Alexander Iriza. Photo by Denise Applewhite
WHILE PRINCETON SENIOR Alexander Iriza, of Astoria, New York, credits his parents for sparking his interest in math — his mother gave him math workbooks when he was a toddler — that was merely “a nudge” in the right direction.
For his senior thesis, required of all Princeton undergraduates, Iriza worked with Yannis Kevrekidis, the Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor in Engineering, to examine specific data analysis techniques.
“The idea is to start with a dynamical system of many particles that interact with each other on the microscopic level,” Iriza explained. “It’s believed that many animal species in the wild operate in this way, with each organism having its own personal preferences but also reacting to the individuals in its vicinity. Then we seek to understand the often beautiful and complex behavior that emerges at the macroscopic level of the entire flock.”
Iriza was also a violinist in the University orchestra. His exceptional scholarship led to his being named salutatorian for the Class of 2014, delivering a speech in Latin at Commencement. Comparing the maturity and depth of Iriza’s work to that of a strong graduate student, or even a postdoc or colleague, Kevrekidis said: “His intellectual strength, his work ethic, his joy in discovery and thinking, [and] his own vision about research directions single him out among the wonderful students I have had the good fortune to work with in my 28 years in Princeton. I truly look forward to finding out what he will accomplish in his research life.”
–By Jamie Saxon
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