David Jensen

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Dave Jensen wih owl
University of Kentucky
Department of Mathematics
719 Patterson Office Tower
Lexington, KY 40506-0027

dave.h.jensen@gmail.com

Office:  POT 733
Outreach
I believe that it is my professional responsibility to provide opportunities for math education outside of the classroom.  Listed below are some of the highlights.  See my CV above for a more complete list.

Undergraduate Research
I have supervised a number of undergraduate research projects, including one in Spring 2012, three in Summer 2014, as part of the SUMRY program, one in Summer 2016 sponsored by a gift from the Eaves family, and seven between Spring 2018 and Spring 2023 as part of the UK Math Lab.  Nine of these projects resulted in short papers, which can be found below.
Towards a Tropical Proof of the Gieseker-Petri Theorem
    with V. Baratham, C. Mata, D. Nguyen, and S. Parekh,
    Collectanea Mathematica 65 (2014).
Gonality of Random Graphs
    with A. Deveau, J. Kainic and D. Mitropolsky,
    Involve, a Journal of Mathematics, 9-4 (2016), 715-620.
Realization of Groups with Pairing as Jacobians of Finite Graphs
    with L. Gaudet, D. Ranganathan, N. Wawrykow and T. Weisman,
    Annals of Combinatorics, (accepted).
Toric Graph Associahedra and Compactifications of M_{0,n}
    with R. Ferreira da Rosa and D. Ranganathan,
    Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics, 43(1), 2015.
Gonality of Expander Graphs
    with N. Dutta,
    Discrete Mathematics, 341(9) (2018), 2535–2543.
A New Lower Bound on Graph Gonality
    with M. Harp, E. Jackson, and N. Speeter,
    Discrete Applied Mathematics, 309 (2022), 172-179.
Sliding Block Puzzles with a Twist: On Segerman's 15+4 Puzzle
    with P. Garica, A. Hanson and N. Owen, submitted.
On the Semigroup of Graph Gonality Sequences
    with A. Fessler, E. Kelsey and N. Owen, submitted.
On the Gonality of Ferrers Rook Graphs
    with M. Morvai, N. Speeter, B. Welch, and S. Yeomans, submitted.

University of Kentucky Math Lab
The UK Math Lab serves as a central hub for undergraduate research activities within the math department at the University of Kentucky.  The lab runs research and visualization projects each semester and during the summer.

Summer Undergraduate Math Research at Yale
SUMRY is a 10-week summer program designed to promote research in mathematics and the mathematical sciences among Yale undergraduates.  Between 15 and 20 students each summer work in small groups on open problems in mathematics.

Yale Undergraduate Math Society
During my time at Yale, I served as the department's liason to YUMS, which hosts lectures and social events for math majors and enthusiasts.

Saturday Morning Math Group and Austin Math Circle
These two community outreach programs are aimed at junior high and high school students, their teachers, and their parents.  I served as organizer in 2008.  Go here for more information.

Canada/USA Mathcamp
A 5-week summer program for exceptional high school students, Canada/USA Mathcamp is an energetic and often whimsical community of mathematical scholars and students.  I was there as a mentor in 2007, and again as a visitor in 2013.  A significant portion of the work on this paper was done during this latter visit.