Amanda Wilkens
Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Kansas

I am a Graduate Teaching Assistant at KU from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. I have two beautiful cat children, Rocky and Goose. As the eldest, Rocky has assisted me in creating course material. Some samples are posted below in the Teaching section.
I received my master's from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2013, in the area of geometric group theory. In 2010 I received my BS in Mathematics from Beloit College.
Here is my curriculum vitae.
Research
I work in ergodic theory. The entropy of a measure-preserving dynamical system is useful in solving many isomorphism problems in the field. I construct maps and isomorphisms between a variety of systems in my research, influenced by entropic results and restrictions. My methods pull from probability and symbolic dynamics. My advisors are Terry Soo and David Nualart.
Recent publications:
- Finitary isomorphisms of Poisson point processes (with Terry Soo). Annals of Probability, 47(5):3055-3081, 2019. doi:10.1214/18-AOP1332, arXiv:1805.04600.
- Equivariant thinning over a free group (with Terry Soo). Ergodic Theory and Dynamical Systems, 40(4):1057-1067, 2020. doi:10.1017/etds.2018.74, arXiv:1702.05168.
Teaching
I am the TA for Math 146 Honors Calculus II this semester. If you are a student, all course materials can be found in Blackboard.
Over the Summer 2020 semester I designed, created, and taught an online Calculus III course. Click on the following links to see samples of course materials.
- lecture notes on directional derivatives and optimization
- video solutions to exercises on arc length and vector fields, with Rocky
- Blackboard module screenshot
- Microsoft Teams discussion board screenshot
During the Fall 2019 semester I worked with Justin Lyle under Emily Witt to create active learning investigation modules for Honors Calculus II, described here.
Service and outreach
This year I am the Vice President of the KU Student Chapter of the AWM. We are hosting informal Zoom get-togethers for graduate students every other Friday. Email me if you would like to join!
I am a reviewer for Mathematical Reviews.
I am a Science Mentor for Frontiers for Young Minds. If you are, or know of someone (or a group), between the ages of eight and fifteen interested in potentially reviewing a math paper for the journal, feel free to contact me for more info.
Since 2016 I have led workshops for local fifth and sixth graders as part of Math Awareness Month at KU.
Last year I was a workshop facilitator for Jayhawks Give a Flock, a KU program for incoming students to increase bystander intervention and decrease sexual assault.
Contact information
awilkens@ku.edu | |
Office | 559 Snow Hall |
Office hours | See Blackboard. |
Note I am currently working from home! The best way to reach me is by email, which I check every weekday.