Math Professor is a Perfect Match

Parker welcomed a special visitor all the way from the University of Glasgow when Dr. Sofiat Olaosebikan spent two days with students discussing her work and research in designing algorithms to help matching programs.

Born in Lagos State in Nigeria, Dr. Olaosebikan developed a love for mathematics in high school and computing when she received a desktop device while waiting to enter a university. She continued her educational career studying mathematics and learning more about her passion for computing. Eventually, Dr. Olaosebikan moved to Glasgow in 2016 and started working on her PhD with a College of Science and Engineering Scholarship. She said, describing her current focus, “In a nutshell, my research involves employing tools from algorithmic graph theory to design efficient algorithms for matching problems. Examples include allocating kidneys to transplant patients or assigning junior doctors to hospitals.” Dr. Olaosebikan also explained that, while she loves solving these problems, she realized what she truly loves is passing on these skills to those who may not have had the same chances she did.

During her time on campus, Dr. Olaosebikan led two informational and engaging talks—first with 4th and 5th grade students, then at Morning Ex—discussing her research and showing its real-world applications. Students listened as Dr. Olaosebikan outlined her history, graph theory and the importance of these matching programs. Students at the Morning Ex tried their hand at these matching struggles when they worked to pair the characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice at a dance. Students had to work their way through the list of guests and try to match them to their first choice, and if that did not work, the students had to navigate the many connections and link them up in such a way that everyone was matched. The audience quickly grappled with the complexities that arise when each person has different first, second, third and fourth choices. Dr. Olaosebikan pointed out that this problem was with only a handful of people, but her work draws people from across the world, numbering in the hundreds of thousands or even millions.

Parker is extremely grateful to Dr. Olaosebikan for traveling to Chicago and sharing her personal story of growth and the complexities of using math in the real world.