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TARA HOLM: Distinguished guests, esteemed faculty members, proud parents, friends, and family here and on Zoom, and most importantly, the resilient and brilliant to 2024 math graduates of Cornell University.
[CHEERING]
My name is Tara Holm and I am the chair of the mathematics department. It is so nice to be here together to celebrate this moment. Honoring our students' accomplishments is a solemn and joyous occasion. Joining me to celebrate the achievements of our graduates are Irena Peeva, the director of graduate studies, who will present our math PhDs, and Slawomir Solecki, the director of the math major, who will present our majors to you.
This year, we honor nine students earning PhDs and 111 students earning bachelor's degrees. I stress earning because it is a point of pride among Cornellians that we do not award honorary degrees. If someone has a Cornell degree, like all of you, you have earned it. Math has played a central role--
[APPLAUSE]
Math has played a central role at Cornell since its founding. Our first president, Andrew Dickson White, hired the first two Cornell professors in February of 1867. And one of these two was the first chair of the math department, Evan Evans. The junior year course offerings in the School of Mathematics back then were from churches integral calculus. Many of you studied that in high school.
Evans and his successor, James Oliver, set about refining and expanding the curriculum. We now teach about 80 different courses each year, and we are continually improving our offerings in the spirit of Evans and Oliver. The Cornell math major is one of the most flexible math majors I know. I would hazard a guess that no two of you took exactly the same courses to comprise your major.
This breadth of offerings is unusual. We believe that it is the best way to live up to Cornell's founding principle of any person, any study. It empowers you to choose your path. I hope it will serve you well in the wide array of activities that you are pursuing next.
Now, to the parents and family and friends of the graduating students, I want to thank you for sharing your students with us. We take great pride in their accomplishments, and so can you. It has been our privilege to guide them and to learn from them. Mathematics requires careful thinking and reasoning. Your students have developed a broad appreciation of mathematics. They have embraced the discomfort of not yet understanding how to solve a problem. And they can recognize what they don't yet know.
They have learned how to learn. Nearly four decades ago, Cornell astronomer Carl Seguin described two modes of thought essential to human progress. And I quote, "the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us, and at the same time, a great openness to new ideas. Obviously, these two modes of thought are in some tension. But if you are able to exercise only one of these modes, whichever one it is, you're in deep trouble.
If you're only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. You never learn anything new. On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones."
These two modes of thinking are essential in mathematics. Your students have developed these opposing and powerful habits of mind that will enable them to grapple with the toughest problems facing humanity.
Now to the students. For several years now, you have been an integral part of the Department of Mathematics. Beyond your courses, you have run our Math Club, bringing together your classmates for math lectures and for game nights. You have represented Cornell in modeling contests and in the Putnam exam.
You have worked as a tutor in the Math Support Center, or you have graded homework for our courses or served as TAs in our classrooms. Undergrads and grad students have studied together in the Directed Reading Program and relaxed together and found mentorship at the Association for Women in Mathematics events. You have pursued research projects with faculty and helped with math outreach efforts in Ithaca and beyond.
I hope you have enjoyed these opportunities, and I am grateful for your contribution to our mathematics community. It's now time, as your name is called-- Let's see. I think actually I'm going to deviate from these written words.
We're going to have you stand up a row at a time. So the first row will stand up. Find your way over there. Line up the staircase. And then we'll walk across the stage as your name is called. We'll shake hands. And then we'll pose for a photo. And then I will hand you the microphone and you'll have a brief moment to say a few words before returning to your seat.
So I now invite Irena Peeva, our director of graduate studies, to present our PhDs.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENA PEEVA: The mathematics department has a mid-sized graduate program with about 75 graduate students. We have about 50 faculty in the field of mathematics who can serve as thesis advisors.
Students choose faculty advisors and research projects in a really wide range of mathematical areas, analysis, algebra, algebraic geometry, applied mathematics, combinatorics, dynamical systems, differential equations, geometry, literary logic, number theory, probability, and topology.
For their PhD thesis, every student has to solve a math problem that no one has solved before. This is a very challenging, and it's also very interesting. It requires a lot of hard work, very strong analytical skills, and a lot of creativity. In addition to conducting research, the grad students participate in teaching and many outreach activities.
We are very proud of our graduate students and their impressive achievements. Today we will honor nine students. Emily Dautenhahn. Emily defended her PhD thesis in April under the supervision of Professor [INAUDIBLE]. The title of her thesis is Heat Kernel Estimates on Glued Spaces. She was awarded the Eleanor Norton York award in 2023 for her academic achievements and the Turner Prize in 2020 for her outstanding work as a teacher. In the fall, Emily will be an assistant professor at Murray State University.
[CHEERING]
EMILY DAUTENHAHN: Yeah, so just thank you to my parents and my advisor.
[CHEERING]
IRENA PEEVA: Joseph Klugman.
[CHEERING]
Joseph will defend his PhD thesis in June under the supervision of Professor Allan Knudtson. The title of his thesis is Smooth Points on Posited Varieties. His career plans have not been finalized yet. Joseph would like to thank his parents, friends, and advisor for their support over the years.
JOSEPH KLUGMAN: Yes, thank you to my parents and my friends and my advisor.
[CHEERING]
IRENA PEEVA: Elena Hafner.
[APPLAUSE]
Elena defended her PhD thesis in April under the supervision of Professor Karola Meszaros. The title of her thesis is Combinatorics of Vexillary Grothendieck Polynomials. In the fall, Elena will be an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington.
[APPLAUSE]
ELENA HAFNER: Yeah, so OK, I'm going to say a little bit more than the others said, but not too much because I don't want to annoy you guys. But I was thinking just recently about how when so many of us got here, just about all the time that we spent sitting in Collegetown Bagels or in other places, all discussing the first manifold's problem set and the first algebra problem set, and just how collaborative and supportive my time here in the math department has been. And I just want to thank all of you guys for being a part of that.
[APPLAUSE]
As well as my advisor, my mentors, my family, and also my mentors outside of the math department.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENA PEEVA: Sumun Iyer.
[APPLAUSE]
Sumun defended her PhD thesis in April under the supervision of Professor Slawomir Solecki. The title of her thesis is Dynamics of Non-locally Compact Topological Groups. She was partially supported by an NSF fellowship during her graduate studies. In the fall, she will be an NSF postdoc at Carnegie Mellon University.
[APPLAUSE]
SUMUN IYER: OK, I guess I mostly want to say thank you to my advisor, Slawomir, and then also my family and friends.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENA PEEVA: Sebastian Junger. Sebastian defended his PhD thesis in April under the supervision of Professor Slawomir Solecki. The title of his thesis is Applications of Transferring the Ramsay Property Between Categories. In the fall, Sebastian will be a lecturer at Texas State University.
[APPLAUSE]
SEBASTIAN JUNGER: Also slightly longer, not too long. I would like to thank my friends, my family, and my advisor. I would also like to thank the new and revamped teaching seminar and the logic seminar for helping me grow as a presenter and as a teacher.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENA PEEVA: Nicki Magill.
[APPLAUSE]
Nicki defended her PhD thesis in April under the supervision of Professor Tara Holm. The title of her thesis is Infinite Staircases for Hersbruck Surfaces. Nicki was partially supported by an NSF fellowship during her graduate studies. She was awarded the Robert John Batty graduate prize in 2021 based on excellence and promise in mathematics, as well as the Eleanor Horton Yorke award in 2020 for her academic achievements. In the fall, Nikki will be an NSF postdoc at UC Berkeley.
[CHEERING]
NICOLE MAGILL: Thank you. Well, I want to thank Tara, my advisor, and Irena and the math department and my family and my friends and yay.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENA PEEVA: Andrew Melchionna.
[APPLAUSE]
Andrew defended his PhD thesis in August under the supervision of Professor Lionel Levine. The title of his thesis is Opinion, Propagation and Sandpile Models. He was awarded the Eleanor Norton York award in 2020 for his academic achievements. Andrew is currently working as a quantitative researcher at the systematic hedge fund called Trexquant.
[APPLAUSE]
ANDREW MELCHIONNA: Yes. Thank you. And congratulations to the fellow graduates and particularly the PhDs. Thank you for your friendship. Thanks to the faculty for your guidance and patience. And most of all, thanks to my family, my parents, my siblings, my grandmother, and all my friends for your love and support. Thanks.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENA PEEVA: Prairie Wentworth-Nice.
[APPLAUSE]
Prairie defended her PhD thesis in April under the supervision of Professor Edgeworth. The title of her thesis is Finite Groups, [INAUDIBLE] Matrices, and Error Correcting Codes. She was awarded the Turner Prize in 2021 for her outstanding work as a teacher and the Robert John Batty graduate prize in 2023 based on excellence in mathematics. She was also awarded the Gitner annual prize for teaching assistants from the College of Arts and Sciences.
In the fall, Prairie will be a postdoctoral teaching fellow at Johns Hopkins University.
[APPLAUSE]
PRAIRIE WENTWORTH-NICE: Thanks. I'd like to thank my advisor, Ed Swartz, everyone on the lecture team who's mentored me as an instructor, and my family and friends, especially Mercedes and Rachel.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENA PEEVA: Fiona Young.
[APPLAUSE]
Fiona defended her PhD thesis in April under the supervision of Professor Schwartz. The title of her thesis is Dissecting the Integer Polymatroid. Fiona was partially supported by an NSF fellowship during her graduate studies. She launched a math academy in Boston with a team at the art of problem solving during the pandemic. Fiona will be pursuing her own start up in the math education technology space.
[APPLAUSE]
FIONA YOUNG: Thank you, everyone. I have a little anecdote. I'll try to make it short. So in my research, this example comes up a lot, which basically boils down to this cube with the corner sliced off. And so I was always working on this. And my parents got a few glimpses of it here and there.
And there was one day-- and I feel like all of you Asian students, Asian parents are really going to resonate with this. So my father came over to me and he said, here, I cut you up some persimmon. And I look at the persimmon. And each piece is exactly in that shape, a little cube with a corner cut off.
And it was in that moment I was like, this is the meaning of true love. So thank you to my family and friends for all your support, to mom, to dad, to James, to my advisor, to the math department, and my fellow members of my cohort. Yes. Congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENA PEEVA: We are very proud of the impressive achievements of our graduate students.
TARA HOLM: Thank you, Irena, and congratulations to you all. I'm now pleased to introduce Slawomir Solecki, the director of our math major, who will present the class of 2024.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Thanks, Tara. The Cornell mathematics department has a large undergraduate program, including 111 graduates this year. Our students are required to pass advanced courses with high marks in linear algebra and multivariable calculus to be admitted to the major.
They are assigned an advisor and need to pass advanced undergraduate courses with high marks to earn a degree in mathematics. Students choose one of several areas of concentration-- applied math, computer science, economics, mathematical biology, mathematical physics, operations research, statistics, and finally, simply, math.
An unusually large number of our students earn more than one major. The other majors represented this year are computer science, physics, applied math, applied and engineering physics, astronomy, environment and sustainability, chemistry, economics, and English. Many of our students distinguish themselves in very advanced graduate courses, writing senior thesis and participating and excelling at national and international competitions.
We are very proud to have had the opportunity to interact with such a group of students. I will now present the 2024 bachelor recipients. As I read your name, we invite you forward. And we give you the opportunity to say a few words. And we ask you, please, to limit them to 30 seconds at most.
Alden [INAUDIBLE]. Alden is a mathematics and physics double major. He will enter the master's program in applied math at NYU this fall.
[APPLAUSE]
ALDEN: Thank you to all my professors and classmates for the support over the years.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Alex ArbitalJacoby. Alex is a double major with performing and media arts, who completed the math major with an applied math concentration. He was also recognized by performing and media arts with the Elizabeth D. Warman undergraduate award. Alex is a general production intern with a Tonight Show.
[APPLAUSE]
ALEX ARBITALJACOBY: Yeah, I'd like to Thank my family and I think the field of mathematics. I love numbers so much that I could list them forever. But I'm told to keep this short, so--
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Annabelle [? Banyak. ?] Annabelle completed her undergraduate degree with majors in mathematics and computer science. She will continue her education at Cornell in the master's program in computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
ANNABELLE: Yeah, I'd like to thank my family, especially my parents, who supported me the whole way through. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Rodolfo Beer. Rudy has completed majors in mathematics, computer science, and English.
[APPLAUSE]
RODOLFO BEER: I'd like to thank my family. And I'd like to thank my friend Cooper, who's sitting in the second row there, for being my math study partner for the past four years.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Greta [? Berendas. ?] Greta graduated in December with a major in mathematics, concentrating in applied math and a minor in philosophy. She will continue her education at Harvard in the Earth and Planetary Sciences PhD program.
[APPLAUSE]
GRETA: Thank you to the incredible professors in this department and my wonderful parents who are so supportive and loving always. So thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
Omkar Bhalerao. Omkar graduated in December cum laude in mathematics and summa cum laude in computer science with distinction in all subjects, after which he accepted a position with [INAUDIBLE] as a software engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
OMKAR BHALERAO: So, I'd like to thank my family, my friends, and my parents, and all the professors for inspiring me to be where I am today.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Alexander [? Bogoraith. ?] Sasha is a college scholar who has also completed majors in mathematics and computer science. After graduation, he will enter the PhD program in computational linguistics at UT Austin.
[APPLAUSE]
SASHA: I'd just like to thank my family, my friends for all the support, and then also all the great professors and classmates that I've met along the way.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Lavinia Burchielli. Lavinia completed the math major with a concentration in economics.
[APPLAUSE]
LAVINIA BURCHIELLI: I would like to thank my professors, my family, and my friends, and especially my dad for supporting me throughout this journey. I couldn't have made it without you all.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Gloria [? Tsai. ?] Gloria graduates with majors in mathematics and computer science. She has accepted a position as a software engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
GLORIA: Big thank you to my family and friends, and especially my parents for supporting me through all these years. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Adelyn Carney. Adelyn graduated with majors in mathematics and economics, cum laude in mathematics. She will continue studying economics in the PhD program at Northwestern.
[APPLAUSE]
Michael Carr. Michael completed his degree in December with majors in mathematics and computer science. After graduation, he accepted a position with Millennium as a data scientist.
[APPLAUSE]
MICHAEL CARR: Like to thank all my friends and family and everyone else who supported me at Cornell. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Jiho Cha. Jiho graduated in December with majors in mathematics and computer science, cum laude in mathematics with distinction in all subjects. He conducts research in operations, research, and machine learning.
[APPLAUSE]
JIHO CHA: I'd like to thank the faculty and professors here in the math department, as well as my family, friends and peers. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Raymond Chung. Raymond completed his degree in December with majors in mathematics and computer science with distinction in all subjects. He will continue to study computer science at Oxford in their PhD program.
[APPLAUSE]
RAYMOND CHUNG: Like to thank my friends and family for all of their love and support throughout this journey.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Darren Choi. Darren has completed majors in mathematics and computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
DARREN CHOI: I'd like to thank my parents, my family, and my brother, and also my guardian, Uncle Henry. And in the fall, I will be heading to Cornell Tech for master of engineering in computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: John Cook. John graduates as a mathematics and computer science double major. He has accepted a position as a mathematical statistician.
[APPLAUSE]
JOHN COOK: I'd like to thank my family, especially my mom, for your love and support, and to the Cornell math department and all my professors for giving me interesting problems to solve.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Andrew DiFabio. Andrew is a mathematics and physics double major graduating magna cum laude in mathematics. He has also been awarded the Hartmann prize in physics. Andrew will enter the PhD program in Physics at MIT this fall.
[APPLAUSE]
ANDREW DIFABIO: Hi. I'd like to thank my parents, all the faculty who have taught me, and also my high school math teacher, Lawrence Maggiotto.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Vivian Deng. Vivian graduate with majors in mathematics and computer science. She will continue her education at MIT in their computer science PhD program.
[APPLAUSE]
VIVIAN DENG: Thanks, Mom.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Ronan Everett. Ronan completed the math major with a concentration in pure mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
RONAN EVERETT: Thank you for having me. It's great to be here.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: John Fernandez. John graduated in December with majors in mathematics and computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
JOHN FERNANDEZ: I'd like to thank my parents for their love and support. And I also want to give a special shout out to my CS and math partner, Kat, who got me through this final year.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Elana Frank. Elana completed the major with a concentration in pure mathematics. She has accepted a position with Goldman Sachs as a private wealth management analyst.
[APPLAUSE]
ELANA FRANK: I would like to say thank you to my friends and family, especially my parents, for their continuous love and support and inspiration. And I also wanted to give a shout out to Cornell, because I'm not a log function because the sky is the limit.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Aidan Friedman.
[APPLAUSE]
Aidan completed his math major with a concentration in pure mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
AIDAN FRIEDMAN: Thank you. Thanks to all my family and friends, all my professors, especially the ones that I liked. My time here has been invaluable.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Daniel Fu. Daniel graduates magna cum laude in mathematics with a concentration in statistics. Under the supervision of Justin Moore, Daniel wrote a senior thesis on piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the circle, iterated function system, and conjugating maps. He will continue his education at Brown, where he has been admitted to the PhD program in Applied Mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
DANIEL FU: I'd like to thank my friends and family for supporting me. And I would also like to thank Professor Justin Moore and Professor Phillippe Sosoe in particular.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Ahana Gosh. Ahana completed his undergraduate degree with majors in mathematics and computer science. After graduation, he will enter the PhD program in applied math at Iowa State University.
[APPLAUSE]
AHANA GOSH: First of all, congratulations to all my fellow graduates. And I would like to thank all my amazing professors and my family and my sister right over there. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Isabel [? Gaudreau. ?]
[APPLAUSE]
Isabel majored in chemistry and mathematics with an applied math concentration and was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry certificate of academic excellence. She will pursue graduate work at Northwestern towards a PhD in theoretical chemistry.
[APPLAUSE]
ISABEL: I'd like to thank my family for encouraging me to always challenge myself. And I would like to thank all of my friends in the math major. Math is very fun, but it has been even more fun with all of you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Catherine ?] [? Grossel. ?]
[CHEERING]
[? Catherine ?] completed her undergraduate degree with majors in mathematics and computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
[? CATHERINE: ?] I'd like to thank my family, my friends, and my cats. And a special shout out to John, my CS and math partner. The limit to our potential does not exist.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Eric [? Guo. ?] Eric is a mathematics and computer science double major. He plans to travel in Asia the summer before starting a position with American Express as a risk analyst.
[APPLAUSE]
[? ERIC GUO: ?] So many beautiful and smart people in here today. Thank you so much to my family, my friends, my girlfriend, and also all the people I met along the way to make Cornell my home.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Mateo [INAUDIBLE]. Mateo is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating cum laude in mathematics. He will be taking a short vacation after graduation to visit the Greek Islands before starting a position with Apple working on GPU software.
[APPLAUSE]
MATEO: I'd like to thank my family, my parents, my friends, and the entire math department for making this a wonderful experience.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Yu [INAUDIBLE]. Yu is a mathematics and computer science double major, completing his math major with a concentration in operations research. After graduation, he will pursue a master's in business analytics at MIT.
[APPLAUSE]
YU: Thank you, mom and dad and my sister for all your love and care. And also a big thank you to all my friends for all your support. And your existence has made this journey so special and invaluable for me. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Kai Horstmann. Kai graduated with majors in mathematics and computer science. He has been accepted into the systems engineering PhD program at Cornell.
[APPLAUSE]
KAI HORSTMANN: I just want to thank all my professors for getting me interested in math and inspiring me to pursue this major, as well as my family and friends for all their help in getting me to this point. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Xing ?] [? Xeng ?] Wang. [? Xing ?] graduated cum laude in mathematics with a concentration in applied mathematics. He will continue his education at Carnegie Mellon, pursuing a master's in finance.
[APPLAUSE]
[? XING: ?] I'd like to thank my parents, my family, my friends and the Cornell math department for this journey of a little bit of pain, but a lot of fun.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Savannah Jeffries. Savannah completed--
[CHEERING]
Don't let me interrupt you. Savannah completed the math major with a concentration in computer science. She has accepted a position with systems planning and analysis as a defense data scientist.
[APPLAUSE]
SAVANNAH JEFFRIES: It's rare to have a group that will appreciate a math joke. So why should math majors not go to parties? Because you should never drink and derive. And thank you to my family and all my professors, and also my high school teachers for inspiring me to be a math major in the first place.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Han ?] [? Jang ?] [? Jin. ?] [? Han ?] [? Jang ?] is a mathematics and economics double major. She completed the math major with a concentration in computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
HAN JANG: So I've just like to say thank you to my mom and my grandma and all my friends and professors for supporting me, and for all your love. Thank you so much.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: William [? Jung. ?] William graduated in December with majors in mathematics and computer science and with distinction in all subjects.
[APPLAUSE]
WILLIAM: I'd like to first thank my fellow graduate, Albert Xiao, for accepting the idea of becoming a math major into my brain. And I'd like to thank my entire family, friends, and faculty, as well.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Peyton Johnson.
[CHEERING]
Peyton graduates as a Milstein Scholar, member of the Order of Omega, and a member of the Order of Lapis, completing the math major with a concentration in computer science. During her time as an undergraduate, she served as the president of Sigma Delta Tau and launched her startup, the College Compass, through Cornell's eLab accelerator, where she was selected to present at Cornell Tech in Manhattan and at Cornell eLab demo day in San Francisco. Payton has accepted a position with Kingfish Group as a private equity analyst.
[APPLAUSE]
PEYTON JOHNSON: I want to start off by saying I don't have three grades in yet, but I heard that there's a no take back rule once I'm across this stage, so I'll make it quick. I want to say thank you so much to my parents and especially my family for picking up the phone every single time I was crying about a prelim that would get curved to an A, and especially to my sisters and roommates for fully supporting me. And finally, this is the only time I'll ever get to do this. So quickly, say cheese to-- Thank you so much.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Peyton Kalinsky-- Sorry, small confusion. Jackson Kalinski. Jackson is a mathematics and physics double major. After graduation, he will join the Brattle Group as an energy analyst. He will also be working with the United Nations as a delegate for energy transitions arbitration on behalf of UNGA, the official youth delegation.
[APPLAUSE]
JACKSON KALINSKI: So, of course, I'd like to thank my advisors, my parents, my friends. But I think that really, anything I said could not really encompass the true nature as to how grateful I am for you all. And so I think in the true nature of mathematics, in a way that many of you are familiar with, I'll leave that as an exercise to the greater.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Rudra Kamat. Rudra completed the math major with a concentration in mathematical physics under the direction of Reyer Sjamaar, he wrote a senior thesis on simultaneous symplectic diagonalization in the sense of Williamson's theorem, which was based on a summer project at the University of Vienna under Professor Maurice de Gosson. Rudra is also the creator of the math YouTube channel named Gamma de Gamma. With over 2000 subscribers and over 200 videos across several playlists. His future plans include a master's in physics.
[APPLAUSE]
RUDRA KAMAT: Well, first of all, I want to thank my parents and my girlfriend, Claire. She's probably in there. I don't know. And then second of all, I want to thank my advisors, specifically the advisor outside Cornell, Professor [INAUDIBLE], Bombay, and Professor Maurice [INAUDIBLE], University of Vienna, as well as my thesis advisor, Professor Reyer Sjamaar. And before I go, I just want to say please subscribe to my YouTube channel.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Nicole Kimmel. Nicole is a mathematics and economics double major graduating cum laude in mathematics. She was also recognized by the economics department with an excellence in economics in memory of Tapan Mitra award.
[APPLAUSE]
NICOLE KIMMEL: I want to say thanks to my family for their constant support.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Advay Koranne. Advay is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating cum laude in mathematics. During his time at Cornell, Advay was the president of Cornell Blockchain, the head of Systematic Equities at Cornell Quant fund, and the TA for introduction to machine learning. He also wrote a senior thesis with Professor [INAUDIBLE] on determinantal point processes. Advay has accepted a position with BlackRock as a risk and quantitative analytics analyst.
[APPLAUSE]
ADVAY KORANNE: I would like to thank my friends, family and professors. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Jiang-than ?] [? Lai. ?] [? Jiang-than ?] is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating magna cum laude in mathematics. He will continue his studies at Cornell in the computer science master's program.
[APPLAUSE]
[? JIANG-THAN: ?] I would just like to say thank you to all my friends, all my family, and other staffs and faculties in math department.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Maximilien ?] [? Luval ?] [? Mullen. ?] Max is graduating with a math major, concentrating in pure mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
MAX: I just want to say thank you to my family, my girlfriend, my professors. Wouldn't be possible without all of you. And congrats to all the grads.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Cade Lenczycki. Cade graduated with majors in mathematics and economics. His future plans include a position with Mizuho as an investment banking analyst.
[APPLAUSE]
CADE LENCZYCKI: I'd like to thank my professors for always challenging me and my mom, dad, and brother for their constant love and support.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Jaime Levy. Jaime completed the math major with a concentration in applied mathematics. He will join the Signa group after graduation as an actuarial senior analyst.
[APPLAUSE]
JAIME LEVY: I'd like to thank my family, professors, and all of my math friends who supported me throughout this time.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Brandon Li. Brandon is a mathematics and physics double major graduating summa cum laude in mathematics. He has been recognized-- yes, go ahead.
[CHEERING]
He has been recognized with the Yennie Prize in physics, which is awarded to a senior student majoring in physics who shows unusual promise for future contributions to physics research and who intends to earn a doctorate. He will pursue that doctorate at Colorado University, Boulder.
[APPLAUSE]
BRANDON LI: I'd like to thank my friends, family, my girlfriend, my eighth grade math teacher, Ms. Finklestein, for being the first to show me what math truly is. And finally, the field of physics for inspiring me to continue learning math.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Fengyu Li. Fengyu is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating cum laude in mathematics. After graduation, he will continue his education at Stanford in pursuit of a master's in computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
FENGYU LI: Thank you for my parents, friends, and professors who supported me along the way. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Renyu Li. Renyu graduates with majors in mathematics and computer science, cum laude in mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
Tenghao Li. Tenghao is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating magna cum laude in mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
TENGHAO LI: I'd like to thank my friend, my family, and all the professors. Thank you all for your support.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Rena Liang. Lina completed her degree with majors in mathematics and computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
RENA LIANG: I'd like to just thank my family, my friends, the faculty, my math partner, Michelle, and especially my dad, for inspiring me to be a math major.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Jenshul ?] [? Wan. ?] [? Jenshul ?] is a mathematics and computer science double major. After graduation, he will join the master's program in computer science at Johns Hopkins.
[APPLAUSE]
[? JENSHUL: ?] I just want to thank my family and friends, and as well as Cornell for this wonderful opportunity.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Questin McQuilkin. Questin is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating magna cum laude in mathematics. He has accepted a position with QuantEdge as a quantitative researcher and expects to apply to math PhD programs in a few years.
[APPLAUSE]
QUESTIN MCQUILKIN: Thank you to my parents for getting me started on this path and all my professors, especially Professor Hubbard, Knudsen, and Saloff-Coste for being just so interesting and inspiring.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Alida ?] [? Madhuja. ?]
[CHEERING]
[? Alida ?] has completed her undergraduate degree with majors in mathematics and physics. She will continue her studies in physics and pursuit of a PhD.
[APPLAUSE]
ALIDA: I just want to thank my family, friends and mentors. This wouldn't be possible without you. And congrats to everybody.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Yasmine Meziani. Yasmine is a mathematics and physics double major. After graduation, she will continue her education at Cal Tech in their physics PhD program.
[APPLAUSE]
YASMINE MEZIANI: I'd like to thank my professors, my friends, my family, especially my grandma, for their love and support.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Daniel Mistrik. Daniel completed his degree in December with majors in mathematics and computer science and with distinction in all subjects. He accepted a position with IMC Trading as a graduate software engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
DANIEL MISTRIK: I would like to thank my mom and dad, Susanne and Robert, as well as my girlfriend, Jess, for all their love and support.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Jasmine [? Mo. ?] Jasmine completed her undergraduate degree with a mathematics and physics double major, graduating cum laude in mathematics. She will continue her studies in physics in pursuit of a PhD.
[APPLAUSE]
JASMINE: I want to thank my parents and my friends and other professors for their support.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Rohan Mohite. Rohan completed his degree in December, majoring in mathematics with a concentration in statistics, after which he accepted a position with TD Securities as an investment banking analyst.
[APPLAUSE]
ROHAN MOHITE: Yeah, I just want to say thank you to my mom, my dad, and sister for their love and support during my time at Cornell.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Cooper [? Moore. ?] Cooper is a mathematics and computer science double major. After graduation, he will enter the workforce as a software engineer for Dick's Sporting Goods.
[APPLAUSE]
COOPER: Yeah, I just want to thank my parents and my best friend, Rudy Bier.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Alexander Nagel. Alex is graduating with majors in mathematics and computer science. He has accepted a position with Roblox as a software engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
ALEXANDER NAGEL: I'd like to thank my professors, my friends, and my family, especially my sister, who is also graduating from Cornell this year.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Tejal Nair. Tejal is a mathematics and computer science double major, completing her math major with a concentration in applied mathematics. She will continue her studies at Cornell, pursuing a master's in engineering and computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
TEJAL NAIR: Thank you to my family and friends for all their support.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Maximo [? Space. ?] Max has completed his undergraduate degree with majors in mathematics and computer science, graduating cum laude in mathematics. He will continue his studies in computer science in Cornell master's program and is also founding a startup.
[APPLAUSE]
MAX: Just want to say thanks to my parents, my mom and dad. And a special shout out to my sister Olivia and my dog, Theo. Congrats to everyone.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Gabe Pasternack. Gabe has completed majors in mathematics and computer science. After graduation, he will join JPMorgan Chase as a software engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
GABE PASTERNACK: I just want to thank my amazing parents for all their support, all my friends, for keeping me sane these last four years, and all of the talented professors that I've had the opportunity to learn from. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Qichen [? Chang. ?] Qichen completed his degree with majors in mathematics and astronomy, graduating magna cum laude in mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
QICHEN: I just want to say thank you to my family, my friends, and all the wonderful professors in the math department.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Vicky Quan. Vicky is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating cum laude in mathematics. After graduation, she will join Susquehanna International Group as a quantitative trader.
[APPLAUSE]
Samuel [? Ravis. ?] Samuel will complete his degree in August, graduating as a math major with a concentration in applied mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
SAMUEL: All right, I want to thank my professors, my family. And I want to thank my friends Aidan and Elena for all the countless hours working on problem sets and the even more hours procrastinating on them.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Henry Rogers. Henry completed his undergraduate degree with majors in mathematics and computer science. He graduated cum laude in mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
HENRY ROGERS: I want to thank my parents for letting me choose my own path and also shout out my high school geometry teacher, Robin Perry.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Felix Ross. Felix graduates magna cum laude in mathematics. He will pursue a PhD in mathematics at Columbia University.
[APPLAUSE]
FELIX ROSS: I get a little nervous. I prepared some notes. These are the wrong ones. This one. Well, I don't know. Maybe I should stop joking around and actually thank people. Had a great time here. Thanks to all my friends here, my friends at home, to all the professors and mentors I've had, especially Professor Marcelo Aguilar, Professor Josh Sussan at CUNY, and Matthew Johnson. Thank you all for coming.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Abhijat Sharma. Abhijat is a Goldwater scholar, completing his undergraduate degree with majors in mathematics and physics cum laude in mathematics. He will continue his studies at UC Santa Barbara in the physics PhD program.
[APPLAUSE]
ABHIJAT SHARMA: Thank you. I'd like to thank my family, my friends in the major, especially Andrew Difabio, for getting me through a lot of classes. And lastly, the faculty, for showing me the depths of knowledge that are attainable.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Elena [? Schooner. ?] Elena completed the math major with a concentration in applied math. After graduation, she plans to travel around Europe for the summer and then start work in the fall at Viva as a data analyst.
[APPLAUSE]
ELENA: I want to thank my friends and family, Sam, a great study buddy and an even greater friend, and my parents for their endless support. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Eldon ?] [INAUDIBLE]. [? Eldon ?] is a mathematics and computer science double major whose team represented Cornell at the International Math Modeling Competition. He has accepted a position with Amazon as a software developer.
[APPLAUSE]
[? ELDON: ?] I'd like to thank God, family, friends, and the faculty. And congratulations to everyone here.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Rohan Singh. Rohan is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating cum laude in mathematics. He will continue his studies in computer science at the University of Michigan in their PhD program.
[APPLAUSE]
ROHAN SINGH: I want to thank my professors, TAs, friends, and family.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Madison Sklaver. Madison--
[CHEERING]
Madison completed the math major with a concentration in mathematics. She has accepted a position with Wayfair as a commercial strategy associate.
[APPLAUSE]
MADISON SKLAVER: Thank you to the Cornell math department, especially Professor Marie MacDonald. Thank you to my family for everything. Thank you to Henry for being my math buddy. And thank you to Vanessa. I'm going to miss spending every day with you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Winrae ?] Seong. [? Winrae ?] completed her degree in December with majors in mathematics and computer science, magna cum laude in computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
WINRAE SEONG: I would like to thank all of my friends, family and faculty. I especially want to thank my mom and dad and my grandpa for guiding, for introducing me and guiding me to a math class. Thank you all.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Michele Sun. Michelle has completed her degree with majors in mathematics and computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
MICHELLE SUN: Hi, everyone. I just want to say thanks to my family and friends for their continued guidance and support. I want to shout out Reena specifically for being the best math buddy someone could ask for. Congratulations, everyone. And thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: John [? Tamil. ?] John graduates with degrees in mathematics and economics.
[APPLAUSE]
JOHN: Well, I just want to say, obviously thank you to my friends and family. Also, thank you to all of you guys, because I think we all learned a lot from the professors. But we also learned a lot from each other, as well.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Charles Thomas. Charlie--
[CHEERING]
Charlie completed his mathematics major with an applied math concentration. After graduation, he will start the position with Ankura as a financial services disputes associate.
[APPLAUSE]
CHARLES THOMAS: Thank you to the entire math department. Thank you to all of the new friends I made along the way, both out of necessity, but also desire. There are a lot of cool kids in this department, and to my whole family for constantly supporting me with whatever choice I make. And yeah, thank you all.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Roberto Toledo. Roberto is a mathematics and computer science double major. After graduation, he will join Exo Stellar Inc as an associate software engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
ROBERTO TOLEDO: I'd like to thank my mom and dad for showing me all those math videos in high school, and also my friends, especially my college roommates of three years, and Eric Lo for being my math study partner in numerical analysis.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Peixuan Tong. Peixuan completed his degree in December with majors in mathematics, economics and a minor in information science.
[APPLAUSE]
PEIXUAN TONG: Yeah, I just want to thank you all, Cornell faculty, and my parents right there, my families and my friends, of course. Thank you so much.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Marco Torresarpi.
[CHEERING]
Marco graduates with majors in mathematics and computer science. After graduation, he has a job lined up with Dark Sky Data as a data engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
MARCO TORRESARPI: I just want to thank my parents for their support, as well as my professors for teaching me all of these interesting mathematical concepts.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Mitchell [? Verhely. ?] Mitch is a mathematics and computer science double major who completed the math major with a concentration in applied math. He plans to continue his education at the University of Chicago in pursuit of a master's in financial mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
MITCHELL: I'd like to thank my parents and friends for all your love and support. Trey, Luke, Willa, thanks for coming out here. And congratulations, guys.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Rodrigo Villar. Rodrigo graduates with majors in mathematics and computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
He has accepted a position with Ava Labs as a developer relations engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
RODRIGO VILLAR: I want to say thank you to both the math department, my friends, and especially to my family. [SPEAKING SPANISH]
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: John Wang. John completed his degree with majors in mathematics and computer science. His future plans include a position with IMC as a trader.
[APPLAUSE]
JOHN WANG: I just want to say thank you to obviously my family, all my friends. And just thanks to the math department. It was a great time. Thanks for having me.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Kai [INAUDIBLE] Wang. Kai completed his undergraduate degree with majors in mathematics and physics. He plans to go to graduate school.
[APPLAUSE]
Sean Wang. Sean completed his--
[CHEERING]
--his degree in December with majors in mathematics and computer science with distinction in all subjects. He is applying to graduate schools and expects to pursue a PhD in computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
SEAN WANG: I just want to say thank you to all of my friends and family for your support over the years. You're the best that I could have asked for.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Yuran Wang. Yuran completed majors in mathematics and computer science.
[APPLAUSE]
YURAN WANG: I'd like to just thank my family and friends for their support.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Jie ?] [? Chen ?] [? Wang. ?] [? Jie ?] [? Chen-- ?]
[CHEERING]
--is a mathematics and computer science double major graduating cum laude in mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
[? JIE CHEN WANG: ?] Thank you, Tara. I would also like to thank Morgan and Nikki for spending a wonderful summer with me, and also Liam and Professor [INAUDIBLE], who taught me geometry and independent study. And finally, I would like to thank all my instructors, TAs, families, and friends. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Ella White. Ella--
[CHEERING]
Ella is a mathematics and computer science double major. She has accepted a position in PWC as a data engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
ELLA WHITE: I would like to thank all of my friends and family for all of their support these past four years.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Grant Whitman. Grant completed his degree with majors in mathematics and physics.
[APPLAUSE]
GRANT WHITMAN: Hi. I'd like to thank my teachers, my family, especially my sister Rebecca, and all my friends, new and old, for all their patience, love and support. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Sean Wiesner. Sean is a mathematics and computer science double major. He has accepted a position with BlackRock as a data engineer.
[APPLAUSE]
SEAN WIESNER: I'd like to say thank you to my mom and dad and, oh yeah, to my close friends who I studied into the late hours with. So thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Stephen Xia. Stephen completes his degree with majors in mathematics and computer science. After graduation, he will work as a software development engineer for Amazon.
[APPLAUSE]
STEPHEN XIA: Sorry. Thanks. I want to thank my family, my girlfriend, my friends in particular. I want to thank Richard Furness with the Math Support Center for his humor and continuing friendship. I'd like to thank also Belgium professor for helping me with math for free and allowing me to explore more math after undergrad. I'd like to apologize to the entire math community and the math department for the heinous behavior of selling out to computer science. But the only reason so I can afford more books like this. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Albert Xiao. Albert completed his degree in December with majors in mathematics and computer science and distinction in all subjects.
[APPLAUSE]
ALBERT XIAO: Thank you to my friends and family. And thank you to Cornell. I'd also like to thank the person that decided to become a math major with me, William Jiang.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Yi-cheng ?] [? Yung. ?] [? Yi-cheng ?] is a mathematics and economics double major graduating cum laude in mathematics. He was also recognized by the economics department with an Excellence in Economics in Memory of Tapan Mitra award.
[APPLAUSE]
[? YI-CHENG: ?] Hey. I want to thank my family and my advisors for their support in the past few years. It's fun studying here. And I wish you all good luck in the future.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Shun-Yi ?] Yo. [? Shun-Yi ?] has completed majors in mathematics and computer science. He will continue his studies in computer science at the Cornell Masters of Engineering program.
[APPLAUSE]
[? SHUN-YI: ?] Thank you all. I want to just say thank you to all my friends and partners who graduated with me together, and also Jansen, Roger, and all the friends. thank you for coming today. And secondly, I want to thank all the professors and also the math department. And also, most importantly, I want to thank my parents for supporting me. And I wish all my friends can will keep shining no matter where you are. And congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: Irene Zhang. Irene completed the math major with a concentration in economics.
[APPLAUSE]
IRENE ZHANG: I would like to thank my family and friends for always supporting and encouraging me throughout my life, since they were the [INAUDIBLE]. And thank you to Ivy and Jiang for making my college experience very fun and memorable. And also shout out to Serena for riding a five hour bus to come to Ithaca to see me graduate. Congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: [? Kai ?] [? Xiang ?] [? Zhang. ?] [? Kai ?] [? Xiang ?] is a mathematics and computer science double major. He will continue his studies in computer science at Cornell in pursuit of a master's degree.
[APPLAUSE]
KAI XIANG ZHANG: All right, man. What can I say? Thank you to my mom, my dad, and my girlfriend, Anastasia. And thank you to all my peers and my many friends here. And thank you to all the professors for showing your support and love, especially when grading my exams and homeworks. And yeah, congratulations to all of you. And thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: We now turn to our prizewinners. So we have two prizes. The mathematics department gives two prizes to the graduates. The first one is the [INAUDIBLE] Award. And it recognizes academic excellence in mathematics. And this year, we have three prize winners. Yes, one is-- OK. That's how we can count.
[LAUGHTER]
OK, so [INAUDIBLE].
[APPLAUSE]
He was awarded the prize for his excellent performance in 400 level undergraduate math courses and graduate math courses. He took 10 4000 level courses, getting A's in all of them, including three A pluses. He took five graduate courses, again receiving A's in all of them, including at least three A pluses.
[APPLAUSE]
STUDENT: I'd like to thank my advisor, Professor Vladimirsky, for guiding me. I want to thank Professor Clark for inspiring me to do math. Thank you to Professor Bendell and Professor Cameron for the research opportunities. Thank you to so many professors that have inspired me to do math. And lastly, thank you to all my friends who have supported me along the way. And then thank you to my family, as well. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: The second award winner is Brian Liu for-- Go ahead.
[APPLAUSE]
He was awarded the prize for a very good performance in 4,000 level undergraduate math courses and graduate courses. Again, 7 4,000 level courses, all A's, including four A-pluses, four graduate courses, all A's with an A-plus. And additionally, he wrote a senior thesis on a branching rule for the 0-Hecke algebra.
[APPLAUSE]
Brian Liu: Closing this is a rough gig. So kind of a lot of people to thank. Thank you to my family. Thank you to my parents and sister. Thank you to all my friends and my girlfriend who have supported me these past few years. It is forever.
I'd also like to thank my research mentors who have supported me these past few years, Carl and Brittany and Eugene, and also Professor [INAUDIBLE] at [INAUDIBLE] and [INAUDIBLE] Huang, and also to all of you guys who are supporting me. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: And our final award, [? Zheng-Yi ?] Sunny [? Zhang. ?] And she couldn't be here. She also at a mathematics workshop right now. So she's awarded again for a stellar performance in 4,000 level undergrad courses and graduate courses. She took 12 4,000 level courses, receiving straight A's, including five A-pluses. She also took seven grad courses, getting A's in all of them, including four A-pluses.
[APPLAUSE]
And our second award is the Transcendence Award. It recognizes mathematics majors who have contributed to the spirit of excellence and who have made extraordinary contributions to the Cornell mathematics department community. And our first awardee is Tiffany Sarver. And she couldn't be here either. And this is for volunteering for Cornell Elderly Partnership and active participation in the Cornell Association for Women in Mathematics.
[APPLAUSE]
SLAWOMIR SOLECKI: And for the second time, [? Zheng-Yi ?] Sunny [? Zhang, ?] for promoting community in the Math Center, Math Support Center.
[APPLAUSE]
I think that's it.
TARA HOLM: Thank you, Slawomir. One brief reminder. Immediately after the ceremony, the graduates will assemble just outside on the stairs, the stairway down under the breezeway towards Malott Hall for a group photo. Friends and family, please let the graduates recess out before following us to snap your own shots. So let us, just for logistics, let the grads out. Let the faculty out.
Faculty, too. Please, faculty, join us out there for the photo. And then family and friends. I'd like to close by thanking the math department staff who were scattered over there who have made this event.
[APPLAUSE]
They've made this event and many, many facets of our program run smoothly. Sam Lowe, Joy Jones, Mickey Klinger, Jonathan Loeffler, Ellie O'Brien, Heather Peterson, Nancy Walter, and Eleanor Willard. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
And now to the graduates. World events over the last four years have laid bare the myriad challenges we face at this time in this nation and in this world. We, your professors, friends, parents and mentors, we are counting on you urgently to take the skills that you have honed and go out and make the world better. Approach new ideas with the curiosity to understand, balanced by a healthy skepticism.
Remember that every challenge you face is an opportunity to grow and learn. Every setback is a stepping stone to success. Your greatest strength lies not only in your mathematical prowess, but also in your ability to adapt, to regroup, and to persevere.
Watch our web page and your inbox for the math department news. And please keep in touch. I look forward to seeing you back here in five years. When you return to the Hill for a visit. We will gladly post your news items on our web page. Please keep in touch. Congratulations 2024 math graduates.
[APPLAUSE]
[CHEERING]
The world eagerly-- The world eagerly awaits your contributions. And I have no doubt that you will leave an indelible mark on the paths you choose. I encourage each one of you to serve as an ambassador for mathematics wherever life takes you. Thank you, and may the beauty and elegance of mathematics forever guide your way.
[APPLAUSE]
There is also a math mug. You have to find math. That's your challenge. They're all sitting in the hallway with your name on them. I encourage parents, family, and friends to grab those. And those of you, let's do the photo and then we'll come back in and grab last things. Congratulations again and I'll see you outside.
[APPLAUSE]
