Kellie J. MacPhee

Hello!

My name is Kellie MacPhee, and I am a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Mathematics Department at the University of Washington.

My academic interests are in optimization and variational analysis, with connections to data science and machine learning. I am also working towards the Advanced Data Science Option along with my Ph.D. In Summer 2018 I was a Data Science for Social Good Fellow at the University of Washington's eScience Institute, where I worked on a project exploring equity of access to summer educational resources.

Below you will find information about my contact info, research, teaching, and other activities. For more details, see my Linked In profile.

Contact Info

Email: kmacphee (at) uw (dot) edu
Office: Padelford C-018

Research

As mentioned above, my research interests are in optimization and variational analysis. My Ph.D. advisor is Professor Dmitriy Drusvyatskiy. If you are interested in optimization at the UW, I encourage you to check out the interdepartmental TOPS and CORE seminars, as well as the Machine Learning and Theory group seminars in CSE.

Publications

1. Stochastic model-based minimization under high-order growth, with D. Davis and D. Drusvyatskiy.
   arXiv preprint, 2018.
2. Subgradient methods for sharp weakly convex functions, with D. Davis, D. Drusvyatskiy, and C. Paquette.
   To appear in Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, 2018.
3. Foundations of gauge and perspective duality, with A.Y. Aravkin, J.V. Burke, D. Drusvyatskiy, and M.P. Friedlander.
   SIAM Journal on Optimization, 28(3), 2018.
4. Subtrees of graphs, with A. Chin, G. Gordon, and C. Vincent.
   Journal of Graph Theory, 2018.
5. Pick a Tree - Any Tree, with A. Chin, G. Gordon,and C. Vincent.
   American Mathematical Monthly, 122(5), May 2015.
   ★ Earned the MAA's Paul R. Halmos-Lester R. Ford Award (2016) for outstanding exposition.

Speaking

1. West Coast Optimization Meeting (WCOM); UBC Okanagan; Oct 6, 2018
2. SIAM Conference on Optimization; Vancouver, BC; May 2017
3. Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM); Baltimore, MD; Jan 2014 (with A. Chin and C. Vincent)
4. MAA MathFest; Hartford, CT; Aug 2013 (with A. Chin and C. Vincent)
5. WiMiN; Smith College, MA; Sept 2013

Teaching

Classes I have taught or TA'd at the UW

• Math 111 (TA; Winter 2015 and Autumn 2015)
• Math 112 (TA; Winter 2016 and Spring 2016)
• Math 124 (TA; Autumn 2014 and Autumn 2017)
  See a sample syllabus from the last time I was a TA for Math 124.
• Math 125 (TA; Spring 2015)
• Math 307 (Instructor; Spring 2017)

Other Teaching Experience

• Mathematics Instructor, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Summer Bridge Program at UW, Summer 2016

Other things I love

• Check out the UW Student Chapter of the Association for Women and Minorities in Mathematics.
• Check out the UW Women's Club Water Polo Team. For the past 3 years in a row (2016-2018), we won the Northwest Division and placed 7th at the CWPA Collegiate Club National Championships!
• Running and yoga
• Homemade sourdough bread
• This article on Why kids should use their fingers in math class, and more generally how important visual representations are for understanding mathematics.
• The "For All" Instagram Account, showcasing women and people from underrepresented groups who are mathematicians and computer scientists.
• Journeys of Women in Mathematics, a video about women mathematicians from all over the world.