Gabe Cowley ’24 — This summer I worked on researching Rainbow Numbers (part of Number Theory) with Professor Ansaldi and fellow student Kihyun Kim for 8 weeks. I learned how to create proofs in a research setting and I got to create and prove (or disprove) many hypotheses. I learned personally what it is like to work extensively on one problem, giving me a better idea of what a career in research may look like. I saw what it was like for us could work as a team toward a common goal while each of us still pursued our own individual interests within those goals.
What I especially loved about the research was the process of learning as we went along. To solve one problem or another, I would learn the appropriate mathematics needed, seeing how different fields could be used for the problem. The internship helped me gain comfortability with Mathematica programming and familiarity with Python, having to write programs in one language and use programs in another.
This research experience has been very valuable to me because through it I’ve learned what it is like to do research in pure mathematics, helping to shape my future career goals. I would like to thank those who made this internship possible – the Wabash College Math Department and the Wabash College Career Services for offering this position, those who provided the funds, Professor Ansaldi, and Kihyun Kim.
