“ I hope to motivate and inspire the students in my classes the way my undergraduate mentor did for me.”
A dedication to mathematics Quincy Loney’s research focuses on vertex operator algebras, a type of mathematics that has applications for string theory, an area of theoretical physics.
Binghamton University / Binghamton Research / 2010
Late last year, he chaired the second-annual Binghamton University Graduate Conference in Algebra and Topology. The two-day event, which brought together more than 150 graduate students in mathematics from schools around the country, received funding from the National Science Foundation and drew more than 40 speakers from as far away as Moscow and Albania. One speaker, a NASA employee, discussed the mathematics used in her job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories. Loney called the experience invaluable and said he hopes to see the conference continue for years to come. “The networking opportunities are important; the mathematics is important,” he said. “It’s good to know what people are doing elsewhere. These people are going to be our colleagues.” Loney, who grew up in New York City, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at SUNY Potsdam.
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He received a Clark Fellowship to support his studies at Binghamton. He expects to receive his doctorate in 2011 and hopes to become a professor. Loney said his own positive experiences in the classroom, especially taking calculus as an undergraduate, have helped him develop a passion for teaching. Students learn more and make better progress when their teachers engage them personally, he said. Loney has already taught calculus at Binghamton, and he is the head proctor for the calculus screening exam taken by many incoming freshmen. “I hope to motivate and inspire the students in my classes,” he said, “the way my undergraduate mentor did for me.”