Sonia Kovalevsky Day Inspires Future Mathematicians at St. John’s University

Nearly 100 bright minds from William H. Maxwell Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn, NY, recently gathered at St. John’s University to celebrate Sonia Kovalevsky Day, an annual event dedicated to encouraging young women and underrepresented students to explore careers in mathematics.

Organized by the St. John’s Division of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Science, the daylong program was designed to engage students in mathematical exploration, inspire academic ambition, and provide a glimpse into life at the University. 

“It was so nice to see our current and former students give presentations and lead the problem-solving session,” said David Rosenthal, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Mathematics. “I think the high school participants connected with them and hopefully were inspired to one day be in their position.”

Sonia Kovalevsky Day, named after the 19th-century Russian mathematician who broke barriers for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, continues to honor her legacy by opening doors for the next generation of problem solvers. 

The keynote speaker, Danielle Solomon ’21C, a St. John’s alumna and current full-time math teacher, spoke of her journey after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

Students participated in a series of mathematics-related workshops, including

Movement in Graph Theory, which introduced students to complex graph structures and how movement within these structures—especially hypercubes—can be analyzed for optimization;

Euler’s Magical Formula, which explored the timeless elegance of Euler’s polyhedron formula and its far-reaching applications in topology, geometry, and knot theory;

Computational Methods in Neuroscience, which showed how researchers are modeling the brain’s activity using cutting-edge computational tools; and

The Four Cubes Problem, in which students had fun grappling with the staggering 7.9 million possible solutions, applying logic and probability to beat the clock. 

“The University is grateful to the Henry Luce Foundation for sponsoring this event and for the many Clare Boothe Luce Scholars and students from the math department who helped to make the day a success by serving as presenters, mentors, and leaders,” said event co-organizer, Joan E. DeBello, Ed.D., Professor and Chair, Division of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Science. “I was happy to see the high school students interact and engage with the St. John’s students as they worked on problem sets during lunch and wanted to see the solutions.”