Dr. Alvaro Ortiz joined Georgia Gwinnett College in August 2019 as an assistant professor of mathematics. He obtained both his Bachelor’s (2007) and Master’s degrees in mathematics (2011) from Universidad del Valle, in Cali, Colombia where he was born, and a Doctoral degree in applied mathematics from University of Cincinnati (2019).

Initially, he was in love with the idea of outer space, so he decided to study differential geometry, which is used as a base by space physics. Later, he fell in love with the relationship between math and everything around us, so he shifted his focus to sharing that knowledge with others. He taught mathematics at the college level for six years before coming to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in applied mathematics.

As a teacher, Alvaro uses his experience in applied mathematics to introduce students into modeling solutions to problems, how and where mathematical concepts arise to meet a need and dispelling the misconception that math is not useful in our daily life, or is something that few are privileged to enjoy.