Ahsan Ali

My undergraduate research advisor told me about this program. He knew some people in the local administration of the IMM. He recognized the potential of this program and strongly recommended that I only go here if I plan to study further.

My first semester in the IMM program was been a testing one. In the very beginning, I had realized that there is a huge difference between undergrad and grad studies. It took me a while at first to get acquainted with the pace and difficulty of my courses, but I worked really hard to get through it. By the second semester, I had a better idea on what to expect and things became manageable. During the two years of the program, other than the mathematics, I learned a great deal about myself and how I am as a learner. I also got a front-seat view of what it means to do research by interacting with my professors every chance I got. Although, my two years there were completely virtual, I still made the best of it by participating as much as I could and discussing math with my peers. In particular, I enjoyed all my analysis courses and I also loved the Dynamical Systems course which was taught by Prof. Stefano Luzzatto. Among my analysis professors, I fondly remember the classes of Prof. Emmanuel Carneiro, Prof. Sahibzada Waleed Noor and Prof. Nuria Fagella. I also appreciate the efforts of the tutors at the time, Dr. Douglas Coates and Dr. Fabrizio Bianchi. Their efforts and guidance directly shaped my mathematical learning as well as my professional growth as a graduate student. Lastly, I would like to appreciate my master's thesis supervisor, Prof. Thomas Jordan for introducing me to the lovely world of Fractal Geometry. Overall, it was a vigorous and wonderful experience.

Currently, I am still pretty open-minded and have not decided if I want to continue down this path to becoming a researcher. I also enjoy teaching and am also considering being a teaching professor. It's still too soon to decide on this right now but I do know that I want to stay in academia.

During my second year in the IMM program, I had worked in an organizing capacity for the CIMPA School on Recent Advances in Dynamical Systems that was held at COMSATS University Islamabad (the host institution for IMM, at the time). In my two years at MSU, I have been awarded the 'Outstanding Graduate Student' award both years. I had also secured a graduate fellowship from the university at the time of my admission. Other than that, I have been received support to travel and been accepted to attend several mathematical conferences.