COSAM News Articles 2021 September Tianna Burke awarded Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholar Fellowship

Tianna Burke awarded Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholar Fellowship

Published: 09/07/2021

By: Maria Gebhardt

Tianna Burke, a PhD student in mathematics, has been awarded one of two doctoral fellowships received by Auburn University from the Southern Regional Education Board. The highly competitive fellowship provides financial assistance, funding for research, and career and networking opportunities.

Burke, originally from Stony Point, NY, graduated from Howard University with an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics Her connection to Auburn can be traced back to 2017 when she traveled to Tanzania to participate in the Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA) Masamu Program, an Auburn-led international research collaboration network. She also participated in a summer research program at The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard where she worked on “The impact of recombination on evolutionary inference in Cryptococcus neoformans” -- an impressive mathematical modeling project.

Tianna has always had an interest in teaching math to future generations.

She looks forward to inspiring students in the classroom. In the future, Burke plans to teach math at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). “I would love the chance to teach math at Howard,” Burke said. “I want to help students see the potential of earning a degree in math.”

When not in the classroom, she loves to read. Her favorite author is novelist Jesmyn Ward. Burke also enjoys playing board games and Sudoku.

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