Harvard Math Concentrator Katherine Tung Awarded 2025 AWM Schafer Prize
Katherine Tung ’25, a Harvard math concentrator, is one of three chosen recipients of the 35th annual Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) Alice T. Schafer Prizes for Excellence in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Woman. The prize was established in 1990 and is named for Alice T. Schafer (1915-2009)—one of the founders of AWM and its second president—who contributed greatly to women in mathematics throughout her career.
The AWM pointed to Tung’s history of original research, starting in high school when she participated in MIT’s PRIMES program and co-authored a paper that was published in the Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society. As an undergraduate, she’s taken part in research programs at the University of Minnesota Duluth and Northwestern University. Her work has resulted in two other publications, one of them a solo paper, and four preprints with her collaborators. Tung’s mentors have remarked on her deep passion for mathematics, and consider her coursework and research at a level comparable to that of a math graduate student. She has presented her work at the Joint Mathematics Meetings, at the Women in Mathematics in New England conference, and at RWTH Aachen University in Germany. Tung has taught abstract algebra to high school students from underprivileged and underrepresented groups, and served in a leadership role for Harvard’s Gender Inclusivity in Mathematics (GIIM) group.
“At Harvard, I am fortunate to be surrounded by talented undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and professors who have inspired me to become a better mathematician,” Tung said. She credited Dwight Parker Robinson Professor of Mathematics Lauren Williams for her unwavering support and frequent advice, Benjamin Peirce Fellow Colin Defant for his guidance and encouragement, Professor Laura DeMarco for her patient mentorship and probing questions, and Higgins Professor of Mathematics Joe Harris for his profound insights in algebraic geometry. Tung also thanked Charles Wang and Grant Barkley, who taught her through Harvard’s Directed Reading Program.
Tung shares the Schafer Prize with tahda queer at City University of New York (CUNY) and Marie-Hélène Tomé at Duke University. All three will be presented the prize at the 2025 Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) in Seattle, WA. Going forward, Tung is interested in pursuing a graduate degree and continuing in academia and research.
Read the full AWM announcement.