Justin Wisby

Headshot of Justin Wisby

Mathematician and Programmer

I am a Ph.D graduate student at Florida International University. I do a lot of programming and use my powers for good most of the time, but never evil! However, the heading is ordered and so mathematics comes first. I do have a github, github.jwisby.com, to host all of my pet projects. 

Research Interests

Graph Domination, Ramsey Numbers, Saturation Numbers

Education

Ph.D in Applied Mathematical Sciences, Florida International University, (Pending 2025)

Thesis Topic: Domination Theory

MS in Mathematical Sciences at Florida International University, 2023

BS in Mathematics at University of Michigan -- Flint, 2018

with a minor in Physics, Math GPA: 3.45, Capstone Thesis: Drunk Cops and Drunk Robbers: A Markov Chain Analysis

Workshops

Research

Papers

Presentations, since 2021. 

2024 Scholarly Forum

Mentoring

REU Mentor 2021-2023

I was a research experience for undergrads mentor at FIU. Our program was sponsored by the NSF (21-23) and the NSA (22). In 

DRP 2021-2023

I have been a DRP mentor at FIU for 3 semesters. We have read into the following topics in various projects:

Course Projects

AMRPU@FIU 2023 Group Photo
Group photo of Grant, Walter, Han, Justin, and Liam
AMRPU@FIU 2022 Group Photo
Group Photo of volunteers at the 2018 math field day
2018 Math Field Day

Service

Organizations

Programs

Activities

Coding Experience, unordered 

Python, Sagemath, Mathematica, MATLAB/Octave, TeX, Tikz/pgf, Linux, AHK, Git(hub), Markdown, R, C++, HTML/CSS/Javascript, SQL, Qualtrics (and other surveying platforms.

Non-Coding Experiences, unordered

CAD (Autodesk), Digital Fabrication (3D Printing, CNC, Laser), Vector Graphic Design, Raster Graphic Design, Wood Working, Chess Coach. 

Relevant Employment

Graduate Assistant @ Florida International University (2020-Present)

I was offered funding as a masters student given my background in education and previous work as an instructor. Since then I have been a teaching assistant for entry level and upper level. I use my background in combinatorics and graph theory to help with the discrete courses. 

Digital Assistant and Mathematical Programmer @ Florida International University  (2020-Present)

Given my background with front end, I was supported by the faculty to take the role of digital TA for the department. My background allowed me to skip the training and get administrator status. Since then I was given the lead roll for all edits of the website. Over time, the department has given me more privileges and I am given the lead roll in site redesigns. I use my position to help increase accessibility and availability of department resources while we update our materials for new students.

Curriculum Developer @ Illustrative Mathematics (2019-2020)

From April 2018 to December 2020, I was brought on at Illustrative Mathematics for their High School Curriculum Development team. While I started in visual aid generation, I found myself helping out everywhere I could. I ended up finding myself picking up a role of a content reviewer as well as the sole corrections reviewer after our first release. When Illustrative Mathematics wrapped up their high school curriculum, they set their sights on Middle School and Elementary School, where I was brought over. This transition brought new challenges where I was able to produce the vast majority of the library of images and templates used in the curriculum. 
My time at IM was a fantastic experience and I hope the best for the company and the family of all those that made IM so successful. 

Visual Aid Developer @ Illustrative Mathematics (2018-2021)

Most of my time at Illustrative Mathematics, I was working on visual aid development. In my near three years with the company I made more than 10,000 visual aids for the curriculum. I also worked on the design and implementation of the visual aids to maximize their effectiveness.
We used TeX code, or more specifically Tikz and PGF, to make almost all of our images and even some of our illustrations. I made custom packages that would more effectively and efficiently generate visual aids with the flexibility to make curriculum wide changes with one edit. This code was hosted on our own site but we used GitHub to help distribute our repositories to help keep the rest of the team updated.

I made visual aids for all levels of primary education and served as image lead for the elementary school projects. 

Physics Research Group @ University of Michigan Flint (2014 - 2017)

 During my undergraduate studies, I was part of a research group that delved into the analysis of quasar spectra using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Our main objective was to classify these quasars by examining their absorption lines, which enabled us to identify the elements present in the quasar's clouds. This approach helped us in developing classification equations and insights into the light absorption witnessed in these distant celestial bodies. Additionally, our research extended to conducting Hydro simulations, which allowed us to model and understand the complex physical processes and interactions within and around the quasars. 

University news article on our group. 

Supplemental Instructor and Tutor @ University of Michigan Flint (2014-2018)

Starting after my first semester of my undergraduate education, I was a Supplemental Instructor and tutor for the University of Michigan - Flint. I was brought in as a SI for Physics but branched out to mathematics early on. I was a SI every semester until I graduated 4 years later, often helping in multiple classes a semester. Some of the courses I assisted are Calculus I, Business Calc, Calculus II, Calculus III, Physics with Calc I and II, Physics without Calc I and II.