“A good instructor needs to reach out to students and teach them more than the class material. I strongly encourage my students to acquire an outstanding work ethic and the skill of independent thinking.”
“Since I have an instinctive love for teaching, I chose to major in Mathematics Education at Ho Chi Minh City Pedagogical University, where I began to develop a deeper understanding of Math theory. But I did not yet appreciate its beauty,” admits Hoa Nguyen, recent recipient of the Delores Auzenne Fellowship for Minorities and doctoral student in Applied Mathematics.
“At Rutgers University, I carried a double major in Math and Computer Science and participated in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, an experience that changed my whole perspective. I realized Math can be applied to Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Engineering, and other sciences. I knew I needed to explore Math more deeply, not only to appreciate its richness but also to be able to inspire my future students.
“Since 2003, I have had the wonderful opportunity to study Computational and Applied Mathematics here at Florida State under the guidance of Dr. Max Gunzburger,” the Francis Eppes Distinguished Professor of Mathematics.
“For my dissertation project, we are developing an efficient method to obtain accurate solutions for the convection-diffusion equation. This equation has many applications in science and engineering such as fluid flow, semiconductor modeling, and transport of pollutants, and is of fundamental importance for modeling a large variety of systems.”
“I have presented my research at five national conferences, most of which were related to the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and I’ve been awarded a travel grant to attend the 11th International Congress on Mathematical Education to be held in Mexico. This conference should give me the opportunity to discuss my ideas on education with international leaders.
“I love teaching Mathematics! I am successful in motivating my students, while also cultivating my own philosophy on superior undergraduate education—a good instructor needs to reach out to students and teach them more than the class material. I strongly encourage my students to acquire an outstanding work ethic and the skill of independent thinking.
“As a U.S. citizen of Vietnamese descent, I feel privileged to enjoy the best of both countries. Dr. Gunzburger and I are starting a program through the Vietnam Education Foundation, a federally-funded organization that encourages meaningful scientific and technology education exchanges. My goal is to develop cross-cultural training, teaching, and research projects to improve awareness and sensitivity to the educational needs of a multicultural population.
“After completing my Ph.D. requirements, I will extend my dissertation to computational biological fluid dynamics through a research project at Tulane University—I’m excited.”