Faculty and Staff
Lindsay Augustyn is associate director for the Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education, which assists with conference logistics. She oversees conferences and workshops, and focuses on graphic design, such as the creation of brochures, magazines and promotional materials for events. Her background is in newspaper design and editing, as well as the hospitality industry. She graduated from UNL with a Bachelor of Journalism and a Master of Arts in journalism. This is her 13th year on the committee.
Michael (Mike) Bergland-Riese joined the Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education in 2022, after working for the past 10 years with Nebraska Extension. In his new role, Mike is an Events and Outreach Specialist with the CSMCE, providing leadership and expertise in planning and delivering STEM-focused events. Mike received his Bachelor of Science in hospitality, restaurant, and tourism management and Master of Arts in marketing, communications studies and advertising from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Additionally, Mike serves as co-chair for the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Gender and Sexual Identities, advising the Chancellor of concerns and issues that exist on campus, providing a space for community and education to the LGBTQA+ community. Outside of work, Mike enjoys spending time with his husband, Nick, and their two pets (cat and dog) along with friends and family. He is also an avid Lego collector and puzzler.
Dr. Amy Been Bennett is excited to return to the NCUWM Organizing Committee as a postdoctoral faculty member. As an undergraduate mathematics major at UNL, she served as the committee’s undergraduate representative and attended the conference as a presenter. Her current research focuses on university instructors’ pedagogy in mathematics courses taught with an active learning approach, as well as mathematical modeling curricula at the K-12 level. She received her Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Arizona. This is her third year on the committee as faculty.
Dr. Eloísa Grifo joined the NCUWM committee in 2022 as Co-chair. Her research is in commutative algebra. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 2018, she was a postdoc at the University of Michigan, and she was an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Riverside before joining UNL. Eloísa is originally from Portugal; she moved to the US to get her Ph.D. and has been in the US ever since.
Dr. Christine Kelley has been on the NCUWM Organizing Committee since 2008 and is currently Co-Chair. Her research area is coding theory. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 2006, she held postdoctoral research positions at the Fields Institute and The Ohio State University. Her research has been supported by an NSF EPSCoR First Award, and an NSA Young Investigator Grant. She has supervised several undergraduate research projects, four completed Ph.D. students, and is currently supervising four Ph.D. Students. She received the university's Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award in 2010, a College Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012, and the Roger Wiegand Award for Contributions to Graduate Students in 2021.
Deb Klimes is the administrative technician for the Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education. She manages the travel and travel support for conferences and grants administered by the CSMCE. Deb enjoys meeting all of the participants and seeing them have the opportunity to showcase their research. This is her eighth year on the committee.
Dr. Chris Schafhauser graduated with his Ph.D. in mathematics from UNL in 2015 and joined the UNL faculty in 2019 as an established leader in operator algebras. He previously completed postdocs at the University of Waterloo and York University in Toronto. As a York Science Fellow, he was supported by the Simons Foundation, and he also ran a seminar course on the classification theory of C*-algebras at the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences. Schafhauser’s work is in a branch of functional analysis that deals with the structure and classification theory of C*-algebras and operator K-theory. This is his first year on the organizing committee.
Graduate Students
Molly Creager is a fourth-year graduate student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow studying mathematical ecology under Richard Rebarber and Brigitte Tenhumberg. She earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics with a minor in STEM education at the University of San Francisco before coming to UNL. Outside of math, Molly enjoys spending time with her cat and doing things outside. This is her second year on the NCUWM Organizing Committee.
Abbey D'Ovidio Long is a fourth-year graduate student researching mathematical biology under advisor Dr. Huijing Du. She graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2019 with a major in mathematics and minor in history. In 2021, she received a master's degree in mathematics from UNL. Outside of school, Abbey enjoys hiking and spending time with her husband and cats. This is her first year on the NCUWM organizing committee.
Sara McKnight is a fifth-year graduate student studying partial differential equations, working with Dr. George Avalos. She received her bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Biomathematics from The University of Scranton in 2018. She attended NCUWM as an undergraduate student twice, first in 2016 and again in 2018, and served on the organizing committee for the 2021 conference. In her spare time, Sara enjoys knitting, running, and rock climbing. This is her second year on the organizing committee.
Shahriyar Roshan-Zamir is a third-year graduate student at UNL studying commutative algebra under the supervision of Dr. Alexandra Seceleanu. He received his B.S in pure mathematics from Georgia Gwinnett College and has a M.S. in mathematics from University of Minnesota-Duluth. This is Shah’s second year on the NCUWM organizing committee, and he is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the conference. Besides mathematics he enjoys weightlifting, cooking, and reading fiction.