David Lingenbrink ’14 Awarded Math in Moscow Scholarship

David Lingenbrink ’14

David Lingenbrink ’14 has been awarded a $9,000 scholarship from the American Mathematical Society to study mathematics at the Independent University of Moscow.

The math major is the first Harvey Mudd College student to receive the prestigious scholarship to attend the Russian university’s semester-long Math in Moscow program.

Lingenbrink will begin his study abroad in January.

“I am very excited to learn mathematics from what I hear to be an entirely different school of thought,” said Lingenbrink. “In addition, the thought of traveling to a country that was off limits only 20 years ago is pretty cool.”

A small, elite institution focused primarily on mathematics, IUM was founded in 1991 by a group of well-known Russian research mathematicians, who now comprise the university’s academic council. Its Math in Moscow program was created in 2001 to provide foreign students (primarily from the United States, Canada and Europe) with a program in the Russian tradition, which emphasizes problem solving rather than memorizing theorems.The program’s instructors are internationally recognized research mathematicians, and all instruction is in English.

“The program gives students an enriching opportunity to work closely with other budding mathematicians from a wide variety of colleges and universities, all while experiencing an invigorating style of learning and teaching mathematics,” said Mike Orrison, associate professor of mathematics and faculty chair of HMC’s Study Abroad Committee. “David is a bright, thoughtful and inquisitive student. Given his personality, skills and drive, the sky’s the limit.”

Lingenbrink will reside in a student hostel in Moscow and travel by train to the university. His academic schedule will consist of three courses—Basic Representation Theory, Algebraic Geometry and Algebraic Number Theory—plus a class in Russian to supplement what he’s already gleaned from his Russian 1 course. He also plans to explore Moscow and the surrounding area.