Amber L. Puha facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amber L. Puha
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| Born | |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (Ph.D., M.A.) University of California, San Diego (B.A.) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Probability theory Stochastic process Queueing theory |
| Institutions | California State University San Marcos |
| Thesis |
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| Doctoral advisor | Thomas M. Liggett |
Amber Lynn Puha is an American mathematician and teacher. She works at California State University San Marcos. She studies how chance and random events work, which is called probability theory and stochastic processes.
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Learning and Early Life
Amber Puha studied math at two big universities in California. She got her first degree (B.A.) from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 1993. Later, she earned her Ph.D. (a higher degree) in math from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1998. Her teacher for her Ph.D. was Thomas M. Liggett.
Her Work as a Professor
Amber Puha started teaching at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) in 1999. She became a full professor in 2010. Since 2021, she has been in charge of the Math Department at CSUSM.
Her main research is about stochastic networks. These are like systems where things happen randomly, such as people waiting in line (queues) or data flowing on the internet. She tries to understand and predict how these systems behave.
Helping the Math Community
Amber Puha has also helped the math community in many ways.
- From 2009 to 2011, she worked at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA. This institute helps mathematicians do important research.
- She was part of the main governing body for the American Mathematical Society from 2013 to 2015.
- She has also served on committees for other important math groups like INFORMS and the Institute for Mathematical Statistics.
- Since 2013, she has helped organize The Southern California Probability Symposium. This is an annual meeting where math experts talk about probability.
Since 2019, she has been an editor for a math journal called Mathematics of Operations Research. This means she helps decide which research papers get published.
Other Activities
Besides her math work, Amber Puha was the faculty advisor for the CSUSM Surf Team. She helped the team win two National Championships in 2009 and 2019. Because of her great coaching, she won the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) Coach of the Year award in 2019.
Awards and Honors
Amber Puha has received several awards for her work:
- 2007: INFORMS Applied Probability Society Best Publication Award. She shared this award with H. Christian Gromoll and Ruth J. Williams.
- 2009: Greater San Diego Area Mathematics Council Outstanding Post Secondary Mathematics Teacher. This award recognized her excellent teaching.
- 2015/2016: CSUSM Presidents Outstanding Faculty Award for Scholarship and Creative Activity. This was for her important research.
- 2019: National Scholastic Surfing Association Coach of the Year. This award was for her amazing work with the surf team.
