Laura Escobar Vega, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, won a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation for her project “Combinatorial Algebraic Geometry: Flag Varieties, Toric Geometry and Applications.” The prestigious NSF CAREER program supports junior faculty who model the role of teacher-scholar through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research.
“There is a strong record of the study of discrete structures leading to advances not only within mathematics, but also in science and industry,” Escobar said. “At the same time, my project’s educational program is also focused on increasing the participation in mathematics of those traditionally underrepresented and recruiting talented students from underserved communities to PhD programs in math.”
Escobar’s research project studies and develops discrete structures arising from the interplay between combinatorics and algebraic geometry. On top of her contributions to these fields, she recently started exploiting the interdisciplinary potential of combinatorics, specifically in machine learning and genetics.
Read more in The Ampersand.
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