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.
Mia C. Smith
Mia Smith is a Graduate Student Instructor at University of Michigan where she is also pursuing her PhD in Mathematics. Her areas of interest lie in combinatorics and discrete geometry. Her research explores the interplay between graph theory and geometry, including her recent publication Colourful Graph Associahedra in the Journal of Combinatorics and earlier work on hyperbolic link invariants in the Journal of Knot Theory and Its Ramifications. Before pursuing her doctorate, Mia earned her B.A. in Mathematics from Williams College, where she received the Rosenberg Prize for Outstanding Mathematics Senior and the Wyskiel Prize in Teaching Mathematics. Mia’s contributions to mathematics and education have been recognised with multiple honours. She has been awarded the SLMath Summer Graduate School Participant 2025, NSF GRFP Honourable Mention 2023, Rackham Merit Fellowship Winter 2023, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Rosenberg Prize for Outstanding Mathematics Senior 2016, Wyskiel Prize in Teaching Mathematics 2016, and the MathFest - Outstanding Student Presentation Award 2015. She also participated in the prestigious Budapest Semesters in Mathematics and conducted undergraduate research through the Williams College SMALL REU, contributing to early work on hyperbolic link theory that led to a journal publication. At the University of Michigan, she has taught and co-coordinated courses ranging from Precalculus to Calculus II. At Proof School, Mia has taught Graph Theory, Extremal Graph Theory, Algebra, Algebra, Conics and Inequalities, Euclidean Geometry, Number Theory, Series and Topics in Calculus, Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus, and Algebra. Mia has also taught Graph colourings, Graph polynomials, Introduction to graph theory, Infinite graph theory, Extremal graph theory, Extreme extremal graph theory, Theory of computation, The Sylow theorems, Introduction to number theory, Imperfection: A tale of numbers and bases, Perfection: a tale of perfect graphs, Sophie Germain primes, A property of 2n at Canada/USA Mathcamp, where all these courses were designed by herself. In addition, Mia has also taught at Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics and The Williston Northampton School. Mia has also held the position of Summer Director at the Canada/USA Mathcamp. She was also Teaching Assistant at Williams College Math Department and a Teen Trail Crew Leader at the Student Conservation Association. Mia has given talks at the University of Michigan Combinatorics Learning Seminar and Students Combinatorics Seminar, and at the Michigan State Combinatorics and Graph Theory Seminar. She has also presented her work at the Joint Math Meetings Special Session, Williams College Thesis Defense, MathFest and given an alumna speech at Math Prize for Girls. Mia was also a Mentor at Log(M) Undergraduate Research Experience and the Michigan Directed Reading Project. She also organises the Student Combinatorics Seminar and has organised the Love Math! Festival for Girls from 2017 - 2020. Mia is also a volunteer speaker at the Michigan Math Club, a Committee Volunteer at Canada/USA Mathcamp, and was a Mathematics Instructor at Wolverine Pathways. She also founded and was an instructor at Brayton Middle School Math Blast from 2014-16, was a coach at Dewitt Middle School Math Club in 2011-12, and co-founded the Ithaca Math Circle from 2010-12.
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.