Bio: Noelle Sawyer is an assistant professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Her research lies in the intersections between dynamics, geometry and topology. She earned her bachelor's degree in math and history from Vassar College, and her PhD in math from Wesleyan University.

Noelle’s heart lies in finding and cultivating community. When she’s not working on math and teaching, she’s probably perfecting a zucchini bread recipe, devouring a book, drinking tea, picking up a new craft, tackling crossword puzzles, or being the world’s coolest auntie to her twin nieces. Born and raised in The Bahamas, Noelle carries her roots close to her heart and returns there often to soak up family time and the Bahamian sun.

Additional information can be found here.

Topics include:

It Takes a Village(r)
Mathematicians love discussing the beauty of math - its generalizations and abstractions and detailed descriptions of concepts. Yet, somehow, the same people who gleefully learn about highly technical theorems refuse to recognize and reckon with the way that they treat colleagues and students. We can decide to be different, both as mathematicians and as members of our wider communities. We know that it 'takes a village,' but do we know how to craft one? Do we know how to be in one? I plan for us to examine who is in our lives, who we are responsible for, and to think about adding to our community. We need a village to support us, but we also need to be villagers.

Embracing Hyperbolicity
What if straight lines aren't 'straight'? What if there was more than 360 degrees around a point? What if we get rid of even more of the rules of flat geometry? In this talk I will introduce a construction of hyperbolic space, talk about cone points, and explain what that has to do with some of my most recent research on flat surfaces with cone points.

Gentle Teaching
I've found that the more I lean into being gentle with my students and myself, the better my classes go. Gentle parenting focuses on children gaining skills and self awareness of their behavior. Is that not the same goal we have for our students? I'll talk about how aspects of gentle parenting strongly align with my teaching principles and methodology. I also want us all to consider how we can be gentle and effective instructors.