Mathematical Sciences Blog

Author: Chelsie Carne

Unveiling the Journey of Meiling Zhou: Exploring Genetic Variants in Diabetes Research

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We are thrilled to announce that Meiling Zhou, a dedicated PhD candidate in Statistics, has been honored with a prestigious $3,000, 12-month grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. This grant recognizes her exceptional work and commitment to advancing research in the field of genetics, particularly in detecting genetic variants associated with diabetes. 

First and foremost, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation for their invaluable support, acceptance, and acknowledgment.

-Meiling Zhou, PhD student, statistics
Meiling Zhou, PhD Candidate, Statistics

A Journey of Passion and Dedication

Meiling’s academic journey started in China with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in English Language & Literature with a focus on Cultural Anthropology. Her thirst for knowledge and interdisciplinary exploration led her to earn a second Master’s degree in Applied Statistics and Research Methods from the University of Northern Colorado. Undeterred by challenges, Meiling furthered her education by obtaining a third Master’s in Statistics at Michigan Technological University. Next up, a Ph.D. in Statistics.

Bridging Worlds: From Humanities to Mathematics

Meiling’s transition from the social sciences to the captivating realm of mathematics and genetic statistics reflects her unwavering curiosity and determination. She finds immense satisfaction in the world of research and thinking deeply about statistical methods in human genetics. Her passion lies in developing novel statistical methods that unlock new genetic variants, offering profound insights into the genetic factors contributing to human diseases like Type I diabetes, breast cancer, autism, and more.

Collaborative Excellence: Working with Prof. Kui Zhang

One of the highlights of Meiling’s journey is her collaboration with her advisor, Prof. Kui Zhang. Together, they dive into exciting ideas, navigate challenges, and share moments of laughter and discovery. Meiling attributes much of her growth and joy in research to this quote “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” from the famous Steve Jobs speech which was delivered after his cancer diagnosis and successful treatment. 

Embracing Michigan Technological University

For Meiling, Michigan Technological University is not just a place of education but a calling of destiny. Her journey alongside her husband and son has been enriched by the beauty of the campus and the supportive community. From jogging in Daniel Heights to studying in Fisher Hall, every moment has added to her appreciation for this vibrant academic environment.

Inspiring Future Generations

Meiling’s advice to aspiring graduate students resonates with her own journey: “How you start is not always a good indicator of how things turn out. Work hard, fueled by your passion, it is never too late!” Her words encapsulate the essence of perseverance and dedication, encouraging others to pursue their dreams relentlessly.

About the Mathematical Sciences Department

Mathematicians at Michigan Technological University conduct research and guide students, applying concepts to fields like business, engineering, healthcare, and government. The Mathematical Sciences Department offers undergraduate and graduate programs with degrees in mathematical sciences, applied statistics, and statistics. Students supercharge their math skills at Michigan’s premier technological university. They graduate prepared for successful careers in academia, research, and tomorrow’s high-tech business environment.

Questions? Contact us at mathdept@mtu.edu. Follow us on Facebook or read the Mathematical Sciences news blog for the latest happenings.

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Xiaoqing Gao 3-Minute Thesis 2022

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Xiaoqing Gao
Michigan Tech PhD student Xiaoqing Gao

We are honored in the Mathematical Sciences Department to have one of our PhD students Xiaoqing Gao compete in the 2022 3-Minute Thesis Competition. This is such awe-inspiring experience and accomplishment for our students.

What is 3MT?

The 3MT is an important international competition that aims at celebrating research conducted by doctoral and masters students. According to the University of Queensland, founder of the event, the 3MT “cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills”.

Participants have three minutes and a single static slide to effectively explain their research in a language that is appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

Xiaoqing Gao Awarded 1st Place

I am a PhD student majoring in Biostatistics under the supervision of Dr. Kui Zhang. The current research is focused on ‘Using LSTM machine learning method to do HLA imputation.’

Presented research is about using viral genomic sequences to predict human-infecting viruses.

Abstract: Covid-19 pandemic results in crucial modification in our lives. To prevent outburst of a new virus, it is essential to understand if a virus is capable of infecting humans. As the technology of genomic sequence detection is getting mature, it is efficient and consequential if we could analyze the virus characteristics and perform the prediction based on the given sequences. The goal of her paper is to predict if a virus is a zoonotic virus and evaluate the extent of the zoonotic virus.

Also, I would like to appreciate my advisor Dr. Kui Zhang for the guidance of this paper and my career. It is a great pleasure to study in this department.

-Xiaoqing Gao

Xiaoqing was awarded First Place in the competition. Such an amazing experience and so very impressive to do this in just 3-minutes.

If you see Xiaoqing please join me in congratulating on such a huge accomplishment! We are so proud of you.

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2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium

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Join us in congratulating Drew Rosales for taking third place!

Undergraduate Research Symposium took place on Friday March 25, 2022 at the Rozsa Lobby. The undergraduate students were able to present posters describing completed or ongoing research, receive feedback from distinguished judges, and learn from the experience.

Drew is double majoring in Computer Engineering and Mathematics. He is research is under supervision of Dr. Benjamin Ong. The presented work entitled “Incremental Geometric Multi-Resolution Analysis”.

What a great experience, and once again congratulations on your hard work!

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2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Award (SURF)

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Join me in congratulating Maxwell James on receiving the 2022 SURF Award. Maxwell is a Statistics major mentored by Dr. Qiuying Sha.

The Pavlis Honor College selects a student whom they feel is best fit. The award grants the student a fellowship during summer semester. The student conducts a research project under the guidance of a Michigan Tech faculty mentor. Per the Pavlis Honor College this was a very competitive group of applicants. The selection of Maxwell is evidence to the preparation that went into his application materials.

We wish Maxwell the very best of luck on his research and future endeavors.

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Statistical Consulting Service – CAMS

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Statistical Free Consulting Service – (CAMS)

Center for Applied Mathematics and Statistics (CAMS) is pleased to announce the free statistical consulting service provided to the MTU research community. The main purpose of this service is to foster collaborations between the members of CAMS and the researchers from other centers/departments/colleges at MTU.

How the service will be provided: Due to Covid-19, the consulting services will be provided through the zoom meeting: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/82599122506. At this stage, the consulting service is on a first-come, first-served basis, so just join the meeting and talk with the consultant.

What we do:

  • Help with experimental design (including power analysis and sample size determination).
  • Help with data analysis with appropriate and clean data sets.
  • Provide guidance and suggest statistical methods for data analysis and visualization.
  • Provide guidance on appropriate statistical language for manuscript.
  • It is expected that a further collaboration will be established after the initial consultation, resulting in joint manuscripts/publications/grant collaborations.

Date and Time: 4 to 5pm on every Tuesday and Wednesday from February 8th to April 27th 2022. There will be a faculty member from CAMS who will provide the consulting service during that hour.

4:00pm-5:00pm, Feb. 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23.

4:00pm-5:00pm, Mar. 1, 3, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30.

4:00pm-5:00pm, Apr. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27.

Zoom Link: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/82599122506

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2021 Mathematical Sciences Christmas Cookie Decorating! Happy Holidays!

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For many, the holiday season is a time of greetings and gathering with loved ones and friends. Here at MTU we encourage our students to gather together all year and make new and life long memories. Our Mathematical Science students held an event of cookie decorating for the holidays. The students have worked very hard this semester and we are ever so proud of them. We wish you all a safe Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

“Most cherished moments happen when friends and family get together.” -Unknown

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Let it Shine! 3-Minute Thesis Competition

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Hello everyone!

We were honored to have two of our PhD students Yasasya Batugedara Mohottalalage and Yue(Emily) Kang compete in the 3-Minute Thesis Competition on November 4, 2021. This is such awe-inspiring experience and accomplishment for our students.

Yue(Emily) Kang

PhD student majoring in Applied Math under the supervision of Dr. Yang. Yue(Emily) current research focus is on developing Bound-preserving discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods for the coupled system of compressible miscible displacement problems.

Presented research was ‘Designing Numerical Solvers for Simulating Flows in Fractured Porous Media’.

Abstract: Numerical simulation of fluid flow in fractured porous media is of great significance for improving oil recovery in naturally fractured reservoirs, contaminant transport in fractured rocks and underground radioactive waste reservoirs. One more application is carbon capture and storage. Fractures have always been regarded as potential storage space for CO2. Since fractures have low storage and high permeability values which could allow CO2 to migrate quickly through the cap rock to the surface or to neighboring aquifers. The increasing pressure can lead to hydro fracturing in the vicinity of wells. Referring to the numerical experiment results from Dr. Yang, the concentration of flows shows very good performance with some given speeds. Her further research is aimed at developing more efficient and robust numerical solvers for simulating flows in fractured porous media.

Yue(Emily) would like state her appreciation to Dr. Yang and Mr. Jacob Blazejewski for their efforts in helping her prepare the presentation.

She made it to the finals and was awarded the People’s Choice Award. Such an amazing experience and so very impressive to do this in just 3-minutes.

Yasasya Batugedara Mohottalalage

PhD student majoring in Applied Math under the supervision of Dr. Labovsky. Presented research which was published with Dr. Labovsky and Kyle Schwiebert. The topic was “Higher Temporal Accuracy for LES-C Turbulent Models”.

Abstract: Large Eddy Simulations(LES) are widely used in modeling turbulent flows. In Labovsky(2020), a method called Large Eddy Simulation with Correction (LES-C) was proposed to reduce the modeling error. However, there was a need to reduce the Time discretization error of the LES-C models. Therefore, we propose a method that uses a predictor-corrector scheme called Deferred correction to reduce the Time discretization error.

“Mathematics is an area which is hard to present to general public without any technical jargon. Therefore, it is a challenge to present any math topic to general public in three minutes. Even though I was unable to get selected to the finals, I gained a wonderful experience by participating. Therefore, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Labovsky for constant advice and support, Mr. Jacob Blazejewski for guiding and mentoring me for the 3-Minute Thesis Competition, as well as Emily Kang and Zazil Santiso Huerta for their help.”

Yasasya Batugedara

If you see these two please join me in congratulating them both on such a huge accomplishment! We are so proud of them both.

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