Orsola Capovilla-Searle '15, who double majored in math and physics and was a Mellon Mays Fellow at Bryn Mawr, has received a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship to work with Roger Casals at U.C. Davis.
Orsola, who is from Cuernavaca, Mexico, plans to graduate this spring from Duke University with a Ph.D. in mathematics.
Professor of Mathematics Lisa Traynor was Orsola's undergraduate thesis adviser and introduced her to her current research interests of symplectic, contact, and low-dimensional topology.
Orsola and Traynor have recently collaborated with four other mathematicians—Maylis Limouzineau, Noemi Legout, Yu Pan and Emmy Murphy—on research presented at a Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences Institute conference.
"Our collaboration started in 2019 when I had the opportunity to join Lisa Traynor's group at a research conference called Women in Geometry II hosted in Oaxaca, Mexico," says Orsola. "Fun fact, one of the organizers of this conference, Catherine Searle, is also a Bryn Mawr alum and happens to also be my mom."
During her senior year at Bryn Mawr, Orsola received the Graduate National Science Foundation Fellowship, which funded three years of her graduate studies.
"Studying at BMC has had a large positive impact on my life and career. I was encouraged and supported by the Mathematics and Physics departments to pursue my interests and learn about research. I really enjoyed working with my classmates and with my undergraduate adviser Prof Traynor. I was also extremely fortunate to meet lifelong friends on campus and to become part of an amazing community within Mujeres, MMUF, and Perry House."—Orsola Capovilla-Searle '15
The Math Department at Bryn Mawr is a vibrant and supportive community with a program that has been nationally recognized by the American Mathematical Society.