Author Archives: Matthew Simonson

About Matthew Simonson

I am a second-year Network Science doctoral student at Northeastern University in Boston. I model homophily and time-varying dynamics on social networks.

Hookups, Dating, and Markov Chains: Teaching Matrices so that Your Students Won’t Hate Them, Part III

Having taught your students how to visualize matrix multiplication and why performing this bizarre dance of arithmetic could help make society a better place, the next logical step might be to raise a matrix to a power, say, to help your … Continue reading

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Matrices and MLK Day

When I learned how to multiply matrices in 10th grade, my initial reaction was, “Why on earth would anyone ever want to do that?”  Compared to addition and subtraction, the rules of matrix multiplication seemed arbitrary and meaningless.  Alas, this … Continue reading

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Matrix Multiplication Made Easy

(or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Matrix, part I) For those of you charged with teaching a linear algebra course or still struggling to picture the complicated dance of mass arithmetic known as matrix multiplication, here’s … Continue reading

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Great Funding Opportunity for 1st & 2nd Year Students

From the Director of the Mathematics Division at the NSF: The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master’s and doctoral … Continue reading

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Fresh Beginnings

A new school year is upon us, bringing new classes to teach or to take, depending on your year, new classmates to mentor or intimidate, depending on your mood, and in the illustrious high-paying danger-and-intrigue-filled world of grad student math … Continue reading

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