My name is Vanessa Rivera Quiñones. I am an incoming student for the PhD in Mathematics traveling from the small island of Puerto Rico. I love spending time with friends and family, listening to music, dancing, watching movies and puppies. In addition, I consider myself to be an applied mathematician in training and hope that in the future I can contribute to the field of mathematics and others.
One could say that the topics that interest me are very diverse, but I believe they are connected in many ways. Previously, I have done research projects in number theory, biostatistics and industrial mathematics. As an undergrad, I obtained a bachelor in math and a minor in finance. My hopes are to combine both disciplines through research in actuarial sciences. For those unfamiliar with this area, Actuarial Sciences is the discipline that studies risk assesment in industries such as insurance and finance by using different mathematical and statistical tools. Also, I would like to see if it is possible to apply techniques in this area to assess other types of risk, especially those associated with enviromental issues.
I became interested in mathematics from a very young age. I love how mathematics can be so precise and how the most simple concepts can come from the most abstract of ideas. My interest in finance and environmental science started in high school when I took some introductory courses and developed through college. As we have seen in the last few years many complex issues have risen in both fields. I feel it is somewhat our responsibility as future scientists to address those issues and propose solutions since the outcome of these problems affects all of us.
This summer I am really excited to be working on a research project in mathematical finance, specifically on variable annuity guaranteed minimum benefits in collaboration with Professor Ruhuan Feng. Since this is a new topic for me, I am looking forward to understanding and learning more about it. I hope that through this experience I will have a much better understanding of this field, a clearer idea of my future plans and the opportunity to learn from all of you.
I commend you for choosing a Ph.D research area such as math and hope you accomplish you goals. I do believe that math has the possibility to connect answers in different areas of research.
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