CMU student wins Gates Cambridge Scholarship
This month, senior mathematical sciences major Tomer Reiter was selected to study at the University of Cambridge in England as a 2015 recipient of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, one of the most prestigious international scholarships.
The Gates Cambridge Scholarships program was established in 2000 by a donation of 210 million dollars to the University of Cambridge from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest single donation to any university in the United Kingdom. Students are selected based on their outstanding intellectual ability, leadership potential, and commitment to improving the lives of others. Students awarded this scholarship study a vast range of subjects at the University of Cambridge, and alumni of the program take on leadership roles and apply their knowledge and skills to better the lives of others.
Reiter is the second Carnegie Mellon student to receive a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. “Carnegie Mellon seemed like a great place to be if you wanted to do mathematics. After I got here, I found that this was definitely the case,” Reiter said in an interview with Jocelyn Duffy, Director of Media Relations at the Mellon College of Science. “Math is beautiful. One of the most satisfying things is when you have a strong intuition about why a statement should be true, and you finally find a proof,” Reiter said. “Carnegie Mellon has taught me how to tackle those difficult problems.”
At Cambridge, Reiter will complete a one-year course called “Part III of the Mathematical Tripos” to obtain a Master of Advanced Study degree in pure mathematics. Afterward, Reiter plans on returning to the United States to pursue a doctoral degree in mathematics.
Reiter, who was born in Israel and raised in Newton, Mass., discovered his love of mathematics while attending the Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS). PROMYS is a six-week summer program in Boston where high school students learn about mathematics, specifically number theory.
“I found my passion for number theory and mathematics at PROMYS. I returned as a counselor and eventually served as head counselor. Through this I realized how excited I am to mentor and teach mathematics,” Reiter said in his scholarship profile. “At Carnegie Mellon University, I completed a major in mathematics and minor in computer science, further fueling my interest in mathematics and mentoring.”
Reiter hopes to one day become a professor. “All the while, I hope to make contributions through teaching and mentoring, just as PROMYS has made an impact on me,” Reiter said.
Along with completing a major in mathematics and a minor in computer science, Reiter is a former president and former philanthropy chair of Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, studies Japanese, and is a part of the Math Club.