Dylan Shepardson

  • Robert L. Rooke Associate Professor of Mathematics
Dylan Shepardson

Dylan Shepardson works on mathematical problems that are motivated by applications in other disciplines, like biology, epidemiology, sociology, or archaeology. He is especially interested in new and unusual applications of optimization theory. In most physical, biological, and economic systems, a property is being optimized (like energy or entropy in physical systems, or reproductive success in evolutionary biology), and optimization techniques offer interesting insights into these systems. Shepardson's recent projects include voting theory and its connections to combinatorial geometry, infectious disease modeling, and the problem of using collections of radiocarbon data to estimate dates of the earliest human settlements of Pacific islands.

Education

  • Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology
  • M.A., University of California - Berkeley
  • B.A., Amherst College

HAPPENING AT MOUNT HOLYOKE

Recent Campus News

In an editorial for the Globe, Mount Holyoke College Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics Robert Darrow said the bill prioritizes fossil fuel interests over climate action, making it nearly impossible for the U.S. to meet critical climate milestones.

In the Berkshires, D. Caleb Smith, assistant professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, hosted a reading and discussion of Frederick Douglass’ famous speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.”

Nieves Romero-Díaz, Mount Holyoke College professor of Spanish on the Alum Foundation, spoke with New Books Network about the new book she has coedited on the subject of early modern maternity.

Recent Grants

Margaret Robinson PI with Co-PIs Giuliana Davidoff, Dylan Shepardson and Jessica Sidman (Mathematics) received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for “Collaborative Proposal: Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference 2020-2022” – with Keene and Siena Colleges. The project is for three years.

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