Hi, my name is Sasha Bryukhova, and I am excited to be selected as a Byrne Scholar attending Dartmouth! I am originally from Lake Zurich, IL (Chicago suburbs), but am now living in Castle Rock, CO. So, although I will always be a midwesterner at heart, the mountains are now my home.

Math has always been my favorite subject. In recent years, I realized that math can be used to explain daily phenomena and create a deeper understanding of life. Everyone uses some level of math in their everyday lives, so it must be pretty important. At Dartmouth, I plan to major in Mathematical Data Science, Quantitative Social Science, or Economics to continue expanding my math knowledge and application.

Outside of the classroom, I love anything to do with the outdoors. I thrive when I am hiking up a tall mountain or snowboarding down one, but I also appreciate casual strolls with my dog. On a day when I cannot go outside, I enjoy watching movies and playing all sorts of card and board games.

Most importantly, I am thrilled to be a Byrne scholar and experience the opportunities Dartmouth has to offer.

My name is Syed Masrur Ahmed, though I usually go by my nickname, Jami. I'm an international student from Bangladesh, and I'm interested in studying Math and Computer Science. I've always been drawn to math not just because it’s logical, but because it feels creative. I love how it reveals hidden patterns and brings structure to complex problems, and I'm especially fascinated by the surprising ways different fields of mathematics connect.

My passion lies in applying the quantitative skills I learn to solve real-world problems. Coming from a country disproportionately affected by climate change, I’ve long been interested in working in energy and sustainability. While Hanover is a big change for me, I’m excited to meet new people and contribute a different perspective to the math community!

My name is Sayan Bhattacharya, and I’m from Hanover, New Hampshire. Numbers and logic piqued my interest at a young age, and mathematics quickly became my favorite subject in school. My love for problem-solving only grew as I discovered the many ways in which math could help me make sense of the world, from machine learning and cancer research to quantum physics and cybersecurity.

In high school, I exhausted the offered courses and even took math classes at Dartmouth. I also competed on my school’s math team and conducted machine learning research. Now, as a Dartmouth student, I intend to major in math and physics and continue applying mathematical thinking to new problems in science and technology. I’m honored to be part of the Byrne Scholars Program and am looking forward to learning and growing as part of this incredible community!

My name is Neil Bhavikatti, and I'm thrilled to have been chosen as a Byrne Scholar for the Class of 2028 here at Dartmouth. Math has always been my favorite subject in school, but my love of problem solving began when I started playing chess at the age of 5. I have many memories, both happy and sad, from tournaments - from being locked in intense endgame struggles for hours, to analyzing complex middlegames with my opponents in the post-mortem, to the game that earned me the title of National Chess Master. Throughout high school I was involved with my school's Math and Chess clubs and the Regeneron Science Talent Search competition, in which I was named a Top 300 Scholar for my research with a local professor on optimally computing the result of matrix multiplication given an arbitrary cache size (storage capacity on a computer).

At Dartmouth I plan to double major in math and CS and wish to learn more about the fields of entrepreneurship and quantitative finance.

My name is Jude Poirier, and I’m from Tucson, Arizona. Math was always my favorite subject in grade school—I love creative problem solving and playing around with logical frameworks. In high school, that interest evolved: I became fascinated by the study of statistics and its applications for social policy. At Dartmouth, I intend to major in Quantitative Social Science with a minor in Public Policy, interrogating our government’s policy frameworks through a quantitative lens. I am especially interested in applying math to equitize policy areas dominated by traditionalist moral frameworks, like legal studies, human rights, and gender and sexuality policies.

In the Dartmouth community, aside from math, I am involved with Student Government, the American Constitution Society, the Dartmouth Political Union, and a variety of legal and political clubs around campus. I also volunteer with the Center for Social Impact and am a student researcher with the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy. In my free time, I love to paddle, read, and nap on the green!

I look forward to my next few years as a Byrne Scholar, and I am grateful for the opportunities this program has afforded me.

My name is Joanna Shan and I’m from Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts (yes, like the movie)! I’ve always been drawn to numbers, and math has been my favorite subject ever since I started school. In fifth grade, my teacher noticed I wasn’t being challenged enough and took the initiative to teach me advanced content. He gave a few classmates and I fun challenges to complete, and ever since then I’ve been interested in studying math at the college-level.

In high school, I took every math class I could and loved competing with my school’s math team. It brought me joy to run the team with my teacher, and the experience taught me so much about how math can foster creativity as well as community. It was also rewarding to help others see that, despite its sometimes intimidating reputation, math is so much more than just numbers on a page.

Outside the classroom, many of my hobbies involve math in some way, and I hope to find even more ways to integrate the subject into my daily life. I plan to double major in math and CS, and I’m excited to learn as much as possible throughout the next few years. Above all, it’s an honor to have been chosen as a Byrne Scholar, and I’m so thankful to be part of this special community at Dartmouth!

My name is Sydney Spangler, and I am from a surf town in Los Angeles called Manhattan Beach. Since elementary school, math has been my favorite subject. My passion for math heightened when my fourth-grade teacher gave me extra math homework in my free time. Before I knew it, I was a middle school student in classes with high schoolers three years older than me.

Throughout high school, my love for math grew exponentially inside and outside the classroom. I became President of my school’s competitive math team and ran a nonprofit devoted to expanding math education in under-resourced areas.

Whether it be through the classroom, research, or volunteering, I hope to discover new ways to apply my passion for math to my community. Math has been a constant in my life that has given me so much joy, fascination, and opportunity. It is my goal to give back to a field that has given me so much. I am so thankful for both Dartmouth and the Byrne program for offering me such an incredible opportunity, and I am excited to see where it can take me!

I’ve always been drawn to the logical beauty of math and how it can be used to tackle the seemingly impossible. While my background in the subject is primarily competition math, it’s not the medals or accolades I earn that motivate me; it’s the journey itself—the process of learning—that I love. I've also really come to appreciate the friendships I've built through a shared curiosity about math. Being a tutor and leading my school’s math team taught me how important collaboration is when it comes to learning and problem-solving.

Recently, I’ve become especially interested in the interdisciplinary nature of math, especially combinatorics. At Dartmouth, I plan to explore these connections further through applications of math in computer science and engineering. Outside of academics, I enjoy weightlifting, sailing, and playing card games.

I came to Dartmouth as a double major in computer science and physics, but over time realized that what I liked most was the common mathematical ground between them. I'm fascinated by the structure inherent in nature that is revealed when we apply math to it. For instance, the axioms of a group are not very restrictive, yet from those axioms the only structures possible are those we see in the classification of finite groups. Looking at tilings and their reflection groups we get a peek at the Dynkin diagrams privileged by nature as being the only ones possible. There are many, many more examples in math where seemingly lax axioms lead to a very structured and beautiful theory, and I find this truly amazing.

My current research is in spectral geometry, the field that asks the question "Can you hear the shape of a drum?" This question has a long and distinguished history at Dartmouth, particularly as Dartmouth professors Carolyn Gordon and David Webb were the first to publish 2-dimensional examples to drums that sound the same but look different. In another example of beautiful structure arising in math, there are certain privileged geometries that manifolds can correspond to in two and especially three dimensions, as we now know by the work of Thurston, Hamilton, Perelman and others. I'm particularly interested in the relation between the sound of a drum and the geometry it corresponds to.

I'd like to thank the Byrne scholars program for giving me the opportunity to pursue math more fully and deeply.

I have had a passion for mathematics since I was a young child. My parents enrolled me in weekend lessons at the Russian School of Mathematics, nurturing my abilities. However, my true love for math began my junior year when I took a multivariable calculus class at my high school. The class was more than a multivariable class though as we spent a lot of time discussing interesting topics in math, one of which was the Buffon needle problem. This gave me my love for the weird and wacky side of math, particularly pure math.

At Dartmouth, I hope to further explore these interesting topics, and connect them to my other interests, such as medicine, as I am aspiring to become a physician. I also love chess, Russian literature, alternate history, art, and suits, even though I don’t own any (yet). I hail from the city of Boston, and I also enjoy practicing my Catholic faith.

I was initially drawn to math because I excelled in the subject, but to explain using a math term, the order of implication has slowly reversed; now, my love for math has led me to excel in it. My favorite aspect of the subject is how seemingly disparate concepts can be woven together. At Dartmouth, I hope to learn more math and hence see more connections between the different branches, for every parallel drawn lends to an even deeper appreciation of the subject.

I’m from Evanston, Illinois; I love and miss my town and the neighboring city of Chicago, but I am looking forward to getting to know Hanover! Apart from math, I was a competitive figure skater growing up, and I am so excited to join Dartmouth’s team. For fun, I love skiing and am thrilled to learn to ski the icy terrain in the area.

I am so grateful for the opportunities that both Dartmouth and the Byrne program offer, and can’t wait to start taking advantage of them!

My name is Pavan Kumar, and I'm a '27 from South Florida. Growing up, math has always been one of my favorite subjects. I enjoyed seeing that problems can often be solved in multiple ways, and that numbers can be used not only to find answers but also to tell meaningful stories about the world around us. At Dartmouth, I'm excited to continue exploring mathematics and its applications to solve real-world problems. Outside of math, I enjoy going for runs, watching sports, and spending time with friends.

My name is Billy McKittrick, and I am from a small country town called Mudgee in New South Wales, Australia. For as long as I can remember, Mathematics has been my favourite academic discipline. Ever since I was a young kid, I always loved problem solving, and critically thinking about mathematics. I remember my Mum would give me division problems on the way to school, or when out at a restaurant, as it was about the only way to keep me occupied.

Throughout high school, my understanding and appreciation for Mathematics has hugely evolved. Through exploring the works and ideas of various Mathematicians like Euclid, Euler, Ramanujan, Hardy, Hilbert, and others, I have became deeply passionate about Mathematics as an art form. I have come to appreciate that in Mathematics, seemingly disconnected ideas are brought together in the most elegant and unexpected ways. So too have I come to value that abstract Mathematics has an uncanny ability to become not-so-abstract, finding applications in the humanities, arts, and sciences.

I am truly honoured to receive this transformative scholarship, and I thank the Byrne family for all their generosity in helping myself and other students explore Mathematics deeper at this amazing institution.

I’ve always enjoyed math, but it wasn’t until my junior and senior years of high school, when I was able to take linear algebra and multivariable calculus, that I really started to love it. Seeing its real world applications was incredibly interesting to me and showed me a side of math that I had never seen before. Then, through an internship at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Lab of Medical Imaging and Computation, I was able to see first-hand how math and computer science can be used to program artificial intelligence models to recognize different conditions from medical images such as X-rays and MRIs, helping doctors give patients quicker and more accurate diagnoses. I don’t know what career I want to pursue, but my experience with my internship made it clear to me that I want to use math to help people, however that may be. At Dartmouth, I plan on majoring in math and potentially double majoring with either computer science or economics.

I’m originally from Maryland but I’ve lived in Belmont, Massachusetts since I was in third grade. Outside of math, I love playing basketball and will be a member of the women’s basketball team at Dartmouth. I also really enjoy drawing, writing, and recreational hiking.

My name is Ben Singer, and I'm from San Diego, California. Math was something that I was always good at and curious about from a very young age. My parents like to tell me stories about how I would sit in their bed when I was 2-3 years old, reciting the time in different countries around the world and running through multiplication/division tables. I got quite advanced in it due to this curiosity, leading me to take a vast array of undergraduate math courses between the ages of 11-16 as an extension student at UCSD. However, I didn't fully buy into pursuing math for the rest of my life until taking an intro course in algebraic geometry in my junior year of high school. That experience was the first time I felt truly stumped in a math class, but the drive to push through its abstract concepts and understand what was going on was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Since then, I have been dead set on being a math professor and pursuing algebraic/arithmetic geometry for the rest of my life.

My experience in math earlier on allowed me to jump into high-level courses immediately upon getting to Dartmouth. I have found an incredible home in the department, taking many graduate classes and participating in termly learning/research seminars. Nowadays, I'm interested in questions concerning what one can glean about the geometry and arithmetic of algebraic varieties from their cohomology theories. My research with Asher Auel, which started in the summer of 2024, was one of two experiences that really sparked this interest. Our work is on the 3 x 3 magic square of squares problem, one of the oldest still-unsolved diophantine problems, which asks whether or not a 3 x 3 grid of distinct square integers whose rows, columns, and columns add up to the same integer; we are tackling it via Brauer groups of schemes and the Brauer-Manin obstruction to rational points. The second was taking Math 121, a graduate topics course in classical Hodge theory, and continuing with reading on variations of Hodge structure and Shimura varieties in the spring/summer of 2025 under Salim Tayou. I plan to spend the rest of my time at Dartmouth learning about and beginning research in p-adic Hodge theory, one of the most active and inventive areas of research in math right now, under Professor Auel and Professor Tayou.

As both a pure object of study and a tool for solving real-world problems, math has always fascinated me. For as long as I can remember, I have loved the theoretical aspect of mathematics; I enjoy tackling abstract problems or musing over logic puzzles during math competitions. Over the last two years of high school, though, my passion for advocacy and social justice has drawn me increasingly to the practical applications of math. Through an internship in criminal justice reform, I have discovered the power of statistics in building compelling arguments and moving the needle on public policy issues. I hope that my studies of math at Dartmouth will ultimately allow me to advance social justice.

I am from Maryland but have also lived in Argentina, Indonesia, and Australia. Outside of math, I enjoy debate, playing soccer, painting watercolors, studying French language and literature, and traveling! I am honored to have been chosen as a Byrne Scholar!

Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed problem solving which led me to love the subject of math. I have always been attracted by the beauty and purity of mathematics as seen by theorems such as Euler’s identity which I wrote my IB Math HL IA on. In high school, I was accepted into the math honor society and was elected to be the treasurer my senior year. At Dartmouth, I am planning to explore the many practical applications of math in order to determine a major and career path.

Outside of academics, I am from Bedford, New Hampshire and recently graduated from Bedford High School. I was the captain of the varsity rowing team my senior year and will be a member of the Men’s Heavyweight Rowing Team at Dartmouth. In my free time, I enjoy skiing, biking, and playing basketball.

Ever since I can remember I've felt a calling to math. From learning long division to solving differential equations, there has always been a piece of satisfaction I gain from being able to independently reason and arrive at the correct answer. For me, math becomes even more interesting when you apply its axioms to the real world. Truly understanding math makes physics, chemistry, and all other science so much more powerful and incredible. These fields are all just expressions of math to different levels of the universe. I am passionate about this idea that math is the electrical current of all physical understanding of the universe.

Other than math, I invest most of my free time into powerlifting, chess, and hanging out with friends. Even though it may not seem so, both powerlifting and chess are very empirical and number-oriented. From tracking linear progression in powerlifting to preparing for a chess game using calculated and strategic opening systems, I enjoy placing myself in activities which are logical and require a grind. I'm excited to both meet and learn from the Dartmouth community. At Dartmouth, I hope to expand and utilize my passion to study Mathematics and Computer Science. Currently Machine Learning interests me, and will most likely be related to the major I lock in sophomore year. I'm very excited to be studying at Dartmouth, and even more so to be part of the Jack Byrne Scholars Program.

Over the past few years, my outlook on math has evolved quite a bit. I’ve come to view math not as the rigorous and mechanical subject I once thought it was but rather as a gateway to tackling real world problems. For example, it was a fascinating and eye-opening open experience to wrangle COVID-19 data and use math to shed light on the virus’ disproportionate impact among lower-income demographics. I was also lucky enough to perform computational research on schizophrenia risk genes, using mathematical pipelines to process genetic data and help the scientific community better treat schizophrenia. These experiences have shown me just how powerful math is as a means of quantifying challenging issues.

Aside from math, much of my free time has gone into art, especially painting and sketching tennis players, scenery, and even my kitten. I’m also an avid tennis player and music-lover. At Dartmouth, I’m looking to major in computer science while exploring math and data science, particularly their applications in areas like public policy, economics and computational biology. I’m also eager to play tennis, engage in club settings, and build lifelong connections along the way.

Hello! My name is Henry Moore, and I live in Portland, Maine. As captain of my school’s math team, I’ve really enjoyed the art of problem-solving and pushing myself to work faster. My favorite area so far has been number theory; I never fail to be blown away every time I’m taught new patterns and tricks. Before covid, I volunteered to assist teachers with fifth grade “math lunches” at my school, where we would help students with various mathematical puzzles. Outside of school, I’m currently reading “Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity” by David Foster Wallace, and I’m a long-time fan of 3BlueOneBrown, a math YouTube channel. Besides math, I love to play ultimate frisbee and lift weights.

Hello! My name is Ari Nathanson, and I am from Highland Park, IL. I am honored to have been chosen as a Byrne Scholar. Math has always been my favorite subject, the language in which I am most fluent. I greatly enjoy the rush of solving a challenging problem and the satisfaction of writing an elegant proof. Recently, however, I have gained more of an appreciation for how math can be used to further other disciplines. I am fascinated by its potential to do everything from rectify wealth inequality to revolutionize professional sports front offices. My role as Coordinator of my high school Math Team also showed me that math can be fun and collaborative. I look forward to continuing my studies at Dartmouth and taking advantage of all that the Byrne Scholars Program has to offer.

I am very grateful to have been picked as one of the Byrne Scholars, and I will live up to whatever expectations set for me.

I am a person of Ghanaian descent. Born in the South Bronx, New York, I was flown to Ghana at the age of 8 months to live with my Grandma who raised me; therefore, the Ghanaian culture is in my roots. I grew up in Kwashieman where despite its city-like characteristics, the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child” was not taken lightly. But home was where I was disciplined the most. Home was “Boni ɛn-ni Fie”, which translates to “Home without sinners (troublemakers)”. My grandparents prided themselves on kindness and humility. I looked up to them because of the respect they received from everyone who lived in Kwashieman. With that being said I was perceptive of any words of wisdom they threw my way. My grandma especially enlightened me on the importance of love, humility, forgiveness, and the bible being that we lived in a Christian household. Subsequently, I have always strived to live my life by these terms because it’s always been a dream of mine to be the man my grandma always professes about.

I moved to America on September 20th 2013. I was 9 years old at the time and after leaving the airport, was introduced to what my mom saw as two of the most important places I will spend my childhood. The first one being our home in the South Bronx, and the second one being school. Yes, on my first day in America I was sent to school! At this point I knew education was going to be the most important element of this household. Unlike my grandma, my mom is hard to impress and raised me with tough love. I've always appreciated this way of nurture from my mom because it only made me want to try harder to impress her. After a while, working hard became a habit because I was beginning to see how hard work always led to or at least brought me close to success. In addition, I also grew a great love for basketball, and I was able to become a 4-year captain of my high school basketball team, The Comp Sci High Pythons. Unfortunately, I did not receive this role because I was the best player on the court. On the bright side, I received this honor because my coach and my teammates saw me as a leader. I was honored to see that I had people my age and an adult I took so much inspiration from, who saw me as a leader. As a leader on this team I learned that a leader motivates their team and inspires them to get better. However, the most important principle I learned was that for a team to be successful it is important that the leader does not feel the need to do everything because there will come a point where the leader is not fit to do a particular task while someone else on the team is perfect for that task.

I realize that all places I call home have injected a particular characteristic in me. “Boni ɛn-ni Fie” instilled in me love, humility, and respect. My home in the South Bronx instilled in me hard work and discipline. Lastly, my home on the Comp Sci High Pythons basketball team helped me hone my leadership characteristic. This only leads me to wonder: What will Dartmouth college and the Byrne Scholarship hone or instill in me next?

For me, math is a way of seeing patterns in the world around you. It allows most things to be predicted by simply observing some past actions. Whether it be for idealistic goals, like developing medicine, or for more practical life plans, like budgeting, math is everywhere. I personally use it a ton when it comes to dominating my fantasy football leagues, constantly studying players’ stats in order to find the optimal matchups each and every week. I look forward to expanding my knowledge and application of math during my time at Dartmouth.

When I'm not absolutely geeking out over adding math to sports, I like to spend my time playing my violin, playing tennis, or playing video games.

For me, that “a-ha” moment of solving a math problem is a lot like that pure satisfaction of hitting the right musical note or landing a skateboard trick perfectly — it’s a moment of purity and emptiness. My interest in math sparked in high school and I don’t see it faltering any time soon. I’m fascinated by topics from computational linguistics to mathematical physics, and I look forward to exploring them deeper here at Dartmouth.