Post by Anastasiia Rudenko

Communicating complex ideas is just as important as solving the equation. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Joined Mathematical Meeting (JMM), a major math conference, where I presented a group research project representing University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. While the math itself was rigorous (and fun!), my conference highlight is boiling down months of complex analysis into a single visual story. Presenting a poster forces you to synthesize complex ideas into easily graspable insights, both on paper and in real-time. I learned how to pivot my explanation based on whether I was talking to a pure theorist or an industry recruiter. The conference itself was a masterclass in professional growth. From attending sessions on stochastic modeling, finance, and game theory to meeting more than a dozen researchers from across the country, I gained a richer perception of how mathematics drives modern industry. The problems we are solving today are often too big for one person, and seeing how conferences like JMM fuel collaboration was truly inspiring. In a grand finale, I want to thank everyone who made this experience possible: my colleagues David Philips and @Kevin You for a great project, and of course, a huge special thanks to our project supervisor Dr. Anderson for her support, guidance and inspiration, as well as her National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER grant that made the travel possible. #Mathematics #Research #JMM2026 #STEM #Innovation #GrowthMindset #NSF #Pitt #CMU