Jessica R. Taylor
Dr. Jessica R. Taylor is an applied mathematician, scientist, and educator with a demonstrated history of working in higher education and at a national laboratory. She is skilled in qualitative and quantitative scientific analysis, computational modeling, and scientific writing. She has a strong education history with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. 2019), Master of Science (M.Sc. 2017) and Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. 2015) focused in applied mathematics with emphasis in physics research from University of California, Merced. Currently, Dr. Taylor is an Adjunct Professor at Merced College and a Math Teacher for University of Michigan's Wolverine Pathways Program!
Learn all about Norm here!
Fun Facts (About Me!)
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I am a cat mom (clearly, see the above picture). My fur baby's name is Norm Beauregarde Taylor. I adopted him from a shelter ("adopt! don't shop!") in August 2019. He was 15 weeks when he came to me. Now, he's a big boy! Learn all about Norm here!
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I am a Central Valley California (USA) native (Modesto proud!).
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I am a crossword and ken-ken puzzle addict. Seriously, I stock up newspapers.
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I love comic strips. My favorites are "Pearls Before Swine" by Stephan Pastis and "Pickles" by Brian Crane.
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I am an avid reader. I love books; everything about them: their smell, feel, colors, etc. I prefer physical books but I do have an e-reader. I use it as a bookmark.
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Back on the reading topic, my favorite books are "1984" and "Animal Farm" by George Orwell, "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson,"Cell","Under the Dome", and The Dark Tower series all by Stephen King, "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie, The Robot Series and "Fantastic Voyage" by Isaac Asimov, "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift, "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, "The Cobra Event" by Richard Preston, "World War Z" by Max Brooks,...I can go on for days. Oh yeah and of course, The Harry Potter series (go Ravenclaw!). For book synopses, go to WorldCat.
Professional Influences
This section is dedicated to those that have inspired me during my mathematical, scientific, and educational journey. Below are some (stolen) photos and a brief description of his/her/their role in my career. This list is in no particular order (I think...I don't know). For those that I missed on this list, I didn't forget you; I'm just looking for your picture.
Charles & Dephany Taylor
You've guessed it! These two are my lovely parents. They've always stressed the importance of academics and enjoyment in what I do.
Dan Eisel
Mr. Eisel was my high school chemistry teacher and Science Bowl coach. He helped facilitate my love for science and made it fun, too!
Mrs. Gaines was my high school algebra & precalculus teacher. She showed me that women can excel in STEM.
Lei, Yue
Prof. Lei, Yue was one of my math professors for multiple courses. I also was her teaching assistant at one point. My experience teaching for her made me want to teach! She taught me how to "think outside the box" when it comes to making classroom activities.
Ron Lok
Mr. Lok was my high school calculus teacher. When I was failing, he took the time to explain concepts to me. Thanks to him, I wanted to be a mathematician! To add one thing, he probably didn't think I'd really make this list he suggested. Bwhahahaha!
Prof. Ilan was my research advisor and math professor for multiple courses. Whenever I was having a rough time in school, he was there. I got through grad school unscathed because of Prof. Ilan.
Dr. Shapiro was my vector calculus professor. He taught me how to visualize and be imaginative in math. He also taught me about eigenvalues in office hours, which were the first "abstract" concept I had ever seen.
Phung Colvin
Mrs. Colvin was one of my NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Scholars Program advisors. She taught me how to enhance my learning skills and effectively manage my time.
Prof. Mitsotakis was my first (ever) research advisor. He introduced me to nonlinear dispersive waves. That introduction influenced the rest of my research career.
David Samper
Prof. Samper was my "Writing in the Sciences" professor. He helped me bolster my love of writing. He taught me that scientific writing can be fun!
Petia Gueorguieva
Dr. Gueorguieva was one of my NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Scholars Program advisors and STEM Scholars Program advisor. She showed me the ropes of being a scientist. She even took me to my first research conference (on dark matter!).
Dr. Makoui was my Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning Instructional Internship advisor. She helped me enhance my teaching skills and introduced me to educational research!
John Gahan
Mr. Gahan was my high school college counselor. First, he taught me about the SATs. Then, he told me about UC Merced! I had no idea this beautiful university even existed and that it was so close to home. His information changed my life!
GET IN TOUCH
Open to recommendations and collaboration! If you have any novel opportunities or If you are interested in mathematical discipline-based education research, contact me!
