical hurdle grow into an exciting piece of research with applications in a diverse collection of mathematical domains like algebra and logic.”

The book announcement may be found at: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/isbn/9783112188545/html

N. Gurski, J. Orendain, and D. Yetter.

Dr. Somersalo is an internationally recognized applied mathematician, whose research interests include inverse problems with an emphasis on Bayesian computational methods with physics-based modeling and uncertainty quantification. The applications that inspire Dr. Somersalo’s research range from engineering and biomedical applications to basic questions in the life
sciences. He has coauthored six monographs and textbooks, and over 150 articles. Dr. Somersalo is an elected member of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, UK, and a Guggenheim Fellow.

During her sabbatical leave during the 2025-26 academic year Professor Calvetti will work on investigating the theoretical and computational connections between classical Tikhonov regularization and the prior-based Bayesian inversion. The aim of her research is to provide a unified environment for the computational solution of inverse problems that can take advantage of the many advances that have been made on both fronts in recent years, effectively building a bridge between deterministic and probabilistic regularization methods.

Dr. Calvetti is looking forward to her coming year as a Simons Fellow. “I am extremely grateful to the Simons Foundation for this great opportunity. I spent the first half of my career working on the solution of inverse problems from a purely deterministic points of view and the second half reframing the problems in a probabilistic setting. This sabbatical leave will give me a chance to work on the interface between these two approaches.”

In the spring 2026 Professor Calvetti will participate in a semester long program devoted to “Stochastic and Randomized Algorithms in Scientific Computing: Foundations and Applications” at ICERM, the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, located at Brown University.

Department Chair Weihong Guo, who nominated Keesha together with many other faculty members, commented “Over the time we have worked with Keesha, she has consistently demonstrated an outstanding commitment to both her work and faculty, staff and students in the department. Keesha is an individual who goes above and beyond in every task she undertakes. She approaches her responsibilities with a positive attitude and is always willing to offer assistance to others, often stepping in without being asked. Her kind demeanor and professionalism make her a valued member of the department.” She continued, “In summary, Keesha is the best staff member one department can dream for.”

When Keesha joined the department in April of 2023, she quickly got on board to the new position and worked very hard to learn every detail of her job. MAMS is a large department with typically about 35 faculty members, 35 PhD students, 15 master’s students and hundreds of undergraduate majors. Thousands of students take our classes each semester. Keesha supervises two other staff members, one graduate student service manager and one department assistant. She oversees the staff support of the entire department. Her job is filled with many different tasks, as varied as pre- and post-grant support, budgeting, faculty searches, facilities, managing graduate and undergraduate student payroll, running public lectures, and many others.

Keesha’s heartwarming personality helps build a welcoming and collegial working environment for everyone in the department. Since she arrived, people report feeling much happier working in the department.

Keesha sets an example of continual self-improvement! For example, she received her master’s degree in management in May of 2024. But she cares as much about the success of everyone in the department as about her own development. After every PhD student’s successful thesis defense, Keesha sees to it that the tables are decorated with the student’s favorite color, and orders a celebratory cake to match.

During 2023, the department was displaced from its longtime home in Yost Hall, to create space for construction of the new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB), and we were relocated into two separate buildings on different parts of campus. Keesha handled the disruption resulting from the move exceptionally well.

Faculty have commented that “The submission of grant applications is always accompanied by a great deal of stress and last-minute emergencies that need to be addressed quickly and competently. Having Keesha as the department administrator has made all the difference in the world: not only does she provide all the information regarding the budgetary part of the grant in a very timely manner, but she always does it with a smile that melts the tension away. I used to dread the process of submitting proposals, but since Keesha joined our department the proposal related stress level has decreased tremendously. Keesha is always very attentive to all details and all my visitors have remarked at how competent and friendly she is. Her presence and her positive attitude towards everyone are a ray of sunshine for the department atmosphere.” Keesha’s support has made more people in the department feel comfortable to submit grant proposal.

In the fall of 2024, Keesha was elected to the Case Western Reserve University Staff Advisory Council for a two-year term of service. It is an honor to be elected by one’s colleagues, and her willingness to serve as an advocate for her peers is an important contribution to CWRU. Keesha’s work on the Council benefits CWRU by providing valuable feedback regarding staff members’ experiences. In addition, Keesha is actively involved in organizing school supplies donations to local schools.

Congratulations Keesha on this well-deserved award!

Johnathon Taylor, a PhD student in the Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics, is making an impact in the Math Corps program, inspiring middle and high school students to develop a love for mathematics. Taylor’s passion for teaching, along with his engaging approach to mathematical concepts, has made him a valued member of the Math Corps team.

Taylor began his Math Corps journey in January with the Super Saturday’s program, where he taught an innovative course for 8th graders. The course initially covered paths in graph theory, took a minor detour into category theory, and eventually transitioned into topics like sequences and integrals. Beyond academic instruction, Taylor connected with students during tutoring sessions and activities like chess, building relationships that extended beyond the classroom. His mentorship was guided by Francisca Richter (Associate Director at the Center on Poverty and Community Development at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University) who is the director of Super Saturdays. Taylor credits Professor Richter as a continual source of inspiration, supporting his growth as a mentor and educator.

Following the completion of Super Saturdays, Taylor transitioned to the summer camp portion of Math Corps at Cleveland State University, led by Dr. Carol Phillips- Bey, a professor of Mathematics Education at CSU. In this role, he taught 7th graders a course on infinite series, presenting complex topics in an engaging and accessible way. Taylor also introduced high school students to calculus and the fundamentals of set theory, sparking their curiosity about higher mathematics. His dedication to teaching extended into extracurricular activities, as he played football, basketball, and volleyball with students, building a supportive and enjoyable environment for learning.

Looking ahead, Taylor is excited to bring fresh ideas to Math Corps in the coming year. He plans to teach a course on various geometries, exploring different methods of measuring distances. With inspiration from a lesson plan by the late Elizabeth Meckes (a beloved CWRU mathematics professor) which explored measuring the distance from a viewer’s eye to the horizon, Taylor hopes to make mathematics both engaging and thought-provoking for his students. “I see myself working with Math Corps for the long run,” Taylor shared. “I have just as big of a passion for teaching kids as I do for my own research.”

Dr. Francisca Richter shared her appreciation for Johnathon’s role in the Math Corps:
“We are very lucky to have Johnny as part of the Math Corps! He combines his incredible talent and passion for math with a true desire to mentor students, helping them discover their own greatness. Johnny gave us all an example of persistence this last session. He introduced several topics to his students during discovery class until he found one that truly resonated with them. I had the joy of watching his students eagerly present what they had learned.”

Students who would like more information about getting involved in Math Corps should contact Dr. Francisca Richter at [email protected]. To apply, please complete the application form at the following link: https://forms.gle/hRKYe8wqmGeUXxvv5. Applications for volunteer opportunities are due by November 29, 2024, at 5 p.m.

One of Johnathon’s posters displayed at Math Corps events:

A photo of Johnny with one of his students presenting what they learned in class during the closing ceremony:

Here is the video to learn more about the 2024 Distinguished Research Award Winner: Daniela Calvetti.

Congratulations, Professor Calvetti!

Few things are as gratifying as seeing our students reach their goals. This graduation season we shine a special spotlight on three of our new PhDs in Applied Mathematics, pictured above (from left to right): Xuan Ma, Zhuojun Yu, and Mercy Amankwah.

Mercy Amankwah received her PhD in Applied Mathematics in May 2024. Her thesis is titled “Bayesian analysis of muscle recruitment patterns in Locomotion”. Mercy earned a BS in Mathematics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi in Ghana in 2016, an MPhil in Scientific Computing and Industrial Modeling from the same institution in 2018, and an MS degree in Mathematics from Montana State University in 2019. Dr. Amankwuah is currently weighing different employment options.

Xuan Ma also received the PhD degree in Applied Mathematics in May 2024. Her thesis is titled “Polya-Gamma data augmentation schemes for Bayesian negative Binomial and Binomial models with application to Mitochondrial DNA data”. Xuan earned a BS in Finance from Central University of Finance and Economics in China in 2012 and an MS in Financial Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2013. After working as an IT Risk and Assurance Consultant for a few years, Xuan joined CWRU and earned an MS in Statistics in 2018. Now she adds a PhD in Applied Mathematics to her collection of degrees. Dr. Ma is currently working as a Biostatistician at Henry Ford Health in Detroit.

Zhuojun Yu successfully defended her PhD thesis, titled “Closed-Loop Control of Rhythmic Motor Behaviors” in May 2024 and will receive the PhD degree in Applied Mathematics in August 2024. Zhuojun earned a BS Mathematics and Applied Mathematics and a BA in English Language and Literature from Beijing Normal University in China in 2020 and joined MAMS that same year. Dr. Yu will join the Neuroscience Institute and Psychology Department at Carnegie Mellon University as postdoctoral research associate in July.

Congratulations Dr. Amankwah, Dr. Ma, and Dr. Yu!