Viktoria Taroudaki '15

 

Alex Liu Headshot Current Position: Associate Professor of Computational Mathematics at Eastern Washington University

PhD Dissertation Title: Image Estimation and Uncertainty Quantification

PhD Advisor: Dianne P. O’Leary

Application Area (during AMSC studies): Scientific Computing – Image Processing

 

What is your current position? How did you come to know about this position, and what do you like about it?

Currently I am an Associate Professor of Computational Mathematics at the Department of Mathematics at Eastern Washington University. I found out about this position through mathjobs.org as I was looking for positions in Academia in my field. What I like about it is that I can teach and pass my knowledge to younger generations while I also help them navigate real life. Some of our students are first generation, some are non-traditional, some are running start, so there is a wide variety of people I interact with. In addition, I have found that my colleagues are very supportive people who have become my friends. Also, with my position and the portion of service and research, I get to meet more people who are not related with mathematics and the University and explain mathematics and science overall to different audiences.

 

Alex Liu Graduate School What are your favorite memories of your graduate school experience? What about from the AMSC program specifically?

I have a lot of very good memories from my time as a student at UMD. I was a member of the UMD Concert choir and the women’s chorus. Performing masterpieces at the Kennedy center of Performing arts is something that I still think about very often. In addition, Maryland Day was a day that I was looking forward to every year. The school also had outdoor adventures for students. Even though I wasn’t able to sign up for the White House tour, kayaking at the Potomac River was one of the best experiences.

For the AMSC program specifically, I think the day I graduated is my favorite day. Even though my mother was not able to make it, it was nice to be able to celebrate with some family and my advisors. In addition, I volunteered with the National Science Festival at the National Mall a couple of times. It was great showing kids what they can do with cryptography and logic. Finally, during my last year at UMD, I presented at a conference that took place on campus and Ingrid Daubechies was in attendance and gave me feedback afterwards. Gilbert Strand coming to UMD and giving a presentation was another good memory. Going to the Gene Golub Summer School in Shanghai and the Fields Institute in Toronto were two experiences that I cherish too. I could sit here and write good memories all day. There are so many.

 

In what ways did the AMSC program help prepare you for your current position?

While a student at AMSC, I took part as a mentor at the Directed Reading program. That gave me some experience in mentoring students. Also, being an instructor and a teaching assistant helped me with teaching. Going to conferences and networking, meeting other researchers and students of different fields has created a network that I still use as a resource. Being Vice President of the AMSC student council, the SIAM Student Chapter, as well as the international graduate students in math, a member of the organizing Committee for the (university-wide) Graduate Research Interaction Day (GRID) has given me experience that I use while I advise student clubs.

 

What advice would you give to current students?

My advice would be to focus on your studies and take care of yourself. Find an activity that you like doing that you can use as a break when needed. Make sure that you communicate with your advisor and make friends that would support you during your time in school and beyond. If something doesn’t feel right, think about it and change it.

 

Your own question, or anything else?

I am so happy that I was able to come to UMD for both my masters and my PhD. I am very fortunate to have met wonderful people and have a support system there. Grad school is not easy but looking back, it was a wonderful time and I will always consider UMD and College Park my Alma Mater, my home.