Meet our
faculty members
Ethan Bove
Ethan Bove’s mathematical interests lie at the intersection of algebraic geometry, combinatorics, and number theory, complemented by a strong foundation in computer science and formal methods. Ethan has completed graduate-level coursework in commutative algebra, algebraic number theory, algebraic topology, manifolds, and complex analysis at Brown University. Ethan is the co-author of Forge: A Tool and Language for Teaching Formal Methods, presented at the ACM SIGPLAN Conference on Object-Oriented Programming Systems, Languages & Applications 2024, and a forthcoming paper, Optimal Constructions of DNA Self-Assembly of k-Regular Graphs. He is also working on his current project on Low Degree Points on Curves in Toric Surfaces. His academic excellence has been recognised with the David Howell Premium for Excellence in Mathematics and Natural Sciences and multiple high-ranking performances in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, placing among the top 200 participants in 2022. He has also received the Woodstock Academy Head of School Award for contributions to the Mathematics tutoring program, and is the first student in Woodstock Academy history to qualify for AIME. In the past, Ethan has presented his work at the AMS-PME Undergraduate Poster Session at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in 2024, and in the Brown Undergraduate Math Colloquium in 2023 and 2025. Ethan has also held research appointments - Undergraduate Research Assistant to Isabel Vogt (2025), Undergraduate Research Assistant to Richard Schwarts (2022, 2024), and Participant: SummerICERM Mathematical Modelling of DNA Self-Assembly (2023). Ethan also serves as a Teaching Assistant for courses in Abstract Algebra and Differential Geometry, a Math tutor with the Brown Tutoring Corps, and a problem writer for the Brown University Math Olympiad.
Mattie Ji
Mattie Ji is an American mathematician specializing in algebraic topology, topological data analysis, and mathematical physics. While pursuing her advanced degrees, Ji has taught a large number of courses at Brown University. She graduated from Brown University in 2024 with concurrent Bachelor of Science degrees in Mathematics-Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. Following her undergraduate studies, she became a doctoral student in mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Mathematics. During her undergraduate career, Ji received notable acclaim for her mathematical aptitude. Her most significant honor includes being named the national runner-up for the 2024 Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize by the Association for Women in Mathematics, recognizing her exceptional undergraduate research contributions. Her research profile spans multiple institutions, including participating in the DIMACS REU at Rutgers University under advisor Lev Borisov, where she worked on simplifying explicit equations of fake projective planes. Ji is an active author with several papers available on arXiv exploring intersections of pure math and data. Her major scientific publications and preprints include "Contraction and Hourglass Persistence for Learning on Graphs, Simplices, and Cells" and "Euler Characteristics and Homotopy Types of Definable Sublevel Sets, with Applications to Topological Data Analysis". She has also presented her research at key academic venues, such as delivering the talk "Quantum Cellular Automata via Algebraic K-Theory". Her academic involvement has extended into course material curation and graduate-level studies. Her work in higher-level university mathematics includes developing the public instructional reference MATH 6180: Algebraic Topology, based on courses taught by Jonathan Block at Penn. She has also created open-source computational tools for advanced mathematics, such as the Computational-Homology Public calculator designed for calculating simplicial homology.
Nathan Smith
Nathan’s mathematical interests range from algebraic number theory to complex analysis to algebraic combinatorics. He is a mathematics major at Brown University, where he pursues research in combinatorics and discrete dynamical systems. As a 2025 Georgia Tech REU participant, Nathan conducted research on chip-firing, exploring structural and dynamical features of this combinatorial model. Nathan is placed in the Top 100 on the 2024 Putnam Competition, earned first place on both the Brown Manning Math Prize (for juniors) and the Hartshorn-Hypatia Exam (for first-years), and is a 4-time AIME qualifier. As a board member and co-leader of the Math Departmental Undergraduate Group at Brown University, Nathan expanded the leadership team and organised events to strengthen the undergraduate math community. He was also a committee member on the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan Committee at Brown University. Nathan has served as a Teaching Assistant for Brown courses in Topology, Number Theory, and Differential Geometry, and previously worked as a Math Resource Centre Tutor at Brown, supporting students across the undergraduate math curriculum. In 2024, Nathan was a Counsellor at PROMYS, a highly selective program in mathematics for high school students. There, he mentored students daily, helped guide their six-week research journey, and delivered a two-part lecture series on Gröbner bases to fellow counsellors. Nathan has additionally served as a Counsellor at Canada/USA Mathcamp, where he taught a short class on the intersection of analysis, topology, and number systems, in addition to taking on logistical and mentorship duties. Nathan was also a math coach at Boynton Middle School Math Club.
Zhengyu (Byron) Zou
Byron Zou mathematical interests lie in geometry, combinatorics, and dynamical systems, particularly discrete geometric dynamics and hyperbolic geometry. At Brown University, Byron serves as a Teaching Assistant for Topology, Real Analysis, Honours Multivariable Calculus, and Algorithmic Machine Learning, over five semesters. He is a top 300 finisher in the Putnam Mathematical Competition, with a score of 29. Byron has authored research papers: “Spirals, Tic-Tac-Toe Partition, and Deep Diagonal Maps” (to appear in the Arnold Mathematical Journal) and “Vertex-minimal hyperbolic origami 2-torus.” Byron has presented his research at the Young Mathematicians Conference at Ohio State University, the Hamiltonian Systems Seminar at the University of Toronto, and the Brown Undergraduate Math Colloquium. Byron has also developed an online simulation program using JavaScript to visualise pentagram map actions on projective polygons and compute relevant quantities. Byron has tutored for the Mathematics Resource Centre and designed individual lessons for middle and high school students in geometry, combinatorics, and modelling. Byron has also taught at Math Winter Boot Camps and is a Math tutor for SAT preparation. He also teaches middle school and high school students, and has contributed as a problem writer and test day volunteer for the Brown University Math Olympiad.