Department of Mathematics and Statistics Newsletter 2015 Newsletter | Page 17
Alumni highlights
• Chris Cilluffo (‘95) has been named vice
president for production finance for the
Universal Television Studio finance team.
Cilluffo has been with Universal Television
for six years, most recently in the role of
production controller. He served as lead
accountant for NBC’s television show,
Parenthood. Before joining Universal
Television, Cilluffo was a show accountant
on various television series over a span of
nine years.
• Kumer Pial Das (’05), associate professor of
mathematics at Lamar University in Texas, is
one of three people from the U.S. and Canada
to receive the 2013 Mathematical Association
of America’s Henry L. Alder Award for
Distinguished Teaching by a beginning
College or University Mathematics faculty
member. In 2003, the Henry L. Alder Award
was established to honor beginning college
or university faculty whose teaching has
been extraordinarily successful and whose
effectiveness in teaching undergraduate
mathematics is shown to have influence
beyond their own classrooms. An awardee
must have taught fulltime in a mathematical
science in the United States or Canada for
at least two years, but not more than seven
years, since receiving a doctorate. Each year
no more than three college or university
teachers are honored with the national
award and receive $1,000 and a certificate
of recognition from the Mathematical
Association of America. Award recipients are
expected to make a presentation at one of the
national Mathematical Association of
America meetings.
• Saad El-Zanati (’91) was named
Distinguished Professor of Illinois State
University in 2014.
• Jessica Godwin (’13) was one of six award
winners of the 2014-15 Auburn University
Graduate School Master’s Thesis Awards. Her
major professor was Nedret Billor. Godwin is
now a doctoral student in the Department of
Statistics at the University of Washington
in Seattle.
• Guy-vanie Miakonkana (’13) participated
in an IMA workshop on Careers and
Opportunities in Industry for Mathematical
Scientists at the Institute for Mathematics
and its Applications at the University of
Minnesota in April 2014. Miakonkana is an
Industrial Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute
for Mathematics and its Applications at the
University of Minnesota.
• Carl Pettis (’06) is chair of the Department
of Mathematics and Computer Science at
Alabama State University.
• Ted Porter (’00) gave a special seminar
on March 16, 2015, titled, “On monotone
covering properties.” Porter is now a
full professor at Murray State University
in Kentucky.
• Julie Rogers (’11) accepted an associate
professor position at Montgomery College in
Rockville, Maryland.
• John G. Trawick (’90), senior vice president
of the Southern Company Commercial
Operations and Planning, member of the
COSAM Leadership Council, and a strong
supporter of the department, shared his story
of success with students and faculty members
on June 9, 2015.
• Scott Varagona (’12) won his fifth Alabama
Chess Championship (2002, 2005, 2007, 2008,
2013). Currently an assistant professor of
Mathematics at the University of Montevallo,
he kindly wrote a PhD Graduation Guide
prior to leaving Auburn.
• David Zalik, a mathematics alumnus and son
of departmental colleague Professor Richard
Zalik, was recognized at a luncheon on April
24, 2015, by the Auburn University Harbert
College of Business, in conjunction with
Business Alabama and Warren Averett. They
launched a program to recognize the fastest
growing Auburn alumni-led companies.
Zalik is the CEO of GreenSky Financial in
Atlanta, Georgia. According to Bloomberg.
com, “Mr. Zalik has 15 years of experience in
creating and growing companies that leverage
the power of information and technology to
manage better business process.”
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