Math Teacher Training Workshop Organizer and Facilitator
At the University of Utah, four other organizers and I planned and facilitated a six day training to help train the next cohort of graduate students and postdocs. The workshop was designed to have participants practice teaching strategies and encourage interactive and inclusive lesson plans to improve student engagement while also informing the incoming cohort of the opportunities and structure of their assignments at the university. The workshop took place during the summer of 2023 to prepare the participants for their teaching assignments in Fall 2023.
NCNGT Topic Group Organizer
At the Nearly Carbon Neutral Geometry and Topology Conference, I along with Gage Martin organized the Knots and Braids in Dimensions 3 and 3.5 Session. This involved choosing speakers, corresponding with speakers and participants through email and Discord, and setting up speakers' office hours, social hours, and a joint problem session.
Additional information about the Knots and Braids Topic group can be found at the following website.
Additional information about the Knots and Braids Topic group can be found at the following website.
Directed Reading Program Organizer
The Directed Reading Program (DRP) is a student run initiative to encourage communication between undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics. Graduate students are paired with an undergraduate student with the goal of investigating a subject in mathematics that might not be featured in the standard undergraduate mathematics course but is of interest to both mentor and mentee. I have been a graduate student mentor for three semesters either in the area of knot theory or graph theory. In Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, I was one of the DRP organizers.
Student Comment:
Elaina is a dedicated, passionate, and capable teacher. She helped me study knot theory and graph theory for a year through a directed reading program, and throughout both, she showed herself to be an area expert with a good understanding of how to help people learn and a clear enthusiasm for her research. Thank you so much for all the help you've given me over the past year, I feel a lot more confident in math and have a much better feeling of it because of you.
Additional information about the DRP can be found at the following website.
Student Comment:
Elaina is a dedicated, passionate, and capable teacher. She helped me study knot theory and graph theory for a year through a directed reading program, and throughout both, she showed herself to be an area expert with a good understanding of how to help people learn and a clear enthusiasm for her research. Thank you so much for all the help you've given me over the past year, I feel a lot more confident in math and have a much better feeling of it because of you.
Additional information about the DRP can be found at the following website.
Kids Topology Club Organizer
Kids Topology Club is an event focused on presenting topological concepts to elementary school students through mathematical games and arts and crafts. This program began in Fall 2021 and I have served as an activity leader and organizer.
Additional information about Kids Topology Club can be found at the following website.
Additional information about Kids Topology Club can be found at the following website.
Topology Reading Seminar Organizer
During Fall 2019, I was the organizer for Topology Reading Seminar which involved coordinating talks, updating the department calendar, and sending reminder emails.
Expository Publications
I have been fortunate to attend several conferences and workshops because of the fellowships that I have received while in graduate school, like the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship from the University of Iowa and the Ford Foundation’s Predoctoral Fellowship. My experiences and advice have been published in a Math Horizons magazine article entitled Mathematics Conferences and the AMS Math Grad Blog post entitled Fellowships, Grants, and Awards Advice from Award Recipients.
The links to these writings can be found below.
The links to these writings can be found below.
Grant Reviewer
The Graduate & Professional Student Government (GPSG) provides grants to University of Iowa graduate and professional students for the purpose of travel, research, or service. Grant reviewers rank and score each application before making a recommendation about whether the students should be funded. I have been a grant reviewer for the GPSG in Fall 2019 and Spring 2020.
Additional information about the GPSG grants for student can be found below.
Additional information about the GPSG grants for student can be found below.