Teaching

My philosophy

Done well, teaching is one of those things that gives energy more than it takes away. I have been involved with teaching and teacher training since high school.

When I teach, I keep the lesson fun and illuminating. I ask students to build their understanding from their intuition, make guesses (even if they're wrong!), verbalize their perspective and thought processes, and enjoy it all with a smile. As far as possible, I emphasize key problem solving strategies and "how mathematicians like to think". In some ways, I would rather tell half-truths that illuminate a subject over reciting cold but completely true facts.

When the opportunity arises, I draw connections between mathematical principles and everyday life. Mathematics contains valuable analogies that enrich our own views and experiences as we live in this world.¹

More than anything, I want students to feel bolder when they leave my classroom compared to when they entered. I cannot teach them everything, but I can set them off on the right track with a positive attitude.

Awards and recognitions

Feb 2025: Finalist for faculty-level Teaching Award, JHU Whiting School of Engineering.
Nov 2024: Teaching Academy Fellow, JHU Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation.
Apr 2024: Teaching Award, JHU Dept of Applied Mathematics and Statistics.
Sep 2023: Teaching Fellow, JHU Dept of Applied Mathematics and Statistics.

Teacher training

May 2024: Teaching Institute Workshop, JHU Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation.
Spring 2024: Graduate Teaching Seminar, JHU School of Arts and Sciences.

Volunteer and service

Aug 2023 to present: Directed Reading Program Mentor, JHU Dept of Applied Mathematics and Statistics.
Aug 2023: Started Directed Reading Program, JHU Dept of Applied Mathematics and Statistics.

Instructor of Record

Machine Learning for Medicine

HEART course, JHU Whiting School of Engineering

Fall 2024, Fall 2025.

A hands-on course balancing mathematical depth, group work, and interactive coding sessions.

Teaching Assistant

Johns Hopkins University

Foundational Mathematics of Artificial Intelligence (Summer 2024)
Introduction to Data Science (upper undergrad/masters, Fall 2023 and Spring 2024)
Mathematical Statistics (upper undergrad/masters, Fall 2022 and Spring 2023)

Brown University

Linear Algebra (Summer 2022)
Honors Calculus (Spring 2021)
Honors Linear Algebra (Fall 2020)

Mentorship

In Fall 2023, I started the Directed Reading Program at JHU Dept of Applied Math and Stats, broadening the reach from the existing program in the JHU (pure) Mathematics Dept. We run it jointly every spring and fall, with undergraduate mentee being paired with graduate mentors from their any of the applied or pure departments.

List of past mentees: (check my CV)

Course Development

Interactive Data Science Jupyter Notebooks

As Head TA for two semesters (Fall 2023 and Spring 2024), I improved upon previous iterations of the course by (re)developing all homeworks, section notebooks, and exams. They consist of coding exercises in jupyter notebooks, mathematical derivations, and discussion questions to reflect on core concepts.

Primary Instructor: Tamás Budavári.

Picture-focused Vector Calculus Solutions Guide

Full homework solutions for Honors Calculus (MATH 0350, Spring 2021) at Brown University. Available to Brown instructors/TA on request.

Textbook: Vector Calculus (6th Ed), Marsden & Tromba.

sample pdf | MATLAB code for plots

Footnotes:

For example, (younger) students often ask: "where will I ever use algebra in my real life?" There are many ways to respond, but one could be: "Doing math is like exercising. We improve our overall health by exercising our brain. We don't really question exercising in the gym because the health benefits are obvious. But the mental benefits of learning algebra, math, and any other subject is sometimes not as obvious, but we are keeping up our mental and intellectual health!" Or another, in linear algebra, the change of basis gives different names to the same vector. We can think of disagreement between people as (i) arising from genuine disagreement about the matter or (ii) that there is in fact no disagreement and that two people quarreling just failed to see how they were trying to say the same thing but couldn't agree on how to express it! Could there be more patience and listening in this world?

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