Pavel Etingof

Faculty Advisor

Pavel Etingof is Professor of Mathematics in the Mathematics Department at MIT. Pavel received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale University. Pavel’s research interests are noncommutative algebra, representation theory, and mathematical physics. Pavel led mathematics research programs for high school students at the Clay Mathematics Research Academy, the Research Science Institute (RSI), and SPUR at MIT. He co-founded MIT PRIMES program and has served as its Chief Research Advisor since 2010. Pavel’s students have won multiple top awards at national science competitions for high school students.

When Pavel isn’t doing math, he enjoys mycology and can be found identifying, collecting, and cooking mushrooms for fun(gi).

Slava Gerovitch

Academic Director

Slava Gerovitch is the Director of Research and Reading Programs in the Mathematics Department at MIT. He co-founded MIT PRIMES program in 2010 and directed RSI and SPUR programs since 2012, and DRP and UROP+ programs since 2014. His research interests include social and cultural history of mathematics, cybernetics, astronautics, and computing. His current research project is on the culture of abstract algebra in the second half of the twentieth century. Slava holds two doctoral degrees, in history and social study of science and technology from MIT and in philosophy of science from the Russian Academy of Sciences.

He has taught at MIT since 1999, but when nobody is watching, writes poetry!

John Urschel

Menezes Challenge Lecturer

John Urschel is an assistant professor in the MIT Math Department and a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. John received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from MIT. His research interests include graph theory, numerical analysis, and theoretical computer science. John has a passion for teaching and mentoring students, having supervised a number of research projects and directed reading programs for MIT undergraduates.

When John is not doing math, he likes to spend time with his two small children, play board games, play the guitar, and exercise occasionally.

Felix Gotti

Academic Coordinator

Felix Gotti is an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in the Mathematics Department at MIT. He earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley. His research primarily focuses on commutative algebra, semigroup theory, and algebraic combinatorics. 

Felix has mentored several high school and undergrad students in mathematical research in different programs, including REUs, MIT-UROP, and CrowdMath. He is proud to be part of MIT PRIMES, where he is a research mentor and the supervisor of the sophomore section.

Besides doing math, Felix likes to hang out with his friends, dance salsa, and play racquetball.

Enrico Colón

Program Director

Enrico is a Ph.D. student in the Harvard mathematics department interested in geometric topology. Before beginning graduate study, Enrico received an S.B. in mathematics from MIT.

Enrico has been returning to √mathroots as a residential counselor at since 2022, served as the Assistant Director in 2024, and participated in the program in 2018.

Outside of mathematics, Enrico can usually be found playing puzzle and city-building games or making/consuming music.

Paige Bright

Assistant Director

Paige is a M.Sc. student in the University of British Columbia’s mathematics department, and will be returning to MIT to pursue her Ph.D. in 2025. Before beginning graduate school, Paige received a S.B. in mathematics from MIT. Her main research interest is harmonic analysis. In the past, she has been a residential counselor and academic mentor for √mathroots and has mentored in MIT’s PRIMES Circle program. In her free time, Paige likes blogging and spending way too much time at coffee shops.