Commitee Co-Chairs
Kristen Amman is an assistant professor of mathematics, currently serving her fourth year on the committee. Her research focuses on how undergraduate students perceive and experience learning across the mathematics curriculum. She is particularly interested in how students relearn familiar content, such as in repeated Calculus courses or math courses designed for future teachers. More recently, her work has expanded to examine the mathematical knowledge needed to effectively teach Calculus to STEM majors outside of mathematics. Kristen earned her Ph.D. in Math Education from Rutgers University and has mentored 9 undergraduate research projects in math education, including one honors thesis. She also coordinates UNL's math content courses for future elementary teachers, serves on the Math Day committee, and the UNL Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Steering Committee.
Christine Kelley has been on the NCUWM Organizing Committee since 2008. 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 NSF, NSA, and the Simons Foundation. She has supervised several undergraduate research projects, and eight Ph.D. Students. She received the university's Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award in 2010, a College Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012, the Roger Wiegand Award for Contributions to Graduate Students in 2021 and 2026 and is a 2024 Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics. She is also the Director of MAA Project NExT, a national professional development program for junior faculty in mathematics, and the Chair of the AWM Education & Outreach Portfolio.
Co-chairs 2
Alex Zupan has been on the NCUWM organizing committee since 2015. His research is in geometry and topology. In particular, he studies 3- and 4-dimensional manifolds and the theory of knots in these dimensions. Before arriving at UNL, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and held an NSF Postdoc position at the University of Texas at Austin. He has supervised a number of undergraduate research projects at UNL and through the Polymath Jr. REU.
Faculty Members
Huijing Du has been on the NCUWM Organizing Committee since 2016. She got her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, and then she was a postdoctoral scholar at University of California, Irvine. Her research is in the area of computational and mathematical biology, in particular using multiscale modeling tools to investigate complex multicellular biological systems.
Graduate Students
Anjana Devi Bhandari is a fourth-year graduate student in mathematics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, advised by Petronela Radu and Huijing Du. Her research focuses on nonlocal mathematical models, with an emphasis on their analytical and modeling aspects. She earned her M.S. in Mathematics from UNL in 2024.
Anjana first became involved with NCUWM as a participant in 2022, shortly after arriving in the United States from Nepal. Since then, she has remained actively engaged with the conference, serving as a graduate student volunteer for the past three years. This year marks her first time serving on the NCUWM Organizing Committee, where she looks forward to continuing to support the conference and its participants.
Julia Courtney is a third-year graduate student in mathematics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, advised by Alexander Zupan. Her research interests are in topology, particularly low-dimensional topology and knot theory. She received her B.S. in mathematics from Fairfield University in 2023 and her M.S. from UNL in 2024. She first attended the NCUWM as an undergraduate and has continued her involvement as a graduate student volunteer for the past two years. This will be her first year on the NCUWM organizing committee.
Grad students 2
Uyen Tran is a third year graduate student interested in commutative. She received B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science from UNL in 2023. She attended NCUWM twice as an undergraduate student. Coming from another country, she loves exploring and learning new cultures. This is her first year on the NCUWM committee.
Nicole Xie is a fourth-year graduate student in mathematics at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she is advised by Jack Jeffries. Her research interests are in commutative algebra and its connections to algebraic geometry. She received her B.A. in Mathematics, with a minor in Philosophy, from Lawrence University in Wisconsin in 2023, and her M.S. in Mathematics from UNL in 2025.
Nicole first attended NCUWM as an undergraduate during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the conference was held online. She has also volunteered with NCUWM for the past three years. In her free time, she enjoys baking and practicing yoga. This will be her first year serving on the NCUWM organizing committee.
Grad Students 3
Marisa Zarcone is a second-year graduate student in mathematics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research interests are in discrete math. She received her B.A. in mathematics from Colgate University in 2025 and attended NCUWM twice as an undergraduate student. This will be her first year on the NCUWM organizing committee.
Conference Organizers
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. He has served on the committee since 2023.
Erin Ingram recently joined the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Computer Education in August 2024 as their associate director. She has formal training as an educator (B.S. in elementary education), scientist (M.S. in entomology), and discipline-based education researcher (Ph.D. in entomology) as well as eight years of experience with the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ (IANR) Science Literacy initiative as a STEM curriculum development specialist (2016-2019) and community engagement coordinator (2020-2024). Erin has served on the committee since 2025.