"Working in the COVID-19 modeling team led by Professor Peter Frazier since May 2020 has been a truly rewarding experience. We set up an epidemiological model and ran extensive simulations to help the university make operations decisions during the pandemic. I feel really fortunate to have been part of this, and it taught me both the power and limitations of mathematical tools in solving real-world problems.
On the one hand, mathematical models are simplifications of reality. We also had a lot of uncertainty when choosing parameter values, as quantities like transmission rates were not well-studied for an emerging disease like COVID-19. On the other hand, mathematical models are powerful in that they can predict and quantify the long-term outcomes of different policies in different scenarios, where model uncertainty can be reduced by extensive robustness testing. These predictions were crucial for informing urgent and important decisions like reopening Cornell’s campus and setting COVID-19 surveillance testing frequency.
Through this experience, I became more confident that, even in a highly uncertain environment, we as applied mathematicians have (and are learning and reinforcing) the knowledge and skills to make an impact."
Yujia Zhang
PhD Student
Image: Yujia Zhang, Self-Portrait, pen on paper, 2021.
Ph.D. student Ekaterina Landgren has received a 2021 Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellowship. The program, open to students worldwide, recognizes up to 35 women annually pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace... Read more about CAM Student Ekaterina Landgren Receives Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellowship
November 30, 2020: Congratulations to CAM Student Ekaterina (Kath) Landgren! Global Cornell solicited prose, poems and visual art by Cornell students and alumni on gaining new knowledge of racial... Read more about CAM Student's Essay Selected for Global Cornell's "Race and Racism Across Borders"
On September 26, CAM faculty, postdocs, and students presented 23 slides and 10 posters about their research in CAM's first-ever virtual poster session. Each presenter had 60 seconds to give a one... Read more about First Virtual CAM Poster Session a Success!
