2024 Camp Faculty
Interested faculty applicants for 9- to 12-year-old classes must be mathematicians who have published in mathematical journals in their field of research. All applicants should have interest and experience in working with children 7 to 12 years of age with extreme intelligence and a love of mathematics.
Faculty are paid honorarium, provided room and board, and reimbursed for travel to and from camp. To apply, please send an email along with your CV to facultyjobs@epsiloncamp.org.
Tom Edgar is an associate professor of mathematics at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington and is the editor for the MAA periodical Math Horizons. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame after beginning his advanced studies at Colorado State University. His mathematical interests lie in the areas of algebraic combinatorics and the representations of Coxeter groups. More recently he has been interested in number theory as related to integer sequences and visualizing mathematics. He has worked closely with undergraduates on a number of summer research projects. He has taught at Epsilon from 2018 - 2021, and is enthusiastic about working with future mathematicians of all ages.
Danielle Champney is an associate professor of mathematics at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, after completing undergraduate and masters degrees in Applied Mathematics and Statistics. Danielle's primary research interests are twofold: the study of how students connect their understanding of mathematics, physics, and engineering at all grades and ages; and the study of how students use visual images when problem solving and learning new topics in calculus. She is also active in cultivating middle-high school/undergraduate partnerships with Cal Poly and partner schools, with an emphasis on building mentorship opportunities between college and pre-collegiate students, and works with students and teachers of all ages to promote active learning in math classes from grades K through 16+.
Matthew Cho received his B.S. in math from MIT and is a current PhD student at UC San Diego. He was a camper at the very first Epsilon Camp and has since been a TA or instructor at Campersand, AwesomeMath, Epsilon, and Math in the Mountains. He enjoys math, puzzles, ice skating, chess (although he isn’t very good), Nerf guns, and the Minecraft Championship.
Wendy Cho is a Professor at the University of Illinois where she has appointments in Political Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Asian American Studies, Law, and at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Mathematics is the tie that holds together her eclectic interests. She has loved math all her life, but really discovered its beauty when she started teaching math to her sons, who love math even more than she does! Her sons wanted to do math with other kids, so she began her own math circle and started teaching at math summer camps. Her mathematical journey has been immensely fulfilling and has taught her that sharing mathematical beauty (especially with children) is the surest and quickest way to multiply its appreciation and joy.
Linda Green is a Teaching Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received a PhD from Princeton in 3-dimensional topology, which is still one of her favorite subjects. In addition to teaching college, Linda leads the Chapel Hill Math Circle, organizes math festivals, and hosts math contests for K-12 students. In her free time she likes dancing and going on outdoor adventures, especially backpacking trips.
Adam Groce is a professor of Computer Science at Reed College. He is a cryptographer, with a particular research focus on methods for analyzing sensitive data while protecting privacy. He is interested in all areas of theoretical computer science, as well as fairness in machine learning and public policy questions related to technology. He got his PhD in computer science from the University of Maryland and bachelors degrees in mathematics and political science from MIT.
Richard Hammack is a professor of mathematics at Virginia Commonwealth University. He holds a PhD from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. His research interests include graph theory and the combinatorics of cellular complexes. (In other words, he's interested in structures that can be made with n-dimensional building blocks.) He enjoys exploring mathematics visually, and often makes physical models to illustrate his ideas. He also creates mathematical art, and his work has been included in numerous juried exhibitions. He is the author of two books and more than 50 research papers.
Daniel Heath earned his Ph. D. in mathematics at the University of California at Davis, where he specialized in a branch of geometric topology related to the study of knots and knotting. He did postdoctoral work at Nara Women’s University, and taught pre-college math and science for The Minnesota Academy of Math & Science and Escuela e Instituto Bilingüe El Alba before coming to Pacific Lutheran University, where he is a professor of mathematics. Outside of mathematics, he has many interests and hobbies. He is an avid bicyclist, backpacker, and forager. He also combines mathematics with paper engineering and woodworking.
Cheng Jin obtained his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University and has a master’s in mathematics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has been involved with Epsilon Camp since 2017 as a counselor, lead counselor, and assistant faculty, and he looks forward to returning to this wonderful community of math enthusiasts! Currently a high school math teacher, Cheng has a passion for teaching, mentoring, and inspiring future mathematicians. In his free time, Cheng enjoys playing chess, pool, basketball, and traveling!
Dan Pritikin is a Professor of Mathematics at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. His B.A. is from Pomona College, and his Ph.D. is from University of Wisconsin - Madison. His research areas are graph theory, combinatorics, combinatorial game theory, and recreational mathematics. He became interested in math from learning a bit of game theory, continued fractions, and other math recreations through math club starting in 7th grade. He has lots of experience writing math competition problems and coaching students at improving themselves at math, whether concerning high school or college level math competitions, or preparing for the GRE Math Subject Test (at which students applying to math Ph.D. programs often struggle). He plays trumpet, guitar, basketball and bridge, not all at the same time.
Beata Randrianantoanina is a Professor of Mathematics at Miami University in Ohio. She did her Master’s at the Warsaw University in Poland and her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri. Her research is in linear and nonlinear geometric functional analysis. She co-authored a research monograph and regularly publishes in professional journals. Her passion for mathematics started in early elementary school when she was exposed to an “experimental” module on counting in bases different than 10, and blossomed when she met geometry in middle school. She is very fortunate to have had many enthusiastic teachers who introduced her to the beauty of discovering mathematics. She wants to share her never-ending wonder of mathematics with as many people as she can.
Scotty Tilton is a 4th-year Ph.D. student at UC San Diego, aiming to become a professor in algebraic topology. His research applies physics-inspired invariants to understand four-dimensional manifold mappings. A Montana native, Scotty's early engagement in math competitions and math circles profoundly shaped his academic path. He's committed to inspiring the next generation, leveraging his experience from Epsilon Camp 2022, where he served as a counselor. Now, as he prepares to join as junior faculty, Scotty looks forward to nurturing young mathematicians' problem-solving skills. An avid outdoor enthusiast, he enjoys hiking, climbing, and skiing, with recent ventures into rollerblading and surfing in Southern California. Scotty is excited for the upcoming summer in Oxford, Ohio, to combine his passions for math and mentorship.
Phillip Whitman is a research mathematician who has worked both in industry and academia in pure mathematics, mathematical general relativity, mathematical neuroscience, and mathematical finance. He has a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Princeton University and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a homeschool father of five. He enjoys playing basketball, hiking, and biking.
Visiting Speakers
Arthur Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College, recipient of Mathematics Association of America's Haimo Prize for Distinguished University Teaching, is also a professional magician, and frequently performs at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. He is the author of several books, and five DVD courses from The Great Courses series, including "The Joy of Mathematics", "The Mathematics of Games and Puzzles", and "The Secrets of Mental Math", "Discrete Math" and "Math and Magic". He has demonstrated and explained his calculating talents to audiences all over the world and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, His TED talks have been viewed over 20 million times. In 2017, he was given the Communications Award for Public Outreach by the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics.
Chaim Goodman-Strauss has been enjoying mathematics since he was a child and currently plays at the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York City. He obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and worked at the University of Arkansas 1994-2022, with shorter stays at the Univ. Minnesota, Princeton, UNAM (Mexico) and elsewhere. His mathematical research is primarily in geometry and topology, particularly in aperiodic tiling. He has been involved in mathematical outreach, exposition and illustration, founding the Saturday Morning Math Group at UT, teaching at Epsilon Camp, and producing the Math Factor podcast at mathfactor.uark.edu. Chaim was co-author of The Symmetries of Things with John H.Conway and Heidi Burgiel.
Dan Zaharopol is the CEO of the non-profit Art of Problem Solving Initiative, Inc., where he founded and runs Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM). BEAM creates pathways for students from low-income and historically marginalized communities to become mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and computer scientists. Its work provides a comprehensive pathway beginning in 6th grade and continuing through college graduation, including intensive academic summer programs, mentoring and advising, and membership in a community of people who love math. In addition to his work at BEAM, Dan spent ten years (largely on staff) at Canada/USA Mathcamp and is the chair of Mathcamp's board of directors. He is also a member of the founding Steering Committee of the Summer Math Programs Consortium. Dan is himself a product of STEM pathways; he received his undergraduate degree in math from MIT and masters' degrees in both mathematics and teaching mathematics from the University of Illinois.