I am teaching the basics of mathematical optimization. Optimization is useful in the real world any time you are trying to figure out how to minimize or maximize a result, with applications in many fields like machine learning, logistics and structural design.
I will be applying these tools at Uber after I graduate. Uber has a ton of optimization problems including ride demand prediction, matching riders together for UberPool and setting prices. One example of what I might work on at Uber would be using mathematical optimization to more effectively maximize driver availability while minimizing rider wait time during peak demand.
Related spotlights

Iro Armeni
Assistant Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
As a kid I would go to construction sites with my dad, a civil engineer, and he’d show me plans for putting reinforcement inside concrete columns. Together, we would count that the right amount of steel was there to protect a structure.
Read Iro Armeni's story

Edward Apraku
PhD candidate
Civil & Environmental Engineering
I was born in Kumasi, Ghana, and moved to the U.S. with my parents and older sister when I was 2 years old.
Read Edward Apraku's story

Emma Kaeli
PhD candidate
Materials Science and Engineering
When I first started college, someone asked if I wanted to join the Society of Women Engineers, but I didn’t understand the importance of getting involved at the time. I’d been raised in the small suburb of Medway, Massachusetts, and had always felt well-supported by family and friends in my STEM studies. It didn’t feel like I was experiencing any type of bias.
Read Emma Kaeli's story