2005 Trjitzinsky Awards

The AMS has made $21,000 in awards to eight undergraduate students through the Waldemar J. Trjitzinsky Memorial Fund. The fund is made possible by a bequest from the estate of Waldemar J., Barbara G., and Juliette Trjitzinsky. The will of Barbara Trjitzinsky stipulates that the income from the bequest should be used to establish a fund to assist needy students in mathematics, in honor of the memory of her husband.

For the 2005 Trjitzinsky awards, the AMS chose seven geographically distributed schools to receive one-time awards of $3,000 each. The mathematics departments at those schools then chose students to receive the funds to assist them in pursuit of careers in mathematics. The schools are selected in a random drawing from the pool of AMS institutional members.

Below are the names of the selected schools for 2005, the student recipients, and information about the recipients.

University of Missouri-Kansas City: Melanie Marie Meyer

Melanie (pictured above) began her college career at Truman State University, studying computer science, with a minor in mathematics. After she became pregnant, she returned to the Kansas City area, where she has family. She is now raising her three-year old son on her own, with some contribution from the father.

Melanie says this about her decision to major in mathematics:

I think the reason it took me so long to find my way was because I was unsure of what I could do with a math degree except teach. So I finally did some research and found that there are many things I could do with a math degree. I feel very confident that my choice to pursue a degree in math is correct. In fact, I was talking to an old friend from elementary school last night. When I told her I was majoring in math she said, "That makes so much sense!" It is so nice to have finally found where I belong.

Melanie is considering entering the University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate program next fall, applying for a graduate teaching position, and earning (at least) a Master's degree. The University of Missouri-Kansas City Department of Mathematics and Statistics notes that she shows "talent, perseverance, and strength of character." This award allows her to stop working and spend more time on her studies.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City Department of Mathematics and Statistics contributed an additional $1000 to the award.

Arizona State University: Yukiko Kozakai

Yukiko was born in Japan and did her early collegiate work in the U.S. with the intention of obtaining a business degree. She became aware of the beauty of mathematics through her courses in business math. She returned to Japan but soon decided to return to this country to pursue mathematics at a major university. Yukiko was accepted at Arizona State University and began her work on a mathematics degree in August 2003. She has become interested in probability and statistics and plans to take the first actuarial exam this academic year.

University of North Carolina at Greensboro: Christian Sykes

At the beginning of his collegiate career, Christian had little interest in mathematics. Yet a teacher sensed his talent for mathematical reasoning and urged him to enroll in more mathematics courses. Since transferring to University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he has excelled as a mathematics major and is currently engaged in research on evolutionary game theory. He is also interested in ecology, foreign cuisine, and music composition. Christian intends to pursue graduate studies in pure mathematics.

Abilene Christian University: Carissa Joy Strawn

Carissa graduated from Sachse High School in Texas with a 3.89 GPA. While in high school, she tutored students in mathematics, chemistry and physics. She was also involved in many drama productions and was on the varsity tennis and bowling teams. She is now a freshman at Abilene Christian University. Below is a picture of Carissa receiving her award from David Hendricks, chair of the Abilene Christian Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

University of Rhode Island: Chris Piecuch

Chris first enrolled at the University of Rhode Island as a mechanical engineering major, but shortly changed majors to mathematics and physics (and now has German as a third major). He has been involved in several research projects at the university, and was elected to Pi Mu Epsilon, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Kappa. He plans to pursue a graduate degree in either education or mathematics, and then teach at either the high school or college level.

Ohio State University: Sofia Leibman and Gabor Revesz

Sofia Leibman

Sofia completed two years of challenging and rigorous honors mathematics courses (including advanced analysis, linear algebra, differential equations, complex analysis, and vector analysis) while still in high school. She placed first in the Rasor-Bareis Mathematics Olympiad, a math contest for first- and second-year Ohio State University students. She entered the university this fall and plans to be a mathematics and physics double major.

Gabor Revesz

Revesz began his mathematics studies at the community college level and transferred to Ohio State University last year. He completed the challenging honors courses in advanced analysis, and rigorous coverage of linear algebra, differential equations, complex analysis and vector analysis, in one year. He has also been an active participant in VIGRE (Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences) working groups at the university. Revesz placed first in the recent Gordon Mathematics Olympiad, a math contest for Ohio State University advanced undergraduates. He will graduate in the spring, and plans to purse graduate studies in mathematics.

The Ohio State University Department of Mathematics added matching funds of $1500 each to the awards.

Amherst College: Jennifer A. Roberge

Jennifer is a junior at Amherst. She has always enjoyed math, and she says that in high school her interest grew as the courses became more challenging. She is majoring in mathematics and computer science. Jennifer also loves learning languages, especially French and ancient Greek.

Waldemar J. Trjitzinsky was born in Russia in 1901 and received his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1926. He taught at a number of institutions before taking a position at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he remained for the rest of his professional life. He showed particular concern for students of mathematics and in some cases made personal efforts to ensure that financial considerations would not hinder their studies. Trjitzinsky was the author of about sixty mathematics papers, primarily on quasi-analytic functions and partial differential equations. A member of the AMS for 46 years, he died in 1973.

For further information, contact:
Annette Emerson or Mike Breen
Public Awareness Office
American Mathematical Society
201 Charles St.
Providence, RI 02904
Email: paoffice at ams dot org
Phone: 401-455-4000
Fax: 401-331-3842

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Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.