University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

PhD in Mathematics, expected May 2021
M.S. in Mathematics, conferred May 2018

Kenyon College

Gambier, OH

B.A. in Mathematics and Physics, graduated cum laude May 2015
Minor in Philosophy, concentration in Scientific Computing

PhD Research in Knot Theory

University of Iowa, IA; 2018 - present

• Doctoral Advisor: Prof. Isabel Darcy.
• Developed a new tangle diagram notation using graph theory.
• Implemented programs in C/C++ to construct and classify tangles.
• Translated theoretical constructions to computational algorithms.
• Developed a web accessible database of tangles using HTML, PHP, and MySQL (www.nick-connolly.com/tangles).

NSF Research Internship with USACE Geospatial Research Laboratory

USACE GRL, Alexandria, VA; summer 2020

• Project Mentor: Charlotte Ellison.
• Participated through NSF-MSGI Program.
• Project Title: Structure Embedding for Heterogeneous Spatio-Temporal Data.
• Worked remotely for 10 weeks as a graduate student research intern.

• Developed graph theoretic approach to explore similarities between spatio-temporal trajectories with multi-modal attributes.
• Implemented community detection algorithms in Python.
• Presented final results at NSF-MSGI Summer Research Virtual Presentation.

Machine Learning Internship with UsideU

Tokyo, Japan; summer 2019

• Project Mentor: Dr. Alireza Goudarzi, Chief AI Officer at UsideU.
• Participated through ICC Consultant’s Internship in Japan program.
• Worked for 4 weeks on R&D at UsideU’s Tokyo office.

• Engaged in exploratory data science using Python.
• Analyzed patterns in time series data.
• Used AI to automate time intensive steps in workflow.
• Created a neural network to evaluate user data.
• Presented results at ACML 2019 poster session.

Data Science Internship with Ameren

Ameren Innovation Center, Champaign, IL; summer 2019

• Project Mentor: Dr. Gui Maia, Senior Data Scientist at Ameren.
• Participated through UIUC’s PI4-IMA Summer Internship Program.
• Completed 12 day computational workshop covering R and Python.
• Worked for 6 weeks as a Digital Intern with Ameren.

• Member of Ameren’s interdisciplinary Data Science Team.
• Headed project applying computer vision to parse PDF documents.
• Developed algorithm in Python to automate record keeping.
• Delivered internal presentation to Ameren engineers.

Kenyon Collete Capstone Project in Scientific Computing

Kenyon College, OH; spring 2015

• Collaborative project continuing research from preceding summer.
• Generalized search algorithms for linear codes using Magma.
• Discovered 62 new binary linear codes, now updated in the Online Database of Best Known Linear Codes (www.codetables.de/).
• Results published in Applicable Algebra in Engineering, Communication and Computing, August 2017.

Kenyon Summer Science Scholars Program

Kenyon College, OH; summer 2014

• Focused on the connection between coding theory and algebra.
• Implemented search algorithms for linear codes using Magma.
• Obtained 96 record breaking codes, now updated in the Online Database of Best Known Linear Codes (www.codetables.de/).
• Delivered contributed talk at the MAA MathFest 2014 conference.
• Results published in Advances in Mathematics of Communications, February 2017.

• N. Aydin, N. Connolly, and J. Murphree, “New binary linear codes from QC codes and an augmentation algorithm”, Applicable Algebra in Engineering, Communication and Computing, 28(4) 339-350, August 2017, DOI 10.1007/s00200-017-0327-x
• N. Aydin, N. Connolly, and M. Grassl, “Some results on the structure of constacyclic codes and new linear codes over GF(7) from quasi-twisted codes”, Advances in Mathematics of Communication, Vol 11(1), 2017, 245-258, DOI: 10.3934/amc.2017016

• N. Connolly and A. Goudarzi, “Using Artificial Intelligence to Automate Body Movement Analysis”, non-archival short paper included with accepted poster presentation at ACML2019 workshop on Statistics & Machine Learning Researchers in Japan
  (https://sites.google.com/view/statsmljapan19/accepted-posters)

Multi-Modal Community Detection with Multi-Weighted Graphs

NSF-MSGI Summer Research Virtual Presentation; August 2020

Constellations and an Algebraic Planar Diagram Code

University of Iowa Topology Seminar; December 2019

Using Artificial Intelligence to Automate Body Movement Analysis

Poster presentation at the Asian Conference on Machine Learning 2019 workshop on Statistics & Machine Learning Researchers in Japan; Nagoya, Japan; November 2019

Exploring Industry as a Pure Mathematician: My Summer as a Data Scientist

University of Iowa Mathematical Biology Seminar; September 2019

Describing Non-Algebraic Tangles with Graphs

Research presentation to department head and University of Iowa colleagues; April 2019

Tabulation and Classification of 2-String Tangles

University of Iowa comprehensive examination, Mathematical Biology Seminar, student run Topology Seminar, and the Graduate and Undergraduate Student Seminar; November 2018

Constructing Linear Codes with Record Breaking Parameters

MAA MathFest 2014 conference in Portland, OR; August 2014

Grader for MATH:5010: Abstract Algebra II (first year graduate course)
Spring 2019

Graduate teaching assistant in mathematics at the University of Iowa
2015 - present

• Fall 2020, MATH:1020: Elementary Functions (primary instructor)
• Spring 2020, MATH:1860: Calculus II
• Fall 2019, MATH:1850: Calculus I
• Spring 2019, MATH:1550: Calculus I (for engineering students)
• Fall 2018, MATH:1120: Logic of Arithmetic (college of education)
• Spring 2018, MATH:1010: Trigonometry (primary instructor)
• Fall 2017, MATH:1010: Trigonometry (primary instructor)
• Summer 2017, MATH:1050: College Algebra
• Spring 2017, MATH:1440: Precalculus (for pre-med students)
• Fall 2016, MATH:1340: Precalculus (for pre-business students)
• Spring 2016, MATH:1460: Calculus I (for pre-med students)
• Fall 2015, MATH:1340: Precalculus (for pre-business students)

General mathematics tutor at the University of Iowa
2015 - present

Volunteer in six iterations of LADS: Learning and Doing Science, a science outreach program for middle school students hosted at Kenyon College
2012 - 2015

• 2019 - present, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
• 2015 - present, American Mathematical Society
• 2014 - present, Mathematical Association of America
• 2013 - present, Sigma Pi Sigma physics honors society
• 2013 - present, Pi Mu Epsilon mathematics honors society
• 2015 - 2016, Sigma Xi scientific research honors society
• 2014 - 2015, American Physical Society

University of Iowa Outstanding Teaching Assitant Award, Spring 2020

Engaging Across Cultures professional development certificate, Fall 2019

Kenyon College Distinguished Academic Scholar, Spring 2015