Sophie Larsen

they / them
sll4 (at) illinois (dot) edu

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I am a Ph.D. student in the Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. My advisor is Pamela Martinez. I am interested in the relationships between social inequity, marginalization, and disease transmission, with a particular focus on COVID-19 dynamics using nonlinear ODE systems.

Before joining PEEC, I earned a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2022. I completed my undergraduate studies in mathematics at the University of Washington, with minors in Norwegian and the Comparative History of Ideas. I also have significant coursework relating to public health.

Outside of academia, my interests include music, swimming, and travel. I speak Norwegian fluently and am always looking for reasons to visit!

I strive to follow the axioms proposed by Federico Ardila.

  1. Mathematical talent is distributed equally among different groups, irrespective of geographic, demographic, and economic boundaries.
  2. Everyone can have joyful, meaningful, and empowering mathematical experiences.
  3. Mathematics is a powerful, malleable tool that can be shaped and used differently by various communities to serve their needs.
  4. Every student deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.