Young Alumna Profile: Michelle Delcourt

By David Terraso
Nov 18, 2011 | Atlanta

Michelle Delcourt - 2011 B.S. Discrete Mathematics
2011 NSF Graduate Research Fellow
2011 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher in the College of Sciences
Research Experience for Undergraduates: 2010 Georgia Tech, 2009 Louisiana State University, 2008 Clemson University

David Terraso: What are you doing now?
Michelle Delcourt: I am currently a doctoral student in mathematics and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

DT: Why did you decide to pursue mathematics?
MD: When I was in elementary school, my father took me to see an exhibit of the works of M.C. Escher. I was very taken with these pieces and seriously explored the possibility of becoming a graphic designer. A little later, I read articles by Martin Gardner containing puzzles and mathematical games and became very excited about mathematics. I had no idea that as an undergraduate I would become involved in research so quickly, or learn so much.

DT: How would you characterize your experience at Georgia Tech?
MD: Over all my experience at Georgia Tech was a positive one. I enjoyed the enthusiasm and sense of community within the math department. I disliked most the amount of stress associated with my more demanding courses.

DT: What do you plan to do for a career? Would you say that Georgia Tech was helpful in preparing you to do this?
MD: I plan to be a professor of mathematics at a research institution. As an undergraduate at Georgia Tech, I taught a recitation, graded several classes, conducted research, presented at conferences, submitted papers for publication, served on committees as well as organized and found funding for speakers. The skills that I acquired while doing each of these activities are invaluable.

DT: Do you have any advice for undergraduates in the School of Mathematics?
MD: I would tell first-year students to get involved. Join Club Math, take the Putnam (a math competition), and talk to upperclassmen and professors. There are many opportunities available at Georgia Tech, from conducting research to teaching a recitation, but you have to seek these opportunities out.

DT: If you could change something about Georgia Tech to make it better for undergraduates, what would it be?
MD: If I could change something about Georgia Tech, I would add a number of art classes to the curriculum that would be available for credit as electives. I feel that balancing the right and left sides of the brain is important and that art can provide needed stress relief.

DT: Is there anything about Georgia Tech that you learned that you wished you would've known as a freshman?
MD: I wish I had known about the annual Microsoft Puzzle Challenge. I enjoyed participating in it immensely my junior and senior years.

DT: Why did you choose the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign?
MD: I definitely am enjoying my time at UIUC. I chose this school for graduate school for several reasons. UIUC offers a solid foundation in many areas of mathematics as well as strengths in combinatorics and graph theory. Also, I felt during my visit that there was a strong sense of community and camaraderie amongst the graduate students. An additional bonus is that the school also has one of the largest collections of mathematical models and art in the world and offers special topics classes combining mathematics and art.