A select group of advanced mathematics majors takes on instructor roles for calculus courses, developing key skills and new perspectives on teaching and their future careers.

For many undergraduates, the idea of standing in front of a classroom full of students and teaching calculus might seem intimidating. But for a small group of mathematics majors at the University of Maryland, doing so has become one of the most memorable and transformative experiences of their college careers—one that's reshaping not just how they see teaching, but how they see themselves and their futures.

Every year, UMD’s Department of Mathematics offers a handful of advanced math majors the unique opportunity to take on instructor roles for calculus courses through the Strauss Teaching Assistantship. Named after the late Ron Strauss, a professor and former undergraduate chair in the department, these paid positions are awarded to exceptional mathematics students with notable teaching ability.

“The Strauss TAs are impressive. We know they have potential because of the selection interviews and auditions, but their teaching far exceeds expectations,” said Lawrence Washington, a professor and associate chair for undergraduate studies at UMD’s Department of Mathematics. “Add this to the positive effect on the TAs' academic development, and it's clear the program is very successful.”

Each Strauss TA is responsible for their own Calculus I or Calculus II discussion section. Like graduate TAs or faculty members in the department, they prepare weekly lessons, grade exams, hold office hours and mentor students through challenging content.

For calculus students, the program provides instructors who recently took the same course and remember what it's like to struggle with concepts like derivatives and integrals. For the TAs, the program offers an opportunity to develop teaching and leadership skills.

Uncovering new paths

The impact of the Strauss TA program often catches participants by surprise. 

“Before I had the Strauss TA position, the thought of graduate school barely crossed my mind,” explained Quinn Carmack, a senior mathematics and computer science double major. “After taking up the job, I discovered my passion for teaching and realized how much I love academia. Because of this experience, I'm now planning to go to graduate school to become a professor.”

Carmack isn't alone. Anning Cui, a senior mathematics major interested in medicine, said the connection between the Strauss TA program and her future goals was less obvious at first. But teaching calculus in a full classroom became a proving ground for her, helping her develop the communication skills and confidence she knew she needed for a successful career in medicine.

“I was a very shy kid growing up, and as I have gotten older, that's translated into me overthinking a lot of the things that I say,” Cui said, noting that she experienced many sleepless nights before her 8 a.m. discussions because of anxiety.

Rather than struggling alone, Cui confronted her fears directly—planning lessons well in advance, seeking advice from fellow TAs and observing their teaching styles. The growth she experienced went beyond just confidence-building. Her experiences reinforced her desire to help others and allowed her to envision the kind of care and support she wants to provide as a doctor in the future.

“I think putting in the effort to become a better TA helped not only my students, but me grow as a person,” she said. "Being a part of someone else's journey to achieve their goals was a wonderful thing.”

Connections in the classroom

This personal growth is closely tied to one of the program's greatest strengths: the unique connection Strauss TAs can form with their students. As undergraduates themselves, they bring nuanced perspectives on effective teaching and learning, having experienced both sides of the classroom.

For Brooke Guo, a senior mathematics and computer science double major, her own experience as a student inspired her teaching style. 

“As a quieter student myself, I'm often hesitant to ask questions during lectures because I feel intimidated by all the people present,” Guo explained. “So I give my students multiple methods to reach me, including email, office hours by appointment and walking around during discussions to give students a chance to ask questions one-on-one. I've received positive feedback from my students about these methods.”

Anthony Spinelli, a senior mathematics and computer science double major, implemented similar measures in his classroom to make sure his students understood the material. Having a friendly, open environment was a priority for him because he could empathize with students’ anxiety about getting wrong answers or not immediately understanding concepts.

“One of the best parts about being a Strauss TA has been the relationships I've had with my students,” Spinelli said. “Seeing how they work hard inspired me to also work hard teaching them. It made me realize how much learning is a joint effort between student and mentor.”

This peer-to-peer dynamic can also create opportunities for deeper student engagement. John Dinkel, a senior mathematics and computer science double major, experienced this firsthand when a student stayed after class to try to better understand the idea behind the proof of the fundamental theorem of calculus. Because the concept sparked Dinkel's initial interest in teaching, the conversation felt like a chat between peers about an interesting math topic, rather than a one-sided lecture. 

“The calculus sequence at UMD is challenging,” Dinkel said. “I think it's incredibly valuable for students to see peers teaching the content, as it shows them that a high level of understanding is attainable by undergrads such as themselves.”

More than just calculus

For Strauss TAs, the program is more than a line on a resume—it's a profound experience that challenged them, changed them and helped them discover who they want to become. They gained something deeply personal from the experience, and they hope other math majors will take a chance on the program in the future.

“Even if your end goal doesn't involve becoming a teacher or professor, having experience as one means having the skills to break down information into easily comprehensible pieces,” Guo noted. “And that's incredibly valuable in any industry or field.”

Written by Georgia Jiang

Inspired by a college internship, Russell Schwartz (B.S. ’22, mathematics, B.S. ’22, computer science) is taking his passion for mathematics all the way to the moon.

From the time he was a kid growing up in Ellicott City, Maryland, Russell Schwartz (B.S. ’22, mathematics, B.S. ’22, computer science) was obsessed with all things space, from NASA missions to science fiction.

“I remember when I was really young, I was super into space and space exploration, that was my big thing,” Schwartz said. “I grew up learning about the Gemini and Apollo missions and the shuttle program and watching shows like Star Trek, and my room was constantly decorated with all kinds of space stuff. It was all just incredibly inspiring.”

Schwartz never outgrew that fascination. Now, as a senior perception software engineer at Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology, he’s taking space exploration into the future, developing robotics and navigation systems for a 2026 mission to the moon. 

“In my job, I do computer vision, sensor processing and software development for the Griffin lunar lander. It's a fully unmanned, autonomous vehicle, and the primary payload will be a version of the lunar rover that astronauts could operate as part of Artemis,” Schwartz explained. “Our flagship mission to the surface of the moon is scheduled for launch sometime in 2026, and the navigation systems that I work on will mainly be operational during Griffin’s descent to the lunar surface. If we're going to land on the moon, we’ve got to do it safely, so that's what we're trying to do.”

From mathematics to space

Schwartz’s journey into the business of space exploration started with his love of mathematics. A self-described ‘math nerd,’ he challenged himself throughout middle and high school with college-level courses in applied math, relativity, number theory and more, and by the time he was ready for college, he was also dabbling in computing.  Hoping to continue a family tradition, he set his academic sights on the University of Maryland, and was thrilled to be selected for the Gemstone Honors Program and the Banneker/Key, UMD’s most prestigious scholarship.

“Getting the Banneker/Key Scholarship was awesome,” Schwartz said. “I always knew I wanted to go to Maryland, since a lot of my family went to UMD, and, for the kind of work I wanted to do—math and computer science—UMD was an easy choice. Then, when I got the Banneker/Key full-ride scholarship, that just made it even better.”

At Maryland, Schwartz pushed himself to explore every facet of mathematics and problem-solving.

“I loved the breadth of different classes that were available, and I also loved how much intersection there was between computation and computer science,” Schwartz noted. “I remember taking Analysis I with Stefan Doboszcak, which was fantastic. He did such a great job of building up the intuition behind really nuanced analysis topics. Nathan Manning’s algebra class unlocked a whole other level of abstract reasoning for me. And David Mount's computational geometry class, a very math-heavy, graduate-level course, was probably the best class I've ever taken. Now, I use the foundational stuff that he taught in that class almost every day at my job.”

In 2021, a game-changing internship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) helped Schwartz take the giant leap from mathematics to space.

“At that point, I knew I wanted to do robotics and applied math and software stuff, but I didn’t know exactly what that would mean. The JPL internship opportunity really reawakened my passion for space,” he recalled. “I worked with a team that was doing research related to the Mars rovers, working with autonomous localization systems and the camera data for Perseverance. The work was similar to what I do now at Astrobotic, and I loved it.”

Inspired by his experiences at Maryland and JPL, Schwartz went on to earn his master’s degree in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University; then he joined Astrobotic, first as an intern, then full-time in 2024 as a perception software engineer, a job that still feels almost too good to be true.

“It’s so cool. Other aerospace companies do orbital satellites, but what we’re doing—to actually go to another planetary body and then land there—is a whole other degree of complexity,” Schwartz explained. “I envisioned space exploration and helping to engineer these systems as something I wanted to do in my career, but I never imagined I would be able to get into it so soon.”

On to the moon

At Astrobotic, Schwartz works on guidance and sensing systems that will enable the Griffin lander to touch down safely and precisely on the rugged and hazardous terrain of the moon. 

“In addition to being one of the core architects of the navigation system for the Griffin lander, I’m working on the hazard detection system. We have a lidar on the spacecraft, which scans the lunar surface and builds a 3D map of it right before landing,” he said. “The goal is to hit Griffin’s landing target within 100 meters and do it safely.”

In Schwartz’s work, mathematics and computer science are at the heart of every challenge.

“This is one of those fields where math and computer science are heavily used and intertwined,” Schwartz said. “From the beginning, you need math literacy to define the problem, put it into symbols and write down the optimization problem that you're specifically trying to solve. Then you have to translate that problem into software in some form so a computer can solve it.”

The math skill set he developed as an undergrad at Maryland could not be more valuable.

“The amount of math I use at my job every day is incredible, and I couldn't be happier about that because I love math. I took the Putnam exam every year at Maryland because I love those Putnam problems, and now I get to do work that feels like that every day,” Schwartz explained. “The math department gave me the breadth I needed to be literate in a wide variety of important topics that come up regularly in my real-world work. Maryland gave me the experience I needed to be successful.”

Now, as Schwartz sees his career taking off in ways he never could have imagined, the sky’s the limit.

“On days when I work from home, and I'm writing software that will one day run on the moon, I walk outside and look up at the moon, and I'm like, ‘Oh my God, that's where we're going. It’s an incredible feeling,” he said. “Space exploration is one of those places where the problems are really hard and unique—and wherever the hardest problems are, that's where I want to be.”

By Leslie Miller

Matt Baker (B.S. ’94, mathematics) ‘blazes his own trail’ in mathematics and magic.

For Matt Baker (B.S. ’94, mathematics), there’s something irresistibly inspiring about watching a great magic trick—or better yet, performing one.

“For someone like me, who is very rational and analytical, I love the feeling of having no idea what just happened and then being immersed in a fiction where there’s some reality that violates the rules of logic and physics. It’s very interesting to not know how that’s possible,” Baker explained. “It’s a really unique, great feeling, and I like creating that fiction, that world, for other people.”

Magic is just one of Baker’s passions. The other is mathematics. An internationally recognized mathematics professor and former associate dean at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Baker is also a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and the author of several books and more than 50 published mathematics research papers. And while he built a stellar career as a mathematician, Baker was also making a name for himself as a ‘thinking man’s’ magician, creating and performing original tricks (card tricks are among his favorites) that have won him acclaim around the world, even appearing with Vegas illusionists Penn and Teller on their TV magic show. 

“I was on Penn and Teller: Fool Us, which was really fun,” Baker noted. “I've got a clip on my website of me performing on TV—I did an original trick I'm really proud of that actually involves some interesting mathematics as well.”

Over the years, Baker has found a unique synergy between magic and mathematics.

“I think they complement each other even better than I ever anticipated. I tried to keep them separate for a long time, like this was the secret hobby that I didn't really tell my colleagues about, but in fact, that was misguided, because they work really well together,” Baker reflected. “I think being a magic performer makes me a better math teacher, and being comfortable in front of students makes me a more natural performer.  Many magic tricks use math principles, where the knowledge of the math is directly helpful, and there are also magic tricks that are fun to do in the classroom that help bring across math concepts, so I often do magic tricks for my students.”

Magic or math?

So, which came first, the magic or the math? Baker says he was hooked from the moment he saw his first magic show.

“When I was 4 years old, we had a magician at my birthday party. I have a picture of me watching that show, and you can see from my face that I was totally fascinated,” he explained. “At some point after that, I started playing around with magic. I didn't have a teacher or any professional help, so I'm sure I was very bad, but I was very enthusiastic about it.”

By age 10, Baker was performing magic at other kids’ birthday parties. Then, he discovered math.

“My earliest memory of really being into math was in the third grade. We had a math bee, like a spelling bee, but in math class, and I won,” Baker recalled. “That’s the first time I remember thinking, maybe I'm good at math.” 

Baker tackled advanced math in middle school and high school, eventually deciding to major in mathematics at the University of Maryland. Before he even started his freshman year, he aced his first college exam, and he was off and running.

“I read a book in high school about number theory that really captivated me, and at Maryland, before I actually started as a freshman, I took the final exam for the number theory class—which was an upper-level undergraduate course—and got 100% on it, so I kept going in that direction,” Baker recalled. “I had some really memorable classes through the Honors Program at Maryland, and I took graduate-level algebra and analysis classes that ended up being very helpful for my subsequent career in number theory.”

With every challenge, Baker’s passion for mathematics grew. After graduating from UMD in 1994, Baker earned his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 before beginning his career in academia as an assistant professor at Harvard University. 

“I always knew I liked teaching, and that was pretty much a constant. I had positive experiences teaching from the start,” Baker explained. “Getting into research was a rockier road, but I kept at it.”

As Baker moved on to teach at the University of Georgia and then Georgia Tech in 2004, his research career took off, exploring connections between number theory, algebraic geometry, complex dynamics and combinatorics.

“What's fun about academia is you get to make up your own research program and do what you want to do, but it took me a while to figure out what that was,” Baker explained. “One thing that's unusual about my career is I've moved between different areas quite a bit, so now, I wouldn't really call myself a number theorist anymore; I’ve basically moved into a blend of algebraic geometry and combinatorics. All those areas have overlaps, and that's what I specialize in, but really, what I've managed to do is create my own bridges between these areas that didn't exist before. So, in a sense, I'm doing Baker Theory.”

Making it magic

A few years after Baker joined Georgia Tech, a mathematics workshop in Paris rekindled his passion for magic.  

“There was a mathematician there, he knew about a club in Paris where the waiters are all magicians, and they do magic as they're serving your food, and he asked me if I wanted to go. That experience immediately filled me with a desire to try to get back into magic again,” Baker recalled. “I discovered the world of magic DVDs, where you can learn on video from a master, and then I got some really good books as well. I decided I was going to give up all my other hobbies—I only had time for one hobby, and I was going to make it magic.”

Baker connected with the Georgia Magic Club, and soon he was brainstorming with professional magicians and developing his own unique tricks, something he’d never been able to do as a kid.

“I started creating my own material, and that satisfied the same kind of urge that my math research does, where I'm kind of blazing my own trail and doing things that are really original and creative,” Baker explained. “Ultimately, that's the most satisfying thing for me.”

A two-time Greater Atlanta Magician of the Year, Baker is working on his second book of original magic tricks, performing regularly and exploring ways to bring his unique mathemagical style to education.

 “A couple of years ago, I went to India with a professional magician who's a good friend, and we wrote a curriculum to teach kids from underserved areas math concepts using magic tricks; it's led me to quite interesting things,” he said. “I’m hoping we can improve the world of magic by bringing more interesting math principles to people's attention and focusing on new opportunities for teaching mathematics using magic.”

In March, Baker will bring his mathematical expertise and his magic skills to UMD’s Brin Mathematics Research Center for a Math & Magic workshop and public magic show. For Baker, it’s a welcome opportunity to return to the place that helped set the stage for his success. 

“I’m thankful for all the opportunities I had to get where I am, and Maryland was definitely a key part of that,” Baker said. “I haven't been back in a long time, so I think it’ll be really fun.”

By Leslie Miller