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Atlanta, GA | Posted: February 27, 2009
Summary Sentence:
Get to know undergraduate student Arthur J. Friend.
Full Summary:
No summary paragraph submitted.
Arthur J. FriendOriginally from Connecticut, Arthur J. "AJ" Friend started at Georgia Tech in the fall of 2005 ready to study mathematics. Why did he choose Georgia Tech? "It was the warmest school I got into," he jokes.
Why math? He liked math in high school and saw math as the most challenging subject one could study in college. While enjoying balmy Atlanta weather, AJ has kept busy academically with classes, undergraduate research, and independent study (topology).
His accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. AJ received the Goldwater Award in 2006 and was chosen Outstanding Junior math major in the spring of 2007.
AJ has also kept moving. In the fall of 2006 he participated in the Mathematics Advanced Study Semesters (MASS) program at Penn State. The MASS program combines advanced learning with research initiation and provides a highly charged interactive environment among a critical mass of talented and motivated students and a committed group of strong research faculty. AJ's research with Professor Alberto Bressan and several MASS students addressed the optimal strategies for containing forest fires. Furthermore, AJ is spending the spring 2008 term on another continent as part of the Budapest Semester in Mathematics.
AJ wrote : "It's been a lot of fun so far. I love Budapest. There's always a lot going on and the public transportation here is amazing, so it's really easy to get everywhere. I've also been doing some traveling…Vienna, Prague, Debrecen (the next largest city in Hungary), Spain and Morocco for spring break, and hopefully a bunch of other places whenever we can find time during the semester.
Mathwise, I'm taking Functional Analysis, Set Theory, Mathematical Physics, and Differential Geometry. The classes have been challenging, and most of the professors here are really interesting. It's also great to be studying in a country where they take a lot of pride in their math education. It's always funny to hear a professor mention how some topic he's teaching us is taught in middle school in Hungary. So all in all, I'm having a great time."
AJ is active in the School of Math beyond his own classes. This past fall, AJ was one of four Team Leaders for GT 1000 MAT: Introduction to College Life. This section of GT 1000 is limited to freshman Applied Math and Discrete Math majors, who directly benefit from AJ's experiences and insight into math and life at Georgia Tech. He was also a Teaching Assistant for Calculus II and is the current president of Georgia Tech Club Math. After graduating from Georgia Tech in the spring of 2009, AJ plans to attend graduate school—in mathematics, of course.
