MEDIA, Pa. – Apoorva Mate joined Penn State Brandywine as an assistant teaching professor of mathematics in August. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Mississippi State University and her doctoral degree in mathematics from the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). With previous experience as a graduate teaching assistant, Mate is excited to teach independently for the first time in a way that’s accessible for all students.
Brandywine: What courses will you be teaching this year?
Mate: I will be teaching pre-calculus (MATH 41) and college algebra (MATH 21) this year.
Brandywine: What made you interested in teaching at Brandywine?
Mate: I loved being a teaching assistant when I was getting my doctorate. When it comes to teaching at Brandywine, I fell in love with the atmosphere. Everyone was very supportive during the interview process, especially the people who are now my supervisors. Another thing I really liked about Brandywine was the Open and Affordable Education Resources (OAER) that are available to students. I remember paying a lot of money in school for my textbooks, so learning about OAER at Brandywine was a huge selling point.
Brandywine: What is your background and experience?
Mate: I grew up in India and moved to the United States for my education. I went to Mississippi State University for my undergraduate degree and Ole Miss for my doctorate. While at Ole Miss, I was an instructor for a calculus class and absolutely loved it, which made me want to become a professor upon graduating.
Brandywine: What are your research interests?
Mate: I focused my dissertation on inheritance of the geometric property Pełczyński’s Property (V) and (V^*) into positive tensor products of Banach lattices. In layman’s terms, I worked on the question will the geometric property be inherited if the I put two spaces together. In my teaching career, I’m interested in researching different educational tools and methods that will improve my courses’ accessibility, including more OAERs.
Brandywine: What made you interested in pursuing a degree and career in mathematics?
Mate: In middle school, I disliked math, but once I got to 11th grade calculus, I fell in love with it, which is why I chose it as my major in college. I love how logical math is and how everything is very straightforward and objective. There aren’t any opinions or debates when it comes to math. You can solve a problem differently from someone else, but at the end of the day, you both come to the same answer. I really like that part of math.
Brandywine: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Mate: In my free time, I love to read and collect books, specifically fantasy novels. I collect books that are special editions, books that have pretty edges and advanced reader copies that are usually only given to librarians or influencers nowadays. My favorite series is "The Green Bone Saga" by Fonda Lee, and my favorite book is "Babel" by R.F. Kuang.
Brandywine: Do you have anything else to add or anything you would like others to know about you?
Mate: One of my biggest passions is ensuring accessibility for students. I’m constantly trying to achieve that in my classrooms; I’m presenting a workshop in January on inclusivity and accessibility in math classrooms at a national conference, which I’m really excited about. I’m constantly trying to learn new things because even though I’m going to give a presentation, I’m not a master at it. However, I’m constantly trying to make my classrooms as accessible and inclusive as possible.