Student Spotlight: Bryce Frederickson


Bryce Frederickson
Mathematics & Statistics
Contact: bryce.frederickson@aggiemail.usu.edu

 

Each year the Office of Research chooses a few of our many exemplary Undergraduate Research Fellows to be Spotlight Students. We interview these students to learn more about their experiences as researchers and as undergraduate students at USU.

Bryce Frederickson is a Mathematics student and has been recognized by both the College of Science and USU as 2019's Undergraduate Researcher of the Year, in addition to the national honor of being named a Goldwater Scholar. He has tutored or helped with six Math courses at USU, presented numerous times and has already been published twice!

About You

Q: What is your name and where are you from?

A: Bryce Frederickson, from Orem, UT

Q: What are your interests outside of school and your research?

A: Running, guitar, puzzles, hiking, basketball

Q: What is one fun fact about you?

A: I’m 6’4’’ and weigh 135 pounds.

Your Studies and Research

Q: What are you studying? What are your majors/minors?

A: Mathematics major, Computer Science minor

Q: When did you know what you wanted to study?

A: All my life. My older brother Adam is 11 years older than me. When he was in high school, he would always come home and show me the cool math he learned until it made sense to me.

Q: What led you to Utah State?

A: The research program and the Logan atmosphere

Q: What is the focus of your research?

A: Combinatorics and graph theory

Q: What is your favorite part of your research?

A: I love how it pulls in techniques and principles from so many branches of math, from statistics to complex analysis.

A Typical Day

Q: Describe a typical day in the lab/field.

A: I’m sitting in front of a white board somewhere, thinking. Sometimes there are other people thinking with me.

Q: What skills or expertise do you have/are you growing through your research?

A: Collaborating, academic writing, explaining complicated things in simple ways

Q: What is your favorite thing about Logan/Utah State?

A: Logan restaurants are pretty great.

Q: What has been a valuable USU resource for you and your research?

A: The URF program always does a great job of keeping me informed of opportunities that are available. The summer research orientation was especially helpful to me in making me aware of REU programs around the country.

Mentor

Q: Who is your mentor and what department are they in?

A: David Brown, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Q: How did they become your mentor?

A: I knocked on his door my first semester at USU and asked, “I hear you’ve been involved with undergraduate research. Do you have anything I could work on?” It worked out.

Q: What do you like about the collaboration process?

A: Success in mathematics, and I’m sure this is the same in just about any field, relies on being able to see things
from a variety of perspectives. Everyone brings something unique.

Q: What is one valuable thing that research has taught you?

A: If you put time into research, you’re sure to find something. In my case, I found my wife.

Do you have any advice for new research students here at Utah State?

Find out what your professors are up to outside of class. They’re pretty busy people, and from what I’ve seen, they love showing off their work. Don’t be afraid to ask.