Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy | Olivia Ding '21
Throughout his life, Thomas Jefferson honored William Small, his professor in natural science, for his inspiring teaching and insightful encouragement of creative questioning.
Wenxuan (Olivia) Ding, Class of 2021, in the spirit of that relationship, it is fitting that faculty members in the Department of Mathematics have declared you to be an inspiring and creative student. Your instructors are deeply impressed by your excellent work ethic and humility, in addition to your ability and intelligence. They remark that you are exceedingly gifted and intensely devoted to learning, an accomplished researcher and an integral part of the mathematics community at William & Mary.
Professor Li and Professor Johnson have both had the pleasure of conducting research projects with you, and hold your research ability in high regard. Professor Li specifically noted that you played such an important role in his project that it is fitting for you to be first author on the three-author paper
on unitarily invariant norm appearing in the research journal Linear Algebra and Its Applications. Professor Johnson indicated that your research led to interesting breakthroughs on the eigenvalue multiplicities problem, and that those findings will be submitted to top research journals.
Alongside your excellent performance in coursework and 4.0 GPA, you have been recruited to grade and tutor in several mathematics courses. Professor Li and Professor Shi noted many examples of your kindness in offering help to other students and partners on your research teams.
As one of four math majors serving as student liaisons for the Class of 2024, you helped answer questions from prospective students about William & Mary and the mathematics major. There are many examples of you reaching out to help faculty and students. Professor Shi believes that you will be a great leader, and that you show maturity and communication capacities beyond your age. Unafraid of strong competition, you have applied to competitive graduate programs and plan to pursue a Ph.D. in economics or mathematics, and there is no doubt that you will become a top scholar in your field. We are confident that you will make significant contributions to the science community.
Wenxuan (Olivia) Ding, the combination of your stellar academic record, high research productivity and outstanding teaching and mentoring experience make you most deserving of this award. We are proud to present you with the 2021 Thomas Jefferson Prize in Natural Philosophy.
