Jason Samuels, B.S. 1996
Professor, City University of New York – New York, NY
1996 Major: Mathematics
How has being a Mathematics graduate from Duke helped shape you personally and/or professionally?
"I had a terrific base of knowledge when I went to graduate school for my PhD. My senior year I did an independent study with Robert Bryant, and that was a special experience, i really appreciated the time he devoted to me as an undergraduate, and I learned a lot."
What advice would you give students in Duke's Mathematics programs?
"Explore as many different areas of mathematics as you can. If you go on to graduate school, you will have to make a specialization choice fairly quickly, so if you have broader experiences your choice will be more sound. Get involved in research as an undergraduate. (I did an REU.) This is the best way to understand what it's like to work on math where the answer is not known, and that is a very different experience."
