From the classroom to the laboratory to the conference hall, we like to engage our undergraduates to think on a grand scale and, when opportunities arise, to present their work in a public forum. One of our students, Gwyn Pauley, has embraced this idea with great enthusiasm and energy. Gwyn is a Math major with an abiding interest in applied aspects of the discipline, that is to say, to use math to work on solutions to practical problems. This is certainly reflected in her recent research and in her choice of an Economics minor, an area in which approaches to complex problems of great practical value using the tools of mathematics has been the basis for many Nobel prizes in the last few decades.
 
Beyond the classroom and into the laboratory, Gwyn had a great experience at North Carolina State University during the summer of 2007. She participated in a special research program aimed at using math for computer modeling to understand epithelial cell rearrangements during branching morphogenesis.  While this may sound rather esoteric, the use of math actually helps biologists and physicians approach the complex problems of the social interactions of cells in important stages of their early development, in wound healing and in cancer. Gwyn and her coauthors took their work entitled ‘Mathematical Modeling of Cell Rearrangements in Epithelial Tissues’ from the computer laboratory to the conference hall and presented it at the San Diego Joint Math Conference in January 2008. These kinds of experiences have provided Gwyn with opportunities to see how the knowledge and skills she acquired in the class room and laboratory could be extended into the larger world of public presentation of research and development, where it had to withstand the scrutiny of her peers and professional mathematicians.

Gwyn is originally from Westchester, Pennsylvania (outside Philadelphia), the daughter of Beth and Kent Pauley. She has a younger sister, Leah, who is an Art major and a sophomore at Oregon State. In choosing the University of South Carolina Gwyn knew she would be avoiding the winter snows of the north, but she also knew she was entering a great College of Arts and Sciences with many advantages for her, including a strong Math Department, diverse and unique courses in a multiplicity of disciplines, a Cooper Scholarship and membership in the Honors College.

The well-rounded person that she is, Gwyn loves all USC sports and has been involved in many activities outside academics at USC. She has been working (and walking) for the support group ‘Relay for Life’, raising funds for cancer research by team-walking during special overnight events. The goal for 2008 is to raise $55,000, and we hope she and her team mates succeed. Gwyn is a Math tutor, available through the Department to assist those in need at the high school and undergraduate levels. For her first 2 years at USC, she was also a member of SAGE (Students Allied for a Green Earth), and worked hard to help others understand the importance of designing, building and living in sustainable environments.

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