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Japheth V

- Research Program Mentor

MS at Wake Forest University

Expertise

number theory, linear algebra, probability, calculus, algebra

Bio

I am highly motivated by projects that involve getting computers to do math. Over the past couple of years, I have spent a decent of time thinking about how to get a computer to do some modern number theory. Over the next few years, I plan to learn more about information theory and category theory. My hope is that, by learning more about these fields, I can help contribute to current efforts of demystifying the inner workings of modern AI systems. Outside of working on math and programming projects, I enjoy playing bass and guitar. I particularly enjoy making music with other jazz musicians. I also enjoy playing video games with my friends, such as Minecraft, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, or Terraria.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Make a calculator

My expertise falls somewhere in between math and computer science. As such, I would be able to offer a lot of guidance to a student who is interested in learning more about math through programming. For this project, the potential student would implement some basic math concepts in a programming language of their choice. The student would not need to be familiar with programming, though in this case, they would need to be willing to learn the basics of a language (such as python). There are many math concepts that one could choose for this project, but some good choices may be concepts from calculus, linear algebra, statistics, or number theory. The outcome of this project would be a file of function definitions that one can use to perform the desired computation. For example, by using the file that the student created, one would be able to type something like "sin(3.14159)" or "magnitude([1,2,4])" into the computer and get the correct output. If the student is interested, they can also choose to make a graphical user interface for their calculator, though this may fall outside of the scope of this project. Through this project, the student would gain some basic programming skills along with a deeper understanding of the math concepts they are implementing. For example, the student could work on implementing basic complex number operations if they wanted to use this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the complex numbers.

Coding skills

python, Matlab

Teaching experience

I worked as a research assistant during the summer 2023 Pomona Research in Mathematics Experience (PRiME). My job was to assist Lori Watson in mentoring a group of four undergraduate students for a research project in number theory. As a part of my role, I helped the students pursue their ideas or, if they got stuck, came up with a task to help them generate new ideas.

Credentials

Work experience

Pomona Reseacrh in Mathematics Experience (PRiME) (2023 - 2023)
Research assistant
Wake Forest University (2022 - 2024)
Maht tutor
Lee University (2020 - 2022)
Math tutor
Wake Forest University (2022 - 2024)
Teaching Assistant

Education

Lee University
BA Bachelor of Arts (2022)
Mathematics
Wake Forest University
MS Master of Science
Computational Number Theory

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