My name is Nicholas Gaubatz. I am a Mathematics PhD student at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.

I grew up in Illinois, and I have always been interested in math, video games, and music. I have played the piano since age 7 and the organ since age 13, and I dabble in the guitar and violin. I used to professionally play the piano and organ at various Catholic churches in my home area until the pandemic hit. My absolute favorite composer is Chopin. In high school, my favorite organizations were the math team, scholar bowl, band/choir, and the golf team. Additionally, my favorite video games are Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and God of War.

I attended undergrad at Murray State University in Murray, KY, where I majored in mathematics and minored in computer science. I participated heavily in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics and various student organizations over my four years, and I also served as an RA my senior year. I held one of Murray State’s Presidential Fellowships, a full-ride scholarship. My undergraduate career culminated in my award of Outstanding Senior Man, and I was able to give a valediction at the May 2022 Commencement ceremony. My speech can be found here.

I am currently in my second year in my PhD program at Auburn University, where I have been named a Presidential Graduate Research Fellow. I have passed the Algebra, Graph Theory, and Probability preliminary exams, and I am in the process of finishing my last prelim sequence in Algebraic Topology. A list of my graduate coursework can be found here. I am still somewhat undecided about what field of mathematics I want to go into, but I have really enjoyed getting introduced to Ideals, Varieties, and Algorithms by Cox, Little, and O’Shea in a reading course in Summer 2023. I plan to further investigate algebraic geometry and also dive into algebraic topology this academic year. I am also dipping my toes into Data Science in Fall 2023.

Please feel free to browse some of my research writings and experiences.