My name is Rafael Ceja Ayala and I am a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Arizona State University and will be working under the supervision of my mentor Dr. Malena Español. I will be teaching MAT 265 (Calculus for Engineers I) in Fall 2024. I graduated from the mathematics department at Purdue University with a PhD in Applied Mathematics. I am originally from Mexico but at the age of 14, my family and I moved to a small town in Northern California called Ukiah. I am proud to say that I am a product of hardworking immigrants.
At Purdue, I worked under the supervision of Dr. Isaac Harris. Before my journey at Purdue, I graduated from California State University, Sacramento where I studied Mathematics, Latin-American Literature and took some Photography courses.
I have always been passionate about the work that is yet to be done for minoritized students and students of color in mathematics. Through my research and teaching, I hope to make an impact in the mathematics community and also bridge the gap between minorities students and their access to higher education.