As part of a NSF Innovations in Graduate Education grant,  math faculty member Dr. Elizabeth Gross is currently running a “designed research community” for 7 PhD students.  The goal of this project is to help advance the careers of the PhD students by expanding their research networks, which can be a particular challenge for students in geographically isolated locations (like Hawaiʻi).  Four of the students come from our department:  Jose Esparza-Lozano, Kawika O’Connor, Udani Ranasinghe, and Christin Sum.  Three of the students are visiting:  Aviva Englander (University of Wisconsin), Devon Olds (North Carolina State University), and Bryan Currie (New Jersey Institute of Technology).  The seven students are collaborating on research, under Gross’s direction, on topics related to algebraic statistics and evolutionary biology. The students have been supported by Gross, as well as by Temporary Assistant Professor Max Hill and visiting researcher, Dr. Colby Long (Wooster College). 

As part of the program, the students are also engaged in professional development activities organized by faculty member and co-PI Dr. Daniel Erman, and co-hosted by many other math department faculty.  The program has also integrated other unique aspects of UH Mānoa into the program. The program included a visit to the Hawai`i Institute of Marine Biology for a Math-Bio Symposium, co-organized by Gross and Dr. Lisa McManus (HIMB), where graduate students and postdocs shared their research in an interdisciplinary setting, and in the coming weeks, will include a discussion lead by Stacey Potes (College of Education) on “Designing Culturally Responsive, Place-Based Mathematics Curricula in Hawaiʻi.”

In Fall 2025, there are two ongoing professional developments based groups at the UHM math department. Daniel Erman and Elizabeth Gross have been organizing a Brown Bag Professional Development Seminar, which covers an array of topics, and has regular guest panelists:

1. How to make the most out of attending conferences and seminars (with Elizabeth Gross)
2. Collaboration etiquette (with Rufus Willett)
3. Applying for academic jobs (with Forrest Glebe and Max Hill)
4. How to build a teaching portfolio
5. What is “service”? Why does it matter for jobs? (with Sarah Widiasih Post)
6. How do you build a research program? How do you decide what to work on? (with Asaf Hadari and Hailun Zheng)

Further topics will be determined by the interests of the student attendees. This group meets every other Friday from 11:30-12:30. For more information, contact Daniel Erman.

A second group is organized by PhD student Janani Lakshmanan . This is a Job Market Working Group, where PhD students get together, work on job application materials, and share thoughts, experiences, and advice. For more information, contact Janani Lakshmanan.