Who We Are
Cameron Byerley
Dr. Cameron Byerley is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at University of Georgia. Cameron completed her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at Arizona State University. As a secondary high school teacher, she spent her time wondering how to support students in learning meaningful mathematics.
Her research involves building models of students thinking about comparisons of relative size.
To stay happy and healthy, she explores the world. Some of her more notable expeditions include packrafting in remote Alaskan wilderness and descending technical slot canyons in the Grand Canyon.
Hyunkyoung Yoon
Dr. Hyunkyoung Yoon is an instructor at Arizona State University. Hyunkyoung completed her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at Arizona State University, and her masters and undergraduate studies at Seoul National University.
Her research interests are on (1) teachers' mathematical meanings for teaching and the relationships between meanings that teachers hold, their instructional actions, and meanings that their students construct, and (2) how students or teachers interpret quantitative representations such as graphs.
Hyunkyoung enjoys staying fit and going to the gym.
Heather Lavender
Dr. Heather Lavender is a recent graduate of Louisiana State University. She completed her doctorate in Science Education and has a B.S. in Microbiology from Louisiana State University and M.S. in Microbiology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Her research interest are in the STEM identity, exposure, and experience of girls and girls of color in K-8.
Heather enjoys exploring new hiking trails with her dog and watching movies with her two sons and husband.
Surani Joshua
Dr. Surani Joshua is an Instructional Professional at Arizona State University. She completed her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at Arizona State University, and has bachelor degrees in both Physics and Mathematics.
Her research is in the area of mathematical meanings for teaching, concentrated on teachers’ and students’ meaning for quantities within a frame of reference. She has worked with teachers in both the U.S. and Korea, and across a range of grade bands.
Min Sook Park
Dr. Min Sook Park is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Dr. Park studies health informatics by drawing from the interconnections of the traditional research areas of behavioral science and knowledge organization in the field of Information studies, along with data science, social computing, and information technologies. Her interdisciplinary work contributes to data-driven computationally intensive approaches to health informatics research.
Anne Waswa
Anne is currently pursuing a PhD in Mathematics Education at the University of Georgia. She has an M.S. in Teaching and Curriculum from Syracuse University and a B.Ed. (Science) from Kenyatta University.
Her research interests are in mathematical creativity and in particular, understanding and fostering pre-service teachers' mathematical creativity.
Anne enjoys listening to music, nature walks and keeping fit.
Laura Valaas
Dr. Valaas is completing advanced training in Dermatology at University of Washington Dermatology Residency.
She earned her MD from University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, her Master's of Health Informatics from the University of Washington, and B.A. in Applied Mathematics from Whitman College.
She enjoys trail running, biking, hiking, and playing Minecraft with her son.
James Drimalla
James is currently pursuing a PhD in Math Education at the University of Georgia.
He has an M.S. in Mathematics, a B.A. in Mathematics and Secondary Education, and has taught at both the high school and middle school level.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, reading philosophy and theology, watching basketball, and playing board games.
Alexandra Yon
Alexandra Yon is currently a master’s student at the University of Georgia. She has a B.S. in Applied Mathematics with a concentration and minor in Technology.
Her research interests include mathematical modeling, the use of machine learning as a predictive indicator of student performance, and exploring misconceptions in mathematics.
She enjoys history and studying impacts that events have had with respect to multiple areas such as pedagogy, societal views, and morals. She enjoys baking, playing piano, and board games! She is a life-long learner, fan of technology, and Christian.
Sukjin You
Dr. Sukjin You majored in information studies.
Information retrieval and classification based on machine learning and natural language processing are the areas of Sukjin's interest.
Sukjin loves nature and sports. Sukjin enjoys jogging as the sun rises and playing tennis as the sun sets.
Kevin Moore
Dr. Kevin Moore is a Professor of Mathematics Education at University of Georgia. Kevin completed his Ph.D. in Mathematics at Arizona State University, and his M.S. and B.S. in Applied Mathematics at The University of Akron.
His research interests involve students' and teachers' covariational and quantitative reasoning, and particularly how their meanings influence their representational activity.
Kevin enjoys golf and traveling with his wife.
Mina Gong
Mina is a doctoral student in Mathematics Education at the University of Georgia. She has B.S. and M.A. in Mathematics Education.
Before joining the Ph.D. Program, she taught mathematics at high school for 6 years in the U.S. and South Korea.
She loves cats and enjoys hiking with friends.
Stacy Musgrave
Dr. Stacy Musgrave is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Cal Poly Pomona. Stacy completed her Ph.D. and M.S. in Mathematics at the University of Georgia, and her bachelors in mathematics at Cal State Long Beach.
Her research interests include developing models of how students and teachers engage in mathematical reasoning, and how to support future faculty at the college level.
In her free time, Stacy seeks out dog-friendly walking trails, live theater and coffee shops where she can read a good book.
Ulfa Idrus
Ulfa is a master's student in Mathematics Education at the University of Georgia. She has B.Ed. in Mathematics Education.
Before joining the master's program, she taught mathematics at a high school for 2 years in Indonesia.
She enjoys watching movies.
Halil Tasova
Dr. Halil Tasova is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at California State University-San Bernardino. Halil completed his Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of Georgia, and his M.S. and B.S. in Secondary Mathematics Education at Marmara University, Turkey.
His research focuses on how students think and learn mathematics via reasoning about varying quantities. He is particularly interested in exploring students’ construction and interpretation of graphs from quantitative and covariational reasoning perspectives.
He enjoys playing baglama (a Turkish musical instrument), eating Turkish food, gardening, fishing, riding bikes with his son and daughter.