Congratulations to Valentio Iverson, the winner of this year’s Germain-Erdős
Undergraduate Award in Mathematical Research ($2500). The Germain-Erdős award is given annually in recognition of “remarkable contributions to basic mathematical research” by a student who has done a successful Undergraduate Research Assistant placement.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and honored to receive the Germain-Erdős Undergraduate Award, especially give its highly competitive nature,” Iverson says. “Winning this award feels surreal, and I am glad that my hard work and research contributions have been recognized.”
Iverson is a fourth-year Computer Science student. He has published a remarkable four research articles as an undergraduate student. “My main research interest centers on theoretical foundations of machine learning, where I use tools from computer science, statistics, and optimization to address complex challenges in machine learning,” he says. “Over the past two years this passion has driven my involvement in various research projects, with a primary focus on machine learning theory.”
“Valentio is easily one of the most exceptional undergraduate mathematical researchers in Canada, let alone in the University of ݮƵ’s Faculty of Math,” says Gautam Kamath, assistant professor in the School of Computer Science.
Iverson has worked on AI research both with Kamath and with Stephen Vavasis, professor of Combinatorics and Optimization. He also collaborated on research with Jerry Wang of Pure Mathematics on a number theory project.
“I owe immense gratitude to my mentors, collaborators, and friends for their unwavering support,” he says. “In particular, I’m deeply grateful to Professor Vavasis and Professor Kamath for their nominations and guidance on exciting machine learning theory projects, which have strengthened my passion for the field. I also thank Argyris Mouzakis for his invaluable mentorship and Professor Xiaoheng Wang for introducing me to mathematical research.”
You can learn more about the Germain-Erdős Undergraduate Award on the Math website.