Pi Day 2024

Date: Thursday, March 14

Location: Creveling Lounge, CC 201

Registration and Submissions: 

Registration

Pi Day 2024 Volunteer Registration

Become a Pi Day Volunteer

This is a "For Students, By Students" event. The goal is to promote the ownership of your math learning, to encourage you to talk about mathematics, to share your joy of learning mathematics, to develop better attitudes and mindsets needed to learn mathematics, to discover ways of overcoming difficulties or anxiety in learning mathematics, to connect mathematics with real-life applications, and to celebrate and share your victories in understanding mathematical concepts.

Deadline to submit your research poster presentation: Monday, March 4

(If you need Pi Club to print your poster, you must submit it online by March 4.)

We would like to invite you to make posters to showcase your research learning and present it at the Pi Day Conference!

Activity/Demo/Games/Presentation Form

10:00 AM - 12:20 PM: Visit in-person in CC 201

  1. Student Research Poster Presentations
  2. Interactive STEM Activities/Demonstrations/Games presented by
  • Cal State LA Math Department
  • Cal State LA Math Club
  • Caltech Astronomy Department
  • Caltech LIGO Lab
  • PCC Astronomy & Physics Club
  • PCC Biology Club
  • PCC Chemistry Club
  • PCC Data Science Club
  • Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
  • PCC FAB LAB
  • PCC MATE ROV Team
  • PCC Math Success Center
  • PCC Pi Club
  • PCC She Codes Club 

     C.  Internship and Career Opportunities: Representatives from Caltech, JPL, PCC Freeman Center for Career and                                Completion, and more, will explain various opportunities and answer questions.                                                                               D.  Flyer for JPL Opportunities: a flyer with an overview of the different internship programs

AMP, Aerospace Mentorship Program, GALCIT, Caltech: Opportunities of AMP internships

Presented by: Liza Bradulina, AMP Administrative Support

Biology:  Math in Nature!

The PCC Biology Club will be showing off the geometry found in a variety of organisms, with demonstrations of leaf physiology, histological samples, as well as an experiment to help you understand how the form of a planktonic organism helps it stay afloat! 

By Lily Garibyan, Melika Zadehmorshedbei, Prof. Kelley Voss

Faculty Supervisor: Prof. Kelley Voss

Cal State LA:   Crochet a Mobius Strip

We introduce the fascinating geometric shape called the Mobius Strip. Then attendees will learn how to crochet a beautiful Mobius strip and bring your product home!

Holly Kim, Tim Harris, Leonard Garcia, Students, Mathematics - Cal State LA

Faculty supervisor: Dr. Melisa Hendrata

 

Cal State LA:  Dare to Play a Game?

We play several fun games including dice games and others. How are these games related to probability?

Jonathan Davidson and Edgar Yak-De Padua, Students, Mathematics - Cal State LA

Faculty supervisor: Dr. Daphne Liu

Caltech Astronomy Department:  Drones and Wind Tunnels Resented

Presenter: Alejandro Stefan Zavala 

Caltech Astronomy Department: How Challenging it is to Build an Ornithopter as in Dune 2

Presenter: Xiaozhou Fai

Caltech Astronomy Department: Inflated Balloons, Deflated Marshmallows

Presenter: Noel Esparza-Duran 

Caltech LIGO Lab:  The Spandex Universe

Our understanding of gravity changed dramatically when Eistein proposed his famous theory of General Relativity. A consequence of this new mathematical understanding were gravitational waves: ripples through the fabric of space time. We will show how a simple spandex sheet and some marbles can nicely illustrate this fabric of space time and the motion of objects within it. This activity aims to 'visualize' gravity and curvature and initiate a discussion about gravitational waves.

Presenters:

Dr Jonah Kanner, Director, The Gravitational Wave Open Science Center - Caltech

Dr Virginia d’Emilio, Postdoctoral Research Scholar - Caltech 

Mr Alvin Li, Fifth-year Physics PhD Student, Gravitational-wave Physics Related Research - Caltech 

Career Technology Education (CTE) Division: Collaborative Robot Call the Universal Robot (UR) 3e

The UR3e is the smallest industrial collaborative robot arm, which processes in tight workspaces, such as on bench-tops or within production machinery.

Presenter: Prof. Jacob Tucker

 

Chemistry:  Engage with the Log Scale!

How much more acidic is stomach acid (pH 2) than water (pH 7)? In this interactive demonstration, you will be able to perform a colorful chemical reaction to determine when you have reached pH 7 (maybe a bit above 😊 ). There will be a discussion of the logarithm scale for pH and prizes for guessing the correct volume needed to neutralize the other solutions!

By Prof. Ted Donnell (Chemistry Instructor)

 

Culinary Art Program:  Decorate a Pi-Themed Cake with Culinary Arts!

Come decorate a Pi-themed cake with our Culinary Arts Department. 30 minutes to decorate. 10 participants for each round. All participants get prizes!  Best of luck to you all!

Presented and judged by Giselle Marquez and Veronica Galicia Gomez

Faculty Supervisor: Prof. Colleen Nanno

Data Science & She Codes:  Spotify Data Science Demo

We've all heard of Spotify Wrapped, but how does it work? In this demo by the She.Codes and Data Science clubs, we'll go over how Spotify collects your data, how it's organized, and even analyze your own. By giving us your Spotify account, we'll be able to access your music profile and visualize your top artists, genres, music style, and more. If you haven't heard of Spotify or data analysis before, don't fret. An introductory presentation will give all the important info for how it works and how you can analyze data yourself!

Presented by Logan B. Giralt de Spelder, Felicia Chen, Queency Tan, Malena Lodi, Linn Khant Thuya, Kelly Lwin, Sophie Chen, Sophia Luu, Bighani Lometillo, Jocelyn Zhu, Myat (Victor) Khant

Faculty supervisors: Dr. Erin Shaw & Dr. Jamal Ashraf

Electronic Team: Project-Based Learning With Electronics

Description: Demonstration of planned path and line-following autonomous robot using Arduino platform. also showcasing other student projects such as electronic dice, DIY power supply and converter unit, digital clock, And ping-pong game. 

Presenters: Sonia Shtonov, Jack Cheng

Freeman Center of Career and Completion: Preparation and Opportunities of Career and Internships

Presenter: TBA

Math Success Center:  Math Game "Chomp"

UC Berkeley professor David Gale developed the game of Chomp. Chomp is a two-person strategy game that consists of choosing blocks of chocolate squares from a larger chocolate bar. The goal is not to eat the last piece of chocolate which contains poison!   

Presenters:Prof. Julius Duthoy and MSC Team

Math Success Center:  Math Game "Digit Memorization"

Do you have what it takes to be the pi-digit memorization champion? Start studying the digits of Pi to participate in our digit memorization contest. The rules are simple, say as many digits of Pi as you can, and we will see who has the most memorized. The winner will receive a prize!

Presenters: Prof. Julius Duthoy and MSC Team

Math Success Center:  Math Game "Sprouts"

Mathematicians John Conway and Michael Paterson created the game of Sprouts at Cambridge University in the 1960s. The game can be played with just two people, a pencil, and a piece of paper. Gameplay consists of drawing dots and lines until a player can no longer connect a line with a playable dot. Participants will have a chance to recognize a pattern that decides who wins along with mathematical formulas that dictate the maximum and minimum number of moves.

Presenters: Prof. Julius Duthoy and MSC Team

PCC MATE ROV Team: Mini ROV Demonstration (Interactive Activity)

Lancer Lumineers team members will guide the students about how to control the underwater remote-control vehicles (ROV). The students will have a chance to control the mini ROV in the water container. The team members will also explain about the MATE ROV competition and the real-life usages of these ROVs. 

 

Physics & Astronomy Club: Gyroscopic Precession

Gyroscopic precession is the phenomenon where a force applied to one part of the rotating body results in a change in direction due to angular momentum and torque. This gyroscopic effect causes the wheel's axis of rotation to shift in a direction perpendicular to the applied force, resulting in a gradual change in the wheel's orientation over time.

Presenter: Nyra Dikranian

Faculty Supervisor: Prof. Maria Okuonkova

Pi Club: An Intuitive Proof of the Area Formula of a Circle: By Integrating the Circumferences of a Series of Concentric Circles

By imaging a dense series of concentric circles, you can prove the area formula of a circle yourself.

Pi Club: Math Game "Set"

Find different card among two other cards, regards to their shape, color, shading, and compete with another student and see which person spends less time. The game can be played by 4 people. 

Presenter: Anisha 

Pi Club: Math Game "Kanoodle Extreme"

A small box of 12 connected spheres, with different shapes. What you need to do is to choose a difficulty level, which will decide how many building boxes from the box to be removed. The more that are removed, the harder to put back blocks in a good combination such that all the blocks are fixed into the box. This game can be played by one or more people. 

SHPE - Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers: "Autonomous Lego Robots"
       
Faculty Supervisor: Prof. David Martinez

 

Pi Day 2024 Welcoming Remarks

12:20 PM - 12:30 PM in CC 201

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch live on Zoom

Logan Giralt de Spelder, President, Pi Club - PCC

Carrie Starbird, Dean, Mathematics - PCC

Veronica I. Jaramillo, Dean, Natural Science - PCC

Dr. Daphne Liu, Department Chair, Mathematics - Cal State LA

 
12:30 PM - 1:50 PM: Research and Internship Panel

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch live on Zoom

Jared Ashcroft, Professor, Engineering (Co-Moderator) - PCC

Jared Ashcroft is a Chemistry professor at Pasadena City College and the Center Director for the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, actively involved in bringing MNT technical education programs to community colleges. He earned his BS in Chemistry from Long Beach State and Doctorate in Chemistry from Rice University. His doctorate work and subsequent studies at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab focused on nano-based medical diagnostics and therapeutics. His current undergraduate research group focuses on building underwater remotely operated vehicles and studying electronic behaviors of conjugated nanomaterials.

 

Jillian Blatti, Ph.D., Professor, Chemistry (Co-Moderator) - PCC

Jillian L. Blatti, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Pasadena City College (PCC), where she teaches Organic Chemistry, General/Organic/Biochemistry, and the Environmental Sciences. She leads an undergraduate research group at PCC and her research focuses on bio/nanotechnology and the development of innovative educational activities that promote equity in science education and contribute to diversity in the STEM workforce. She is a Co-Principal Investigator on an NSF Future Manufacturing grant in collaboration with Caltech, UCLA, and UCSB that centers on the development of novel nucleic acid-based manufacturing technologies to fabricate materials of the future; Jillian leads the education and workforce development aspect of this effort. This includes training a diverse future STEM workforce with relevant skills and character traits for success in careers pertaining to science and education. Jillian was part of the algae biotechnology community as a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego, where her research aimed to engineer fatty acid biosynthesis in microalgae toward sustainable bioenergy. This is also where Jillian began her outreach program for underrepresented students focused on modern science and technology, which has evolved significantly throughout her time at PCC. Along with her research group, she has developed engaging laboratory activities regarding systems thinking and sustainability science, engineering algae and synthesizing algae biodiesel, making natural artistic paints and other endeavors at the art-science interface, and DNA nanotechnology; these lessons are implemented in her courses at PCC and in science outreach to underrepresented communities. Outside of science, her interests include music composition and performance, creating nanoart, exploring Nature, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and hanging out with her family and Bengal cat.

 

Dr. Sander Vermeulen, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate, Physics - Caltech

Sander Vermeulen, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral scholar research associate in physics at Caltech. He researches fundamental physics using interferometry and works on experiments and theories for detecting quantum gravity, dark matter, and gravitational waves using laser interferometers. He obtained his PhD from Cardiff University (UK) in 2023 and graduated from the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) in 2019. Outside of science, he enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and traveling.

 

Angel Chavez, Ph.D. Candidate, Mathematics (Combinatorial Dynamical Systems) - University of Minnesota

Angel Chavez is a third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota, where he is studying Combinatorial Dynamical Systems under Arnd Scheel. Angel obtained a bachelor degree at CSULA in 2019. At CSULA, while under the guidance of Daphne Liu he published 5 papers in various combinatorics topics. At the same time, Angel was a working an internship at JPL for 2 years. 

 

Taneeka Anand, Student, Psychobiology - UCLA

Taneeka Anand is a third-year transfer student at UCLA, where she is pursuing a degree in Psychobiology (BS). Her journey into the realm of research commenced at Pasadena City College, where she actively engaged in various undergraduate research programs, sparking her passion for intellectual exploration. Presently, Taneeka balances her academic pursuits with a role as a medical assistant and contributes to research at a bioengineering lab at UCLA. As Taneeka continues her journey at UCLA, she remains eager to make meaningful contributions to both academia and the medical field.

 

Britney Castaneda-Camacho, Student, Biology - UCLA

Britney Castaneda-Camacho is a first-generation transfer student at UCLA currently pursuing a BS in Biology. Her passion for research was sparked during her participation in the 2023 cohort of PCC Nanostars, where she focused on isolating reactions in DNA condensates. In addition to serving as a board intern for TransferMed, a club dedicated to supporting transfer students on the pre-medical track, Britney actively engages in community outreach by mentoring children in underserved Los Angeles communities through UCLA's BruinCorps Program. Britney hopes to continue her impactful community work while pursuing her aspirations in the medical field.

 

Reina Salman, Student, Chemical Engineering - PCC

Reina Salman is a third-year community college student at Pasadena City College (PCC), where she's studying to transfer as a Chemical Engineering major to University of California, San Diego (UCSD). There, she hopes to take advantage of their excellent nanotechnology and materials engineering program, where she will aim to complete her B.S. in ChemE with a specialization in nanoengineering. During her time at PCC, Reina has delved into diverse research projects spanning from bone histology to ecology and bioinformatics. Her most recent research experience, under the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Jillian Blatti, Co-PI of the project, was in an NSF Future Manufacturing Research Internship on DNA Nanotechnology.  Her group’s work has since been accepted for poster presentation at the 2024 National Conference on Undergraduate Research and is slated for future publication. Beyond her academic pursuits, Reina is committed to fostering STEM engagement, particularly among young women and underrepresented student demographics. She eagerly anticipates joining Dr. Blatti and her Nanostar cohort in outreach initiatives, guiding aspiring students through scientific exploration and facilitating interactive STEM activities. Currently, she is a member of Dr. Julia Greer’s materials science and engineering research group, working on a project in solid-state physics and single crystal growth using novel methods. When not doing research or studying for classes, Reina also passionately works as a Chemistry Supplemental Instruction Leader and as the President of the Middle Eastern North African (MENA) club. Outside of her academic pursuits, she finds enjoyment in going on hikes, reading, playing musical instruments, and rock-climbing.

Vanessa Malabanan, Masters Student, Computer Science - Georgia Institute of Technology

Vanessa Malabanan is first year student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she is pursuing a master's in computer science. Her undergraduate degree is in accounting, but she later found her passion for computer science at PCC and decided to change careers. In 2023, she was an apprentice software engineer at Niantic where she worked on Unity tools for Marvel World of Heroes and in 2022, she participated in the Snap Engineering Academy.

 

2:00 PM - 2:50 PM: Python in Science Workshop

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch live on Zoom

Dr. Maria Okounkova, Professor, Natural Science - PCC

Workshop Description: Computing is a vital component of all modern STEM research, and in this workshop, we'll begin to explore the intersection of science and computing. We'll program various simulations in Python together using Google Collaboratory, spanning various fields of physics and astrophysics. All you need is a laptop or tablet with a web browser.

 

3:00 PM - 3:50 PM: Arduino Workshop: From Hardware Setup to Data Transmission

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch live on Zoom

Workshop Description: In this workshop we'll delve into the fascinating intersection of technology and computing. Together, we will have hands on experience and utilize a Python program to perform the sensor interfacing for an underwater ROV.

Min Aung Paing, Student, Computer Science - PCC

My name is Min Aung Paing. I am an international student majoring in Computer Science. I am also a part of the Mate ROV software Team. I am really passionate about coding, and I am eager to build my career out of it. Excited to meet you guys on Pi Day and search for some knowledge about what I do for the Mate ROV Team.

 

Myat (Michael) Thiha, Student, Computer Science - PCC

I am a sophomore year student at Pasadena City College majoring in Computer Science. I also work as a math tutor at the Math Success Center and am part of the PCC Mate ROV Competition software team. I am transferring to a 4-year university this Fall and am really excited about it. My goal after transferring to a university is to pursue a career in software development or any related fields. Looking forward to seeing you guys on Pi Day!

 

Linn Khant Thuya, Student, Computer Science - PCC

My name is Linn, and I am a second-year student at PCC majoring in Computer Science. I plan to transfer to a 4-year university next year, and my goal is to pursue a career in software engineering or a field related to it. I am part of the MATE ROV team at PCC, and you can also see me tutoring at the Writing, Math and CAS centers on campus! We put so much effort into this event, and looking forward to working with you guys on Pi Day!

 

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM: Career & Internships Panel

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch live on Zoom

Veronica I. Jaramillo, Dean of Natural Science Division (Co-Moderator) - PCC

Dr. Veronica I. Jaramillo’s background in chemistry and mathematics, and interest in equitable education, have fostered her career in the community college. Dr. Jaramillo began her academic path at Moravian College earning a bachelor’s degrees in both mathematics and Chemistry. She then continued her studies at the University of Arizona where she earned her doctorate in Physical Chemistry. Her thesis involved the study of low temperature reaction dynamics of important chemical reactions in the stratosphere. After, Dr. Jaramillo worked at a startup company, Calhoun Vision, where she developed irradiation systems and techniques.  Then she followed her passion for teaching and has been a chemistry faculty for the last 15 years at the community college and is currently the Dean of Natural Sciences at Pasadena City College. Dr. Jaramillo has been the principal investigator on a NSF grant devoted to incorporating early research experience for community college students. She has published a chapter and papers devoted to improving Chemical Education. Dr. Jaramillo has also been dedicated to community science outreach and has been an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) on both the local and national level. Dr. Jaramillo was awarded the Agnes Anne Green Distinguished Service award and honored as a 2021 ACS fellow in recognition for her research, extensive work with students in science education, and her impact on diversity in the STEM workforce through work with minority and economically disadvantaged students, as well as for her excitement, enthusiasm, and innovation of chemistry outreach through her service on the ACS Committee on Community Activities and to the Southern California local section.

Marilyn Johnson, Co-Coordinator, BlackSTEM Program (Co-Moderator) - PCC

For the past 23 years, Marilyn Johnson has been very active in Pasadena City College Student Outreach efforts, with a focus on inclusion and belonging for our diverse student populations. Notably in coordinating the Bridges to the Future Program (with CSULA and UCLA) as well as being involved in several facets of PCC' s MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program, in addition to many other minority focused STEM undergraduate research programs. In her current role as the Co-Coordinator of the Pasadena City College BlackSTEM PCC program, an academic empowerment program, she is aware of the need for high quality undergraduate research opportunities for minority students, as well as career exploration in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). As a Classified Information Technology Services staff member she is confident that these targets can be met with innovative ideas and support in partnership with the PCC Division of Institutional Equity, Diversity and Justice. She believes IEDJ division has provided the support needed to close our equity gaps, with a focus on inclusion and belonging. As a community college classified staff member, she has seen the power of stepping out of her comfort zone with creative ideas that are not based in traditional classroom instruction.

 

Dr. Peter Castro, Professor, Chemistry - PCC

Dr. Peter Castro did his undergraduate work in Chemistry at California State University under the supervision of Dr. Carlos Gutierrez. Initially his major was Physics, because he wanted to pursue engineering. However once introduced to organic chemistry by Dr. Gutierrez and doing undergraduate research, he changed his major to chemistry, with a goal of becoming an Organic Chemist. At UCLA he worked with Professor Francois Diederich on the synthesis of large macrocyclic molecules that could swallow small molecules. In his post-doctoral research at UC Irvine under the mentorship of Dr. Larry Overman. Dr. Castro went from making very large molecules in large quantities to making very small natural products in small quantities. This was all training for his big step into the pharmaceutical area. 

He landed a job working at DuPont, a big company that made everything from plastics to paints to pharmaceuticals. While a career at DuPont paid well, Dr. Castro grew restless. He was offered a job at CSULA. He was to supervise undergraduate students and mentor them in their research. From there he moved on to teaching organic chemistry. In a few short years he was applying for jobs at community colleges. 

Dr. Castro has been at PCC since 2011. He teaches chemistry 22 and Organic Chemistry. He shies away from teaching general chemistry because math gives him hives.

In his spare time he does photography and antique watch restoration. His favorite movies include classics like Blade Runner, Apocalypse Now, Reservoir Dogs, Joker and Bambi.

 

Cuong (Mark) V. Luu, Instructor, Physics - Monrovia Unified School District

After earning degrees in Anthropology and Environmental Earth Science at the University of California, Berkeley, Mark has returned to San Gabriel Valley to continue his dream of traveling to European historic sites by embarking on a language journey here where he spent consecutive summers immersing in Paris, and Toledo. His STEM interest has oriented Mark towards working in diverse neighborhoods, as he currently teaches Physics at Monrovia Unified, facilitates workshops for the Upward Bound programs, and supports Calculus students at PCC. He also supervises and advises robotics at Monrovia High School. He has been successful in communicating with parents and students through various languages that he reads, writes, and speaks in some capacity. These include Chinese, French, Spanish, and Vietnamese, two of which he is a native speaker while the others he learned by studying them abroad.

 

Dr. Jie Zhong, Professor, Mathematics - Cal State LA

Dr. Zhong received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Southern California in 2013. After graduation, he spent one year as a postdoc fellow under the CREST (JST) program at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. Then he came back to the US and joined the University of Central Florida for a visiting assistant professor position. During the fall semester of 2015, Dr. Zhong was a postdoc fellow in the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Berkeley. Prior to joining Cal State LA, he was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Rochester for two years. Dr. Zhong's research lies in the theory of probability and its applications. Recently, he has focused on the design of new machine learning and data science algorithms and is supervising a large group of undergraduate/graduate students conducting various research. As a continuation collaboration since the PIC math program funded by MAA, last semester, Dr. Zhong's group partnered with the City of Los Angeles’ Data Team, and developed an interactive data visualization tool that helps residents understand crime trends in neighborhoods, as well as delivering valuable scientific analysis to better serve our local communities

Yeab Guracha, PCC Alum, Graduate - UCI

Yeab Guracha is a first-generation medical student and PCC alumnus. While at PCC, Yeab worked as a tutor at the Science Village, assisting students in subjects including biology, chemistry, calculus, and anatomy. Yeab's introduction to undergraduate research began at Pasadena City College, where he and his classmates embarked on an independent study research project, later presenting their findings at the Southern California Academy of Sciences (SCAS) conference. After transferring to UC Irvine, Yeab further immersed himself in research, joining the Neuroscholars Program. There, he contributed to an ongoing research project involving innovative noninvasive brain imaging techniques using fluorescence microscopy. Following his graduation from UC Irvine with a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Yeab sought to gain clinical experience as an EMT. Currently, Yeab is preparing for the next chapter of his journey as he anticipates beginning medical school this summer at Charles Drew University, the only historically black medical college west of the Mississippi.

 

Rachel Gilyard, PCC alum, Graduate student in Computer Science - CSUN

Currently interning at the Nevada National Security Sites and will be starting her new job as a Software Engineer at Oracle next January.

 

Resources for Your Pi Day Poster/Presentation

Examples of Pi Day Posters:

Chance to Win a Gift Card

Every instructor and student who submits their Pi Day survey online will have a chance to win a gift card. Deadline: TBA

T-Shirt Design Contest!

Participate in the T-Shirt Design Contest to win a gift certificate up to $100!

  • Theme for Pi Day T-Shirt 2024:  "I can do it!" (3 colors maximum)
  • T-Shirt Design Submission Deadline: February 25, 2024

Submit Your T-Shirt Desgin

Every poster-participating student and instructor will receive a certificate in the award ceremony, receive one raffle ticket, and will be entered for a chance to win a gift certificate up to $100.

Pi Day Survey

Archived Pi Days

Poster-making Workshop: TBA

Location: The Planetarium (P100)

This workshop is available to any PCC student.

Presented by Dr. Maria Okounkova, Professor, Natural Science - PCC

Co-Sponsored by Astronomy Club and Pi Club.

Pi Day 2023 Events:

10:00 AM - 11:45 AM: Visit in-person in CC 201

  • Student Poster Presentations
  • Pi Digit Memorization Contest
  • Internship and Career Opportunities: Representatives from Caltech, JPL, PCC Freeman Center for Career and Completion, and more, will explain various opportunities and answer questions.
  • Flyer for JPL Opportunities: a flyer with an overview of the different internship programs

Participants who fill the Pi Day 2023 Experience Survey will receive raffle tickets for pizzas and prize drawing.

1:00 PM - 1:50 PM: Research and Internship Panel

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or  live at this Zoom link: https://pasadena-edu.zoom.us/j/84858638971?pwd=WitoMHdYZmM1RHBNdkNQL2xUVmFxUT09

  • Carrie Starbird, Dean of Mathematics Division (Moderator) - PCC
    David Keyes, Professor, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering - KAUST
David Keyes

David Keyes is a professor of applied mathematics, computer science, and mechanical engineering at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), where he directs the Extreme Computing Research Center. He was a founding Dean at KAUST in 2009 and currently serves in the office of President Tony Chan with responsibilities for strategic planning and global branding.  He is an Adjunct Professor of Applied Mathematics at Columbia and an affiliate of several US Department of Energy laboratories. He earned a BSE in aerospace and mechanical sciences from Princeton in 1978 and a PhD in applied mathematics from Harvard in 1984. He works at the interface between parallel computing and the numerical analysis of PDEs, with a focus on scalable implicit solvers and exploiting data sparsity. He helped develop and popularize the Newton-Krylov-Schwarz (NKS) and Additive Schwarz Preconditioned Inexact Newton (ASPIN) methods. He has been awarded the ACM Gordon Bell Prize and the IEEE Sidney Fernbach Prize and is a fellow of the SIAM, AMS, and AAAS.

What’s Math Got to Do with It?

Have you read any good equations lately? In the course of debunking various “math myths”, we’ll learn to parse an equation like a sentence and attempt to outline in broad strokes the range of mathematics and the roles of mathematics and computation in the panoply of the sciences and engineering. We’ll also consider the “right-brain/left-brain” dichotomy in mathematical and artistic pursuits, ending with a recitation of Anthematica, an anthem to the power of quantitative reasoning.

1:00 PM - 1:50 PM: Academic and Internship Panel

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch the YouTube Live Stream

  • Jared Ashcroft, Professor, Chemistry (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Yu-Chung Chang-Hou, Professor, Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Maitlyn Pezzo, Student - Pasadena City College

Maitlyn Pezzo is a sophomore at PCC taking classes to prepare her for transfer to a UC. Maitlyn grew up in the arts world and spent the greater part of her youth as an actor. When the pandemic began and the industry took a hit, Maitlyn decided to enroll in a few general classes at PCC. After learning about genetics, she fell completely in love and realized this is what she should’ve been doing all along. She is now a full time student pursuing a degree in Molecular Biology. Maitlyn is working on two research internships this semester and has recently traveled to Chicago where she and one other student had the opportunity to present some of their research.

 

  • Holly B. Kim, Student - Cal State LA

Holly Kim received her Bachelor of Science in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at UC Davis in 2016. While working in the industry she never lost interest in mathematics and teaching. In 2020 she took the leap to pursue mathematics. She's now in the process of completing her master’s program at Cal State LA for mathematics in hopes of becoming an instructor, either for high school or community college, that will support and encourage the next generations of students and help plant the seed of a love for math.

 

  • Mercedes Quintana, Student, Mathematics - PCC

Mercedes Quintana is a student at Pasadena City College working towards her associates degree in mathematics. She began her journey in music, earning Bachelors and Masters degrees in viola performance respectively from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and DePaul University in Chicago, IL. After suffering from a repetitive use injury, she decided to transition to STEM, starting by taking classes at PCC. During her time here, she grew to love computer science. On weekdays, you might find her working in the Tutoring Center. In 2021, she earned a spot as an intern at the Southern California Earthquake Center where she continues to work at the intersection of machine learning, data science, and seismology.

 

  • Duncan Chadly, Graduate Student, Bioengineering - Caltech

Duncan Chadly is a bioengineering graduate student from Caltech. He began his journey in research as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he contributed to projects studying bacterial chemotaxis and building hydrogel biosensors. During his tenure there he earned the Genentech Outstanding Student award and completed an internship on their campus in San Francisco, CA. He graduated with degrees in Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Engineering Physics in 2015, then worked as a Research Technician at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL for 2 years developing microfluidic devices to study stem cell differentiation. In 2017, he matriculated to Caltech where he works toward his PhD under the supervision of Michael Elowitz, creating new techniques to record information into DNA sequences.

 

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM: Python in Science Workshop

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or live at this Zoom link: https://pasadena-edu.zoom.us/j/84858638971?pwd=WitoMHdYZmM1RHBNdkNQL2xUVmFxUT09

  • Anthony Ko, Student & Pi Club President, Computer Science (Moderator) - PCC
  • Dr. Maria Okounkova, Professor, Natural Science - Pasadena City College

Dr. Okounkova is a tenure-track physics and astronomy faculty member at PCC. She received her BA in Physics magna cum laude from Princeton University in 2014, with a minor in applications of computing, and her PhD in physics from Caltech in 2019, researching black holes and gravitational waves with Prof. Saul Teukolsky. Until she joined PCC, she was a Research Fellow at the Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Flatiron Institute in New York City. Her research interests involve black holes, general relativity, gravitational waves, and computational astrophysics, and she has over a dozen lead-author publications in her field. Dr. Okounkova is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM, and seeks to make this a focal point of her teaching and mentorship at PCC.

Workshop description:

Computing is a vital component of all modern STEM research, and in this workshop, we’ll begin to explore the intersection of science and computing. We’ll program various simulations in Python together using Google Collaboratory, spanning various fields of physics and astrophysics. All you need is a laptop or tablet with a web browser.

 

3:00 PM - 3:50 PM: Career & Internships Panel

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch the YouTube Live Stream

  • Veronica I. Jaramillo, Dean of Natural Science Division (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Thomas Y. Hou, Charles Lee Powell Professor, Applied and Computational Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - Caltech
  • Dr. John Callas, Physicist - Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Professor, Mathematics - PCC 

Dr. Callas is a physicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.  He grew up near Boston.  He received his Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Tufts University, and his Masters and Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University.   He was project manager of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project, operating the rovers Spirit and Opportunity on the surface of Mars through more than a decade of extended mission operations. Then he led the joint NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research program to detect and characterize exoplanets around other stars.  Currently, he is the manager of NASA's Fundamental Physics Program, tasked to perform ultra-precision space-based measurements of the basic laws of physics.  In addition to his JPL work, Dr. Callas teaches mathematics at Pasadena City College as an adjunct assistant professor.

 

  • Director Jeff Weiss, Sr. Director for Solution Architecture & Engineering - NVIDIA

Jeff Weiss is a Sr. Director working on the Solution Architecture & Engineering team at NVIDIA. His focus is on MLOps for NVIDIA AI solutions. Prior to joining NVIDIA, Jeff has a pedigree that included a 7 year stint at VMware as a EUC Staff Engineer, as well as time at Symantec and Sun Microsystems. Along with his current focus on AI GPU and vGPU enabled computing, his experience includes datacenter business continuity/disaster recovery solutions, software infrastructure identity management and email security/archiving tools. During his tenure, he has architected and sold complex business solutions into a wide array of both public and private accounts, from commercial to government, healthcare to education. Prior to working in sales, he spent time as a networking and datacenter manager in the aerospace industry. Jeff is based in Los Angeles, CA.

 

  • Dr. B. Lan Dang, Operations Engineer - Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Dr. Dang is an Operations Engineer with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, specializing in science data systems operations and large scale data processing. She spends most of her time on the command line of various remote Linux systems.  In her spare time, she is active in the San Gabriel Valley tech community as a leader of the SGVLUG and its sister group, the SGVHAK hardware hacking group, and volunteers with various STEAM groups and events. 

 

  • Dr. Tom Markland, Professor, Chemistry - Stanford University
Thomas Markland

Dr. Markland received his MChem in Chemistry from Balliol College, University of Oxford where he was a Brackenbury Scholar and did his thesis work in the area of non-adiabatic dynamics. He continued at Oxford for his DPhil research in the area of quantum dynamics under the supervision of David Manolopoulos. In 2009 he was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry's Coulson Prize. After postdoctoral work with Bruce Berne at Columbia University he moved to Stanford in 2011 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry. In 2018 he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Since starting at Stanford he has been awarded a Research Corporation Cottrell Scholarship, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, Terman Fellowship, Hellman Faculty Scholarship, the ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, the NSF CAREER award, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award, the H&S Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Kavli Emerging Leader in Chemistry Lectureship, and the ACS Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry.

His research interests lie broadly in the development of theoretical and simulation approaches and their application to explain effects observed in the classical and quantum dynamics of chemical systems.

4:00 PM - 4:50 PM: Keynote Speaker, How to Land a Job in Data Science

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch the YouTube Live Stream

  • Silvia Heubach, Professor, Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - Cal State LA
  • Eddie Tchertchian, Department Chair of Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - Pierce College
  • Dr. Jie Zhong, Professor, Mathematics - Cal State LA

Dr. Zhong received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from University of Southern California in 2013. After graduation, he spent one year as a postdoc fellow under the CREST (JST) program at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. Then he came back to US and joined University of Central Florida for a visiting assistant professor position. During the fall semester of 2015, Dr. Zhong was a postdoc fellow in the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Berkeley. Prior to joining Cal State LA, he was a visiting assistant professor at University of Rochester for two years. Dr. Zhong's research lies in the theory of probability and its applications. Recently, he focuses on the design of new machine learning and data science  algorithms and is supervising a large group of undergraduate/graduate students conducting various research. As a continuation collaboration since the PIC math program funded by MAA,  last semester, Dr. Zhong's group partnered with the City of Los Angeles’ Data Team, and developed an interactive data visualization tool that helps residents understand crime trends in neighborhoods, as well as delivering valuable scientific analysis to better serve our local communities. 

How to land a job in Data Science

Data science is no doubt one of the most in-demand professions in the world, which allows organizations to extract insights and make informed decisions from large amounts of information. This is also a multidisciplinary approach that combines principles and practices from the fields of mathematics, statistics, artificial intelligence, and computer engineering, to name a few. In this talk, we will discuss the general ideas of how to land a job in such a fascinating career, including but not limited to relevant tools and technologies needed, portfolio showcase, branding, networking, etc. 

5:00 PM - 5:30 PM: Night Light Spectrum

Watch live in-person in CC 201 or watch the YouTube Live Stream

  • Silvia C. Talaoc, Math MESA Faculty Coordinator (Moderator) - PCC
  • Prof. Cuong (Mark) Luu, MESA Program - Pasadena City College

Mr. Luu holds dual bachelor's degrees in Archaeology and Environmental Geology from UC Berkeley and a credential in Physics at Cal State LA, with Spanish authorization. He began teaching as a permanent substitute at Sierra Vista High School before teaching physics at Duarte and Marshall, and is now teaching AP classes at Crescenta Valley High School. He served at PCC EOP&S (Extended Opportunities Programs and Services) as a tutor lead, and now teaches an Environmental Science course for Non-credit Division. He has also taught a Robotics workshop series for Upward Bound Math-Science program, and co-taught an intro engineering course for Johns Hopkins University this summer at PCC. He will be continually involved in various STEM education programs at PCC where there is an opportunity to do so.

Night Light Pollution

Light pollution is caused by an overwhelming amount of artificial light in a certain area. Some sources of light pollution may include, street lights, commercial buildings, and cars. In most cities, light pollution has gotten worse since the 1970s. This type of pollution is resolvable in one of two ways: large-scale expensive infrastructure changes at the street lighting level, or low-cost micro-infrastructural level by educating households about appropriate lighting and conservation. The latter solution is cheaper and faster to implement, but requires buy-in from every stakeholder. Many programs, including apps, collaborate to interactively raise awareness and educate the public about the impact of light pollution on not only the night sky but migratory patterns. This presentation sheds some light (no pun intended) on the type of education these solutions involve.

Pi Day 2022 Internship & Academic Panel

CS Cheatsheet - PCC Mobile APP

Monday, 3/14, 12 - 1 PM  Hybrid Location: G1 or ZOOM.

This event may be attended on the PCC campus at G1 or remotely via ZOOM. Those who register for the event will be emailed a link to the ZOOM session.

  • Jamal Ashraf, Professor, Computer Science; Advisor, She Codes (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Jie Zhong, Professor, Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - Cal State LA
  • Sebastian Cevallos, Student - PCC
  • Spencer Ortega, Alumnus - PCC
  • Trinity Chung, Student - PCC
  • Venus Le Thanh Ha Nguyen, Student - PCC

Pi Day 2022 Research & Internship Opportunities Panel

Monday, 3/14, 1 - 2 PM  Hybrid Location: G1 or ZOOM

This event may be attended on the PCC campus at G1 or remotely via ZOOM. Those who register for the event will be emailed a link to the ZOOM session.

  • Jorge Encinas, Professor, Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Jie Zhong, Professor, Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - Cal State LA
  • Eric Ocegueda, Graduate Student, Mechanical Engineering - Caltech
  • Victor Garcia Ruiz, Graduate Student, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics - Caltech
  • Victor Zendejas Lopez, Graduate Student, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics - Caltech

Pi Day 2022 Blockchain & Proof of Work - Technology of Bitcoin and NFTs Hands-on Workshop

Tuesday, 3/15, 12 - 1 PM  Hybrid Location: G1 or ZOOM

This event may be attended on the PCC campus at G1 or remotely via ZOOM. Those who register for the event will be emailed a link to the ZOOM session.

  • Shivam Tripathi, Post-doctoral Fellow, Materials Engineering (Moderator) - Purdue University
  • Alejandro Strachan, Professor, Mechanical Engineering - Purdue University
  • Oneal Douglin, Student - PCC
  • Suchan Liu, Student - PCC
  • Yu-Chung Chang-Hou, Professor, Mathematics - PCC

Pi Day 2022 Career and Internships Panel

Wednesday, 3/16, 12 - 1 PM  Campus Location: IT224 (MESA Center)

  • Silvia Talaoc, Professor, Mathematics; Faculty Lead, Success Centers; Faculty Coordinator, MESA (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Jie Zhong, Professor, Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - Cal State LA
  • Michael Zhang, PhD., Professor, Astronomy - Caltech
  • Edgar Perez-Lopez, PhD. Student, Mechanical Engineering - UC Merced
  • LiChen Janet Hsu, PA-C - El Sereno Medical Group
  • Nhi Trinh, ICU Nurse - LAUSC Medical Center
  • Thanh Le, Substation Engineer, Electrical Engineering - Edison

Pi Day 2022 Advanced Materials Engineering

Undergraduate Research & Internships Panel

Wednesday, 3/16, 1 - 2 PM  Location: ZOOM

Those who register for this event will be emailed a link to the ZOOM session.

  • Carrie Starbird, Dean of Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Peter Castro, Professor, Chemistry (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Vincenzo Costanza, Graduate Student - Caltech
  • Janet Teng, Student - PCC

Pi Day 2022 New Societies and Cryptocurrencies

Wednesday, 3/16, 6 - 7:30 PM  Hybrid Location: G1 and ZOOM

This event may be attended on the PCC campus at G1 or remotely via ZOOM. Those who register for the event will be emailed a link to the ZOOM session.

  • Michael Zhang, PhD., Postdoc; President, Caltech Sovereignty Club (Moderator) - Caltech
  • Tom W. Bell, Professor, Fowler School of Law - Chapman University

Pi Day 2022 Asteroids and Comets Research

Thursday, 3/17, 12 - 1 PM  Hybrid Location: G1 and ZOOM

This event may be attended on the PCC campus at G1 or remotely via ZOOM. Those who register for the event will be emailed a link to the ZOOM session.

  • Jude Socrates, Professor, Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Daphne Liu, Professor, Mathematics (Co-Moderator) - Cal State LA
  • Joe Masiero, IPAC Research Scientist - Caltech

Pi Day 2022 Student Presentations

Friday, 3/18, 11 AM - 1 PM  Location: ZOOM

Those who register for this event will be emailed a link to the ZOOM session.

  • Samy, President, Pi Club (Co-Moderator) - PCC
  • Kevin, President, Math Club (Co-Moderator) - Cal State LA
  • Daphne Liu, Professor, Mathematics - Cal State LA

Presentation List (TBA)

Pi Day 2022 Undergraduate Research & Internships Panel

Friday, 3/18, 1 - 2 PM  Campus Location: E102 and E103

  • Jared Ashcroft, Professor, Chemistry (Moderator) - PCC
  • Frank Alas, Student - PCC
  • Rachael Gilyard, Student - GCC
  • Hiranmie Padinjatiyaduth, Student - PCC
  • Venus Le Thanh Ha Nguyen, Student - PCC

Pi Day 2022 Python Coding Workshop

PCC SheCodes Club & PCC Pi Club

Saturday, 3/19, 1 - 3 PM  Location: ZOOM

Those who register for this event will be emailed a link to the ZOOM session.

(Panel TBA)

Pi Day 2022 Student Presentations

Click here to watch a short video for this year's Pi Day Conference (Coming Soon!)

Music from video provided free by: https://www.bensound.com

Watch Pi Day 2021 Events for Inspiration: