MEHMET AKTAS Department of Mathematics Phone: 850-339-6130 Florida State University Email: maktas@math.fsu.edu 32306 EDUCATION Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida (expected) August 2016 Ph.D., Pure Mathematics Advisor: Eriko Hironaka Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey August 2011 M.S., Mathematics Advisor: Alexander Degtyarev Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey May 2009 B.S., Mathematics RESEARCH INTERESTS. Topology of Algebraic Curve Complements. Topological Data Analysis. Mathematical Modeling of Biological Systems PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Florida State University Graduate Teaching Assistant - Course Instructor August 2015 - Present Taught Calculus with Analytic Geometry I (MAC-2311) in a technology enhanced classroom Prepared course materials including lecture notes and exams Created online homework assignments using WebAssign in addition to hard copy in class quizzes Lectured in classroom using overhead projector and blackboard when needed Grading responsibility Florida State University May 2015 - August 2015 Graduate Research Assistant Worked on a project uses Morse filtration on Frechet function defined on a given data set Used the Javaplex package for TDA Analyzed results using data mining tools such as PCA, LDA and MDS Florida State University Jan 2015 - May 2015 Graduate Teaching Assistant - Course Instructor Taught Pre-Calculus Algebra (MAC-1140) in a technology enhanced classroom Prepared course materials including lecture notes and exams Lectured in classroom using overhead projector and blackboard when needed Florida State University Jan 2012 - Dec 2014 Graduate Teaching Assistant - Recitation Instructor Held weekly recitations for Calculus with Analytic Geometry I, Prepared quizzes and graded quizzes and tests for Calculus with Analytic Geometry I, 1
Instructed in problem-solving sessions held in computer laboratories for College Algebra, Precalculus Algebra, Trigonometry, Mathematics for Liberal Arts Proctored weekly computer based quizzes and exams for College Algebra, Precalculus Algebra, Trigonometry, Mathematics for Liberal Arts Graded homework assignments and exams for Ordinary Differential Equations and Introduction to Advanced Mathematics Bilkent University 2009-2011 Graduate Teaching Assistant Ankara, Turkey Graded homework assignments, weekly quizzes and tests for various undergraduate courses such as Calculus 1-2-3, Statistics Hold regular weekly office hours and found chance to interact with students one by one Proctored tests for Calculus 1-2-3, Business Calculus HONORS AND AWARDS Distinguished Teaching Assistant, Florida State University, 2016 Bettina Zoeller Richmond Award*, Florida State University, 2014 *Recognizes outstanding service to the department. FSU Graduate Student Full Scholarship, 2012-2016 Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education Full Scholarship, 2011-2012 TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) Graduate Education Scholarship, 2010-2011 Graduated from the Bilkent University Department of Mathematics with 2nd place, Turkey, 2009 Bilkent University Full Scholarship, 2004-2009 Government scholarship, high school, 2001-2004. RESEARCH EXPERIENCE Topological Data Analysis via Frechet function Used Morse filtration on Frechet function defined on a given data set Used the Javaplex package for TDA Analyzed results using data mining tools such as PCA, LDA and MDS December 2014 - Present Topology of Trigonal Curve Complement via Dessin D enfants Jan 2012 - Present Classified the Dessin D enfants of trigonal curve complements up to isotopy Worked on the topology of trigonal curves corresponding each Dessin D enfant class Improved an algorithm to plot Dessin D enfant of a given trigonal curve and implemented in MATLAB Krammer Polynomials Sept 2014 - Present Defined a new polynomial invariant for curve complements Listed all Krammer polynomials for completely reducible trigonal curves Improved an algorithm to compute the Krammer polynomials of a given n-gonal curve and implemented it in SAGE Design principles of gene regulation March 2015 - Present 2
Simulated two different biological models that has delay in it in MATLAB Improved an algorithm for stochastic biological models that has delay and implemented in MATLAB Compared the results that come from both the deterministic and stochastic models under different signal profile Computing the Braid Monodromy of n-gonal Curves August 2013 - September 2014 Improved a new algorithm to compute the braid monodromy of a given completely reducible n-gonal curve and implemented it MATLAB and SAGE Implemented an algorithm to compute the Alexander polynomial of a given completely reducible n- gonal curve in MATLAB and SAGE Plain Sextics with a Type E 7 Singular Point September 2010 - August 2011 Computed all possible Dessin D enfant classes of plain sextics with a type E 7 singular point Worked the topology of each class Used GAP (Group Algorithm Programming) language for further analysis Riemann-Roch theorem May 2007 - August 2007 Worked on the Riemann-Roch theorem Prepared a report about the proof and applications of it PUBLICATIONS Published Plain Sextics with a Type E 7 Singular Point, Mehmet Aktas, Master Thesis, Bilkent University, 2011 Under review Computing the Braid Monodromy of Completely Reducible n-gonal Curves, Mehmet Aktas, Esra Akbas, ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software. Differential DNA level regulation by alternatively designed molecular mechanisms: A mathematical modeling approach, Necmettin Yildirim, Mehmet Aktas, Seyma Ozcan, Esra Akbas, Ahmet Ay, In Silico Biology. In preparation Beyond Means: A Topological Study of the Frechet Function, Facunda Memoli, Washington Mio, Mehmet Aktas. Topology of Completely Reducible Trigonal Curves via Dessin D enfants, Mehmet Aktas. Classification of Dessin D enfants of Completely Reducible Trigonal Curves, Mehmet Aktas. A polynomial invariant for plane curve complements: Krammer polynomials, Mehmet Aktas. GRANTS Florida State University, Department of Mathematics Travel Grant(Joint Mathematics Meetings), January 2015 and January 2016 Florida State University, Congress of Graduate Students Travel Grant(Joint Mathematics Meetings), January 2015 and January 2016 Research travel award, Texas Geometry and Topology Conference (TGTC), 2014 Research travel award, Algebraic Geometry Northeastern Series (AGNES), 2014 Research travel award, Georgia Algebraic Geometry Symposium (GAGS), 2014 Research travel award, Texas Geometry and Topology Conference (TGTC), 2013 3
Research travel award, Tech Topology Conference, 2012 GIVEN TALKS Refereed Presentations Classification of Dessin D enfants of Completely Reducible trigonal Curves, Joint Mathematics Meetings, Seattle, WA, (January 2016) Topology of Fully Reducible Trigonal Curves, Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Antonio, TX, (January 2015) Topology of the Complement of Certain Families of Trigonal Curves and Their Associated Dessins d Enfants, Algebraic Geometry Northeastern Series (AGNES), (November 2014) Workshop and Seminars Krammer Polynomials, FSU Topology Seminar (March 2016) Topological Data Analysis, FSU Graduate Student Seminar (October 2015) Dessin D enfants of Trigonal Curves, FSU Graduate Student Seminar (January 2015) History of Topology of Algebraic Curves, FSU Topology Seminar (February 2014) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Memberships Member of American Mathematical Society (AMS), 2011-2015 Member of Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), 2014-2015 Member of Florida Beta chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, Mathematical Honor Society, 2014-2015 Member of Association for Academic Advancement (ASACAD) Scholars, 2011-2015 Certificates Program for Instructional Excellence, FSU PIE certificate, 2015 Preparing the Future Faculty (PFF) Certificate, In Progress Conferences and Workshops Attended Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM), Seattle (January 2016) Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM), San Antonio (January 2015) Texas Geometry and Topology Conference (TGTC), UT Austin (November 2014) Algebraic Geometry Northeastern Series (AGNES), UPenn (November 2014) Georgia Algebraic Geometry Symposium (GAGS), University of Georgia (October 2014) Texas Geometry and Topology Conference (TGTC), Texas A&M (November 2013) Tech Topology Conference, Georgia Tech (December 2012) International Algebraic Geometry and Topolgy Days, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey (January 2011) National Mathematics Symposium of Turkey, Erciyes University, Turkey (August 2010) TECHNICAL SKILLS Computer Languages SERVICE University Service C, C++, Java, Python, Sage, R, MATLAB, Maple, Word, Excel, Power Point, Latex, Unix/Linux environments, Joomla English, Turkish, German (intermediate), Arabic (pre-intermediate) Volunteer in FSU Math Fun Day (October 2014 and October 2015) Grader of FSU High School Math Contest (November 2014) Volunteer in FSU-UF Topology Meeting (February 2013) 4
Service to the Educational Institutions and Communities Volunteer in Math Stars contest, Tallahassee (January 2015) High School Topology Project Coach, Tallahassee (Spring 2013) Math Counts Contest Tutor, Tallahassee (Spring 2012) 5