Undergraduate Spotlight

The Department of Mathematics congratulates the recent and past winners of undergraduate awards and scholarships.

New and Noteworthy

Alia Spaker named CAS Outstanding Senior 2026
6/12/26
The Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Alia Spaker has been named Outstanding Senior 2026 by UB College of Arts and Sciences. Spaker, of Honeoye Falls, NY, graduates summa cum laude with a bachelor of science in mathematics. She is a Summer Math Scholar and recipient of the Harriet Montague Award. Spaker completed an honors thesis in analytic number theory under the supervision of Professor Jakob Streipel. She served as a teaching assistant for the Department of Mathematics and participated in the Directed Reading Program for three semesters. In the fall, Spaker will pursue a doctorate in pure mathematics at the University of Connecticut. An event honoring the Outstanding Seniors was held on April 20, 2026, hosted by CAS.
Graduate students and staff gather for group photo
6/12/26
Recently, some of our graduate students took a moment to have a group photo with staff. The Department of Mathematics is proud of our graduate students for their dedication and hard work. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
Jack Mills wins the 2024 Summer Math Scholarship
6/12/26
The UB Department of Mathematics is pleased to congratulate the winner of the 2024 Summer Math Scholarship, Jack Mills. The award includes a stipend in the range of $4,000. Mills, together with faculty mentor Dr. Johanna Mangahas, formulated an undergraduate research project aimed at understanding Mesa paths in the hyperbolic plane.
Giacomo Scilla wins the 2023 Summer Math Scholarship
6/12/26
The UB Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Giacomo Scilla is the recipient of the 2023 Summer Math Scholarship. Together with faculty mentor Dr. Gino Biondini, Scilla formulated an undergraduate research project aimed at understanding the classification of two-dimensional wave patterns governed by the solutions of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation, with the ultimate goal of deriving efficient methods to generate large ensembles of such solutions.
2015-2016 College Ambassadors
9/18/15
The University at Buffalo Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that two math majors and three double majors were selected by the College of Arts and Sciences to be college ambassadors for 2015-2016. The program fosters student growth and professional development.
Summer 2017 Math Scholarship
7/15/16
Starting in Summer 2017, one UB mathematics major will be the first to receive the “Summer Math Scholarship” to pursue individual research with a faculty mentor. The Summer Math Foundation, Inc. of Amherst, NY has funded the program for 2017 and simultaneously established an endowment to support the program for future summers.
Jessica Eisenhauer honored as outstanding senior
5/19/16
The mathematics department held a commencement ceremony on May 15, 2016, followed by a reception for graduates, their families, and faculty. At the reception the department’s outstanding senior, Jessica Eisenhauer, was honored and made some brief remarks.
On Intersection Graphs of Convex Polygons
6/12/26
At the International Workshop on Combinatorial Image Analysis, held in Brno, Czech Republic, our URGE To Compute team received the Best Student Paper Award for their presentation, "On Intersection Graphs of Convex Polygons".
Danielle Tear, Outstanding Senior 2025, Summa Cum Laude, Mathematics and Music
6/12/26
The Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Danielle Tear has been named Outstanding Senior 2025 by UB College of Arts. She graduates summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts in mathematics as a part of the UB Teach mathematics combined degree program. Tear is a UB Presidential Scholar and recipient of the Harry Merrill Geham Scholarship. She is a teaching assistant for the Department of Mathematics and played the cello in the UB Symphony Orchestra. In the fall, Tear will begin her student teaching residency in pursuit of a master's degree in mathematics education with a secondary certification in computer science.
Three students win the Harriet Montague Awards
6/12/26
The Harriet F. Montague Award was established to commemorate the career of Dr. Dr. Montague, who was one of the early graduates the UB mathematics program, and who returned to chair the department for many years. It is given each year to one or more mathematics majors who have demonstrated intellectual and creative promise in mathematics. In 2022, the UB Mathematics Department recognizes three winners: Sarah Brown, Sahojar Khan, and, Mahdi Rahman.
Mahdi Rahman wins the 2022 Summer Math Scholarship
6/12/26
The UB Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Mahdi Rahman is the recipient of the 2022 Summer Math Scholarship. Under the guidance faculty mentor, Dr. James Faran, Mahdi designed a special Undergraduate Research project that involved studying methods of voting, for a situation when more than one winner is to be selected, and, the criteria determining when two a priori different voting methods reliably produce identical results.
Yanyan Li presents research poster at SUNY conference and at UB's Celebration of Academic Excellence
6/12/26
Congratulations to UB Mathematics major Yanyan Li on being selected to present a research poster at two major events showcasing UB's undergraduate research excellence. Yanyan is studying gene co-expression networks.
Our students win Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships for Spring 2022
11/18/21
The University Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Elohim Fonseca dos Reis and Asela Abeya are each recipients of the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship for the Spring Semester 2022. The award recognizes outstanding research by our graduate students.
Tyler Glover wins the 2021 Math Summer Scholarship
6/12/26
The UB Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Tyler Glover, a junior majoring in Mathematics, is the recipient of the 2021 Math Summer Scholarship. Under the guidance faculty mentor, Dr. Joseph Hundley, Tyler designed a special Undergraduate Research project that involved studying methods of geometric construction beyond the standard straight edge and compass, as well as their limitations and the number systems associated with them. For example, a classic result of abstract algebra states that if a segment of length x can be constructed, given a straight edge, a compass, and a segment of length 1, then x must be a root of an irreducible polynomial with integer coefficients and degree equal to a power of two.
Fall 2019 Wilson Scholarships
6/12/26
In Fall 2019, the Department of Mathematics accepted applications for up to eight new scholarships for undergraduate students. The scholarships, totaling $30,000., are made possible by a bequest from UB Math Alum John Wilson. The awards are intended for outstanding mathematics majors with demonstrated financial need.
Jeremy Kazimer wins the 2020 Math Summer Scholarship
6/12/26
The UB Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Jeremy Kazimer, a junior majoring in Applied Mathematics and Computational Physics, is the winner of the 2020 Math Summer Scholarship. Jeremy is studying network models for complex systems and high-dimensional data under the guidance his faculty mentor, Dr. Dane Taylor. Specifically, the 2020 scholarship supported Jeremy's interest in extending information-theoretic techniques to quantify the structural complexity of social networks and biological systems.
UB Actuarial student Mousa Sunnoqrot featured by AdvisorSmith
6/12/26
Mousa Sunnoqrot is a senior at the State University of New York at Buffalo in Amherst, New York, where he is majoring in Mathematics and minoring in Economics and Statistics, with a concentration on Actuarial Science. Mousa is the professional chair for University at Buffalo’s student-run Society of Future Actuaries, and he interned this past summer at Healthfirst in New York City. Mousa is featured in a Q&A by AdvisorSmith, a provider of comprehensive research and advanced tools to better understand insurance for business professionals.
UB Student Team excels in the 2019 Mathematical Contest in Modeling
4/23/19
Congratulations to the UB Student Team upon achieving the designation of Meritorious Winner in the 2019 Mathematical Contest in Modeling. The award puts the UB team in the top 8% of contestants. This year, 14,108 teams competed in the 35th Annual MCM Contest. The participating teams represented institutions from seventeen countries/regions from around the world. John Ringland, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of UB Mathematics, served as faculty advisor for the UB student team.
Mondegarian wins the 2019 Math Summer Scholarship
6/12/26
Sanaira Mondegarian, a junior majoring in Applied Mathematics, has won the 2019 Math Summer Scholarship. The scholarship provided the opportunity for Saniara to study random matrix theory and applied network science under the guidance of Dr. Dane Taylor. Her research is concerned with the problem of community detection in complex networks.
Destiny Diaz wins the 2019 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence
6/12/26
Congratulations to Destiny Diaz, winner of the 2019 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. Diaz will graduate with a bachelor of science in mathematics and a minor in Spanish. Her accomplishments as an undergraduate student include: University Honors College Scholar; Ambassador for the College of Arts and Sciences; Western New York Prosperity Fellow; Volunteer, Dominican Republic Alternative Spring Break; and more. Diaz has completed research on how to increase STEM enrollment, and works at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center as a research apprentice. See the award announcement in UB Now.
2019 Student Awards
6/12/26
UB's 15th Annual Celebration of Student Academic Excellence recognized five UB Mathematics students: Destiny Diaz, Michael Montoro, Julia V. Quebral, Anthony R. Taboni, and David Tallents. Our students are receiving various awards for outstanding work. The event began with the CURCA Poster Celebration, followed by the Awards Ceremony. The celebration, April 25, 2019, attracted a wide-range of UB community to the annual event to recognize the outstanding academic contributions of our students, faculty and research mentors.
Summer Math Scholarship
7/15/16
Each summer, the “Summer Math Scholarship” is awarded to one UB Mathematics major. The scholarship allows the recipient to pursue individual research with a faculty mentor. The six-week, full-time, summer program provides a stipend of $3,000. The following academic year the research will be writtenup into a senior honors thesis. Applications are due each Fall. To apply for the scholarship, consult with your faculty mentor.
Mengyuan (Jason) Sun presents research poster at UB's 2021 Celebration of Academic Excellence
6/12/26
Congratulations to UB Mathematics major Mengyuan (Jason) Sun on being selected to present a research poster in the 2021 Celebration of Student Academic Excellence Poster Presentations". His work is titled "Synthesis of Doped 2d Transition Metal Chalcogenide". Sun will deliver an 8-minute oral presentation via Zoom, Wednesday, April 21. Everyone is welcome to attend the virtual event. UB Mathematics students who may be interested in doing their own research project or presentation in the future are particularly encouraged to attend. Learn more about the Celebration of Student Academic Excellence, and see messages from President Tripathi and Provost Weber, here. See the full schedule of the poster sessions, here.
Eichorn wins the 2018 Summer Math Scholarship
6/12/26
Matthew Eichhorn, a junior from Williamsville, NY, who is double majoring in Mathematics and Computer Science, has won our second Math Summer Scholarship. Matt is highly involved in the Math Department, participating in competitions including the Putnam exam and the Rochester Math Olympiad. Additionally, he has served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for both MTH 141 and MTH 241, as well as a tutor in the Thomas J. Edwards Undergraduate Learning Center, which assists students with material ranging from algebra and trigonometry through MTH 142.
Montoro wins the 2017 Summer Math Scholarship
6/12/26
The University at Buffalo Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Michael Montoro is the recipient of the first annual Summer Math Scholarship. The annual undergraduate research award, established in 2017, is a result of a scholarship endowment by The Summer Math Foundation, Inc. of Amherst, New York. The endowment supports a six week, full-time summer program for the selected undergraduate student to work with a UB Math faculty mentor, which includes a $3000 stipend.
"The Society of Future Actuaries" (SOFA) formed by UB students
12/5/17
Founded by UB students interested in actuarial careers, "The Society of Future Actuaries" (SOFA) is now a club with roughly half of the membership interested in general data analytics.
UB Math Grads win NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
6/12/26
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) named a record number of winners from UB this year, one more than all the awards given to students in the rest of the SUNY system. For the 2016 competition, NSF received close to 17,000 applications, and made 2,000 award offers.
Tom Effland wins ACM SRC Grand Finals
6/12/26
Thomas Effland wins Grand Finals in the Association for Computing Machinery Student Research Competition for his paper, Focused Retrieval of University Course Descriptions from Highly Variable Sources.
Students win worldwide contest in mathematical modeling
6/12/26
Competing in a field of 7,600 entries, UB's team became one of ten Outstanding Winners in the 2015 Mathematical Contest in Modeling. The worldwide competition is run by the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications.
Miller and Scilla win the 2023 Montague Awards
10/6/23
The UB Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Alexandra Miller and Giacomo Scilla are the winners of the 2023 Harriet F. Montague Award. The award was established to commemorate the career of Dr. Montague, who was one of the early graduates the UB mathematics program, and who returned to chair the department for many years. The annual award is presented to one or more UB mathematics majors who have demonstrated intellectual and creative promise in mathematics. Of note, Giacomo Scilla is the recipient of the 2023 Summer Math Scholarship.
Alia Spaker wins the 2025 Summer Math Scholarship
6/12/26
The UB Department of Mathematics is pleased to announce that Alia Spaker is the recipient of the 2025 Summer Math Scholarship. Together with faculty mentor Dr. Jakob Streipel, the research project aims to understand the Circle Method in analytic number theory, as well as it's application to Waring's problem, and to develop refined estimates for the number of expressions for a positive integer as a sum of kth powers.

Your Privacy is Important To Us.

Info For

Undergraduate Spotlight

New and Noteworthy

Department of Mathematics