Kathryn Leonard, Director
Occidental College
Dr. Leonard is Professor and Founding Chair of Computer Science at Occidental College. Her research interests are in geometric modeling for data science, computer vision, and computer graphics applications, with an emphasis on explainability. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Applied and Computational Mathematics at Caltech after finishing her PhD in Mathematics at Brown University. She began working with with undergraduates on mathematical research through a CURM minigrant in 2007, when she began her first tenure-track position at California State University, Channel Islands. She received a Henry L. Alder Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Mathematical Association of America and the Service Award from AWM, after which she was President of AWM from 2020-2022. Her research has been recognized with an NSF CAREER award and other research grants, and she is founding co-Editor-in-Chief of the research journal, La Matematica. She is a lifetime member of SACNAS. She is also a co-author with actor Misha Collins, who plays Castiel on the TV show Supernatural, which means that thanks to her he is one of a small number of people in the world with an Erdos-Bacon number.
Alicia Prieto Langarica, Co-Director
Youngstown State University
Dr. Prieto Langarica is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Director for Academic Programs at the Sokolov Honors College at Youngstown State University . She received her Undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2008 and her PhD from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2012. Prieto Langarica’s research is in the intersection of mathematics and biology, specifically problems related to the medical field. She has a long record of working with undergraduate and high school students in research, including in an NSF-funded REU for early career college students. She received a Henry L. Alder Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Mathematical Association of America in 2017. Recently, she started conducting research in data science and public policy.
Maria Mercedes Franco, Co-Director
Queensborough Community College
Dr. Franco is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science at Queensborough Community College (CUNY) and a member of the campus teams for the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Center and the Achieving the Dream’s Accelerating Equitable Outcomes Initiative. She has a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Cornell University and a B.S. in Mathematics from Universidad del Valle (Colombia). At Queensborough, Mercedes Franco played instrumental roles in the institutionalization of Service-Learning and Undergraduate Research as high-impact practices and in spearheading the UR program in her department. In 2014-2016, she served as (founding) campus director of the CUNY Research Scholars Program, a university-wide program that funds year-long, laboratory-based STEM research experiences for associate degree students. Dr. Franco is a Life Member of SACNAS and is the (founding) faculty advisor for the SACNAS chapter at her institution. As an UR practitioner, she has mentored students from 2- and 4-year colleges/universities in summer and academic-year research using the apprenticeship and research-in-the-classroom models.
Marco V. Martinez, Co-Director
North Central College
Dr. Marco V. Martinez is an Associate Professor of Mathematics and Actuarial Science at North Central College (NCC). He was born and raised in Colombia. Marco was a Graduate Research Assistant at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS). His research interests fall under two broad categories. First, he uses mathematical and statistical tools to answer theoretical questions that develop strategies to preserve biodiversity. Second, he is interested in using large datasets to identify academic interventions that enhance the retention and graduation rates of minority students in higher education. He is the faculty advisor of the Latinx Student Association at NCC, his major focus has been providing more support to undocumented students. He has also worked closely with NCC’s nationally recognized First-Generation Program. He frequently works one-on-one with students, helping them invest in their careers, coaching them to get involved on campus, and helping them strategically manage their family and work obligations so they can accomplish their goal of graduating from college.
Nancy Neudauer, Co-Director
Pacific University
Nancy Ann Neudauer is the Thomas and Joyce Holce Professor of Science and Professor of Mathematics at Pacific University and the Associate Secretary of the MAA. She received her MA and PhD in Mathematics, with a minor in Business and Law, and her BBA in Actuarial Science and Risk Management, all from the University of Wisconsin. Her research is in matroid theory, graph theory, and combinatorics; she has always brought undergraduates into her work in these and related areas, and was supported by a CURM mini-grant in 2015. She is particularly interested in bringing matroids to a wider audience by introducing them to working mathematicians and their students in every corner of the world, and a current project is to build a research community of women mathematicians in Africa. Nancy is Program Chair for the Cascadia Combinatorial Feast since 2001 and sits on the MAA Board of Directors along with many MAA committees. She was the Visiting Mathematician to the national offices of the MAA, the Director of the MAA Dolciani Mathematics Enrichment Grant Program for 13 years, a PI on the NSF-funded META Math (the Mathematical Education of Teachers as an Application of Mathematics) project, Associate Director for Pacific Northwest Section NExT for 19 years, and is the recipient of an MAA Distinguished Teaching Award and a Meritorious Service Award. Her research has been supported by grants from the Simons Foundation, the US State Department through the Fulbright Program, and the National Science Foundation, amongst others.
Kathryn Kozak, Co-Director
Coconino Community College
Kathryn Kozak has been teaching mathematics and statistics at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, AZ for the last 29 years, and she is the lead faculty for the Mathematics and Accounting Department. She is a past president of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC). She was one of the authors of AMATYC’s IMPACT document, which empowers faculty with making changes in their classes, department, and institutions. She has been involved in many professional development projects including providing professional development for introduction to statistics classes, and training mathematics, physics, and chemistry faculty to create more accessible classrooms. Recently she is involved with the Arizona Mathematics Collaborative whose goal is to provide seamless mathematics transition from high school to college and careers.