Math Statistics | Mathematics

ANNA FLOWERS | MATH STATISTICS

BY WILL ZIMMERMAN Online Managing Editor zimmwj19@wfu.edu

For Madison, Ala. native Anna Flowers, the path to the mathematical statistics major wasn’t a straightforward one. “I actually came to Wake as a chemistry major,” Flowers said. “I was taking ‘orgo’ and ‘calc’ as a freshman when I realized I wasn’t really enjoying the whole chemistry thing. The ‘calc’ class was hard, but I really liked it, and so I knew I wanted to do some sort of math major.” Within a few semesters, “some sort of math major” became statistics. “[I was drawn to statistics because] you can apply it to a lot of different areas. You can spend one day talking about sports and the next day talking about something science-related,” she said. “I enjoyed doing all this different stuff, moving around a lot.” Her experience within the statistics department has been shaped in large part by the relationship she developed with Professor Rob Erhardt — or “Dr. Rob” — who she first met when she enrolled in his multivariate statistics course during the spring of her sophomore year. “When I first met Anna, I thought she was a senior,” Dr. Rob recounts. “She was a top student in a 300-level statistics class, so it was an easy mistake to make.” Dr. Rob’s multivariate course spoke directly to Anna’s fascination with the ways in which statistics can be applied. “The material made a lot of sense to me and so I really enjoyed it,” Flowers said. “We used methods like factor analysis to predict traits that you can’t really measure, like how extroverted someone is.” During the spring of her junior year, Flowers began working with Dr. Rob on a research project that included predicting and models she was introduced to in the multivariate statistics course. “I created two different modeling techniques to assess droughts,” she explained. “One model would predict the likelihood of damages to crops based on current weather patterns, and the other model looked at, given there is some crop damage that occurs, how serious and impactful it is going to be. Taken together, the ‘Drought Monitor’ could predict crop damage, [which is important because] unlike with a tornado or other natural disasters, the damage caused by droughts often isn’t as visible.” Beyond Flowers’ work in the statistics department, music has also had a sizable impact on her undergraduate experience. Not only does Anna have a music minor, but she also plays clarinet and serves as the woodwind captain of Wake Forest’s marching band — the Spirit of the Old Gold and Black (SOTOGAB) — is the musicianship chair of Kappa Kappa Psi — the band service fraternity — and is a Presidential Scholar for Music. Her roles among these different organizations have allowed Anna the opportunity to participate in all sorts of diverse experiences over the last four years. During her time with the SOTOGAB she’s traveled to cities near and far, playing for and cheering on the Demon Deacon sports teams. “For the [Pinstripe] Bowl game last year the school flew us up to New York City,” Flowers said. “We also went there during Spring Break of my freshman year for a basketball tournament. The hotel room was provided, we got to stroll through Central Park and I saw a Broadway show, too. It was all a lot of fun.” With Kappa Kappa Psi, she’s participated in a plethora of events over the years, the most memorable of which took place at Gibson Elementary School. “It was in the fall, right around Halloween time,” she recalled. “10 or 15 of us were at the door by 7 a.m. and playing as the kids were arriving for school.” Though her days with SOTOGAB and playing clarinet for elementary schoolers may be coming to an end, another exciting chapter lays ahead for Flowers, who will be attending graduate school at Virginia Tech where she will pursue a Ph. D. in statistics. “It’s crazy that I’m graduating,” Flowers said. “It doesn’t feel like it has been four years here, but I’m glad to have made it through. [What comes next] is a little bit scary but also very exciting.” Dr. Rob doubts Anna has anything to fear. “I have every confidence that Anna will continue to excel ... next year at Virginia Tech,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Katie Fox

LILY WANG | MATHEMATICS

BY JULIA OCHSENHIRT

Asst. News Editor ochsja20@wfu.edu

Lily Wang came to Wake Forest from Shenzhen, China. She became interested in attending college in the United States in middle school and decided on Wake Forest for the personalized education it offers.

“I heard that there are lots of research opportunities at U.S. colleges, which is not really the case in China,” Wang said. “The reason that I chose Wake is because it’s a very small school. That was important for me because I wanted the chance to have close contact with professors and many research experiences during my undergraduate years.”

While Wang spent her early semesters at Wake exploring different majors — including biology and business — she has always loved mathematics.

“I’ve been good at math since I was young. It’s something that I’m interested in and also something I’m good at,” Wang said. “I feel like I kind of have this kind of math intuition — I think of ways that you can solve [a problem]. Even [when I become confused], I know what types of methods I can use to solve a complex problem.”

One class that Wang found particularly impactful was a graduate-level class on stochastic processing taught by Kenneth Berenhaut. The class was “one of the hardest classes I took in college;” Wang loved the intellectual challenge and found the subject matter fascinating. She also enjoyed Stochastic Calculus with John Holmes.

“Lily is the strongest student I have taught in the class so far,” Holmes said. “She is exceptionally detail-oriented and careful … her work demonstrates her creativity, work ethic, and ability to work independently.”

Wang decided to declare a second major in computer science to complement her interest in mathematics. She was interested in how computers can be used to approach especially difficult problems.

“I want to use [computer science] as a tool to solve complex math problems,” Wang said. “In math, there are some problems, like partial differential equations, that are very hard to solve theoretically. So, you can use computer science to solve problems more efficiently or solve some problems that cannot be solved by humans directly.”

Internships helped Wang further narrow her academic focus. When she was interested in majoring in business, she completed an investment banking internship. The experience was eye-opening for Wang — she realized that she was not well-suited for a career as an investment banker and wanted to combine her interests in mathematics and business. Wang then interned for Jefferies, a financial services company, doing data analysis.

Wang also partook in research during her time at Wake Forest. She spent her last semester completing her senior thesis in mathematics, Honors Research in computer science and an independent project with a mathematics professor.

Wang’s mathematics research centered around clustering, the mathematical phenomenon in which a group of numbers centers around one particular value.

“For human networks and many other groups of numbers, there are some notes where some individuals are closer than the [rest of the] group,” Wang explained. “So we’re studying those kinds of networks and the relationships within those networks.”

Her computer science research aimed to create a deep-learning model to predict whether a particular patient would become infected with COVID-19 and anticipate the severity of the patients’ symptoms. She submitted a paper summarizing her work for publication at the end of the fall semester.

Wang elaborated on her passion for research: “It feels good when you do research because you [can] make use of what you learn from your classes,” she said. “You get to turn what you learned into an idea and then turn that idea into actual implementation. I like the process because it involves both creativity and practical problem-solving.”

Wang graduated from Wake Forest in Dec. 2020. She accepted a full-time position at Jeffries in New York City, where she works on the technology team doing software engineering.