UNM students earn top honors at regional mathematics conference

A team of University of New Mexico undergraduate students earned top recognition at the 2026 Southwestern Undergraduate Mathematics Research Conference (SUnMaRC), held April 17-19 at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz.

UNM student Aldo Morelli won the individual Problem Contest, while the UNM team secured first place overall in the competition.

The UNM delegation included Whitney Abbott, Norman Boyd, Chayton Castruita, Ernesto Carrasco, Preston Carter, Jack Cerullo, Silvia Coffey, Brandon Gallegos, Nicolaas Koers and Morelli. Students participated in conference sessions and the Problem Contest, which challenges participants to apply mathematical concepts in a timed, competitive setting.

SUnMaRC brings together undergraduate students and faculty from across the Southwest for a weekend focused on mathematics research, collaboration and professional development. The conference provides opportunities for students to present research, attend peer presentations and engage with invited speakers.

This year's invited speakers represented a range of mathematical fields and research areas:

• Kathryn Bryant, a data scientist with a background in topology, whose work focuses on machine learning, statistics and artificial intelligence, including the mathematical foundations behind large language models.
• Kurt Herzinger, a professor at the United States Air Force Academy, whose research spans numerical semigroups and combinatorial game theory, connecting algebraic concepts to strategic gameplay.
• Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez, a professor at UCLA specializing in mathematical demography, whose research examines population health, aging and the limits of human life expectancy.

The conference also featured presentations from early-career researchers and scholars across multiple institutions, highlighting the breadth of contemporary mathematical research.

The conference is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation which helps fund programming and student participation.

For more information about SUnMaRC, visit sunmarc.org.