Math-ing. Teaching. Baking.
Hello,
a bit about me:
I'm Noelle, a Bahamian mathematician. My main areas of research are dynamics and geometry. My advisor was David Constantine at Wesleyan University. When I'm not doing math, chances are that you'll find me baking, reading, or dreaming up new things to try when I'm teaching.
I'm an assistant professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas! Here's my CV.
Email me at sawyern@southwestern.edu or using the contact form below!
TEACHING
In the 2023/2024 academic year, I'm teaching Intro Stats and Algebraic Structures. I'm on sabbatical in the Spring!
In the past, I have
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mentored a student on their Honors Thesis in translation surfaces
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helped to create material and plan a new calculus sequence at Wesleyan
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taught calculus, statistics, real analysis, and topology courses
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been a teaching assistant for various Wesleyan math courses
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taught a seventh grade math class for several summers
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been the TA for a math course run by the Wesleyan Center for Prison Education
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been the head supplemental instruction leader at Vassar College
See details in my CV
RESEARCH
My research is in dynamics and geometry. I'm currently thinking a lot about marked length spectrum rigidity, thermodynamic formalism, and boundary action rigidity.
Recent and Upcoming talks: USTARS Faculty Speaker (March '23), Geometry Seminar at Columbia (April '23), and Undergraduate Colloquium at Columbia (April '23), South Central Topology Conference (October '23).
Big Ideas In Dynamics: An AIM Research Community for Graduate Students in Dynamics is launched in February 2023! We have a second semester starting September 2023! It's co-organized by Benjamin Call and myself. It focuses on collaborative learning among graduate students in dynamical systems, specifically smooth dynamics, ergodic theory, and homogeneous dynamics. We hope to build connections across institutions, and strengthen the reading, research, and collaboration skills of current and recent graduate students.
SERVICE & ACTIVITIES
Find more details on service and activites on this page!
Coorganizer, Big Ideas in Dynamics: An AIM Research Community
Spring + Fall 2023
Coorganizer, A Word Problem: the hows and whys of math communication
A special session at Science Writers
October 2023
Fellow, Project NExT
2021-2022
Member, National Association of Mathematicians Publicity and Publication Committee
August 2019 - October 2021
Coorganizer, Black in Math Week
November 2020
Cohost, #BlackInMathWeek, an episode of the podcast Relatively Prime
November 2020
Coorganizer, Midwest Dynamical Systems Early Career Conference
November 2020
Vice President, AWM Grad Student Chapter, Wesleyan University
September 2018 - May 2020
Co-organizer, Graduate Student Seminar, Wesleyan University
January 2019 - December 2019
Vice President, AMS Grad Student Chapter, Wesleyan University
September 2017 - July 2019
In the 2018/2019 academic year, I worked on the pilot of Wesleyan's Directed Reading Program. Each grad student involved is worked one-on-one with an undergraduate student in the style of a reading course. If you would like to learn more about DRP, the website for the DRP network is here, with Wesleyan's DRP website here.
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