A Maximizer (and Minimizer) for Top Global Companies
Matt understands that inspiration can come from the most unexpected places. He knew he was good at math, and developed an interest in the economy during a high school AP government course, but it wasn’t until the jaguar in Disney’s Zootopia declared he was going to “be an actuary” that Matt discovered his perfect career path.
As a mathematics and economics double major with a concentration in statistics, he found actuarial work of calculating the financial consequences of risk for companies right in line with his interests. He considers math his “first major,” and began to see the subject in a new light when taking Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Benjamin Allen’s “Introduction to Proofs” course. “That’s when I knew math at a higher level was different,” he said. “It’s not just pure computational work, it requires a lot of creative thinking.”
So, when a spot on Dr. Allen’s and Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Christine Sample’s research team opened up, Matt jumped at the opportunity. The research project, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, studied the rate of evolution in spatially structured populations using evolutionary graph theory.
“Science was never an interest of mine, I’ve always leaned toward big business,” he said. “It was definitely out of my comfort zone, but it was a great learning experience.”
In addition to honing invaluable research skills, Matt and the team were invited to present at a conference for the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the fall of 2019, and also saw their work on evolutionary dynamics and mathematical biology published in PLOS Computational Biology in February 2021.