College of Education and Behavioral Sciences News

Zoe Brown, a mathematics graduate student from London, Ky., is the 2025-26 recipient of WKU’s John D. Minton Award.

Brown’s research has applications in structural and electrical engineering and focuses on the control and stabilization of systems consisting of interconnected vibrating cables or beams with point masses. Brown is earning a Master of Science degree in Mathematics with a concentration in Computational Mathematics through WKU’s Joint Undergraduate-Master’s Program (JUMP).

“The dynamics of these systems are described by hybrid PDE-ODE [Partial Differential Equations-Ordinary Differential Equations] systems, and my work analyzes the long-term dynamics of these systems under varying control designs. Once the dynamics of the original PDE-ODE model is understood, I design structure-preserving approximations of the models which preserve the long-term behavior of the original system,” Brown said. “This allows for more robust numerical simulations than standard approximation techniques, which often do not preserve the stability of the original PDE model.”

Brown said the primary goal of her research is to design controllers for these systems that guarantee rapid stabilization, which has applications in structural engineering, where these control designs can be used to suppress unwanted vibrations in physical systems. 

“For example, I've seen similar control designs used to prevent vibrations in the cables of a suspension bridge, the cable in a crane, the blades of a wind turbine and even certain components of spacecraft and robotics. In these examples, unwanted vibrations can prevent the proper functioning of the entire system, create dangerous conditions for people on or near the structure or cause damage to the structure itself. There are also applications in electrical engineering, where some of the control designs I've studied can be used to suppress surges in electrical current that can cause damage to electrical components,” Brown said.

Dr. Ahmet Özkan Özer, Associate Professor in the WKU Department of Mathematics, said Brown’s scholarship, impactful research, outstanding teaching and mentorship contributions exemplify the values of the top graduate award.

“As Zoe’s advisor, I can state without hesitation that she is the best graduate student I have ever supervised,” said Dr. Özer. “Across my years of mentoring undergraduate, master’s and doctoral-level researchers, I have not worked with another student who matches her combination of research productivity, mathematical maturity, scientific independence, computational sophistication, professionalism and consistency of excellence.”

Dr. Özer said Brown also provided outstanding teaching and mentorship, positively impacting undergraduate students in the field. 

“She has served as a highly effective Graduate Teaching Assistant in Calculus I, completed WKU’s Graduate Assistant Teaching Institute and earned the highest level of appreciation from students based on evaluations and feedback,” said Dr. Özer. “Within the research group, she has actively mentored undergraduate students and helped guide their computational and mathematical development.”

In addition to the Minton Award, Brown was named the Outstanding Graduate Student for the WKU Department of Mathematics and for the Ogden College of Science & Engineering. 

Dr. Lukun Zheng, Associate Professor of Statistics, said Brown has achieved remarkable success in research during her graduate studies. 

“She has already published four papers in top-tier (Q1) journals, with two additional papers conditionally accepted and several more currently under revision. Her research reflects a strong commitment to scholarly discovery and the ability to contribute meaningful advances to her field while integrating mathematical theory with broader applications,” said Dr. Zheng. “She exemplifies the scholarly excellence, dedication and impact that the John D. Minton Graduate Student Award seeks to recognize.”

Dr. Richard Schugart, Associate Professor of Mathematics, praised Brown’s strong work ethic in a letter of recommendation.

“Zoe is a conscientious, self-motivated student with a desire to learn outside of the classroom. Her research work is as strong as I’ve seen in 18 years at WKU. She has published multiple papers, two as first author,” Dr. Schugart said.

When Brown learned she was awarded the top graduate student honor, she said she was delighted to end her time at WKU on a high note and excited for the next chapter. 

After completing her master’s degree this summer, Brown will begin a Ph.D. program in Applied Mathematics at the Georgia Institute of Technology this fall, with full financial support and a Presidential Fellowship. Following her doctoral studies, she hopes to remain in academia and pursue a career as a professor.

Brown will be recognized as part of WKU’s Spring 2026 Commencement at 6:30 p.m. on May 7 at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. The Minton Award, the Graduate School’s top award, is named for Dr. John D. Minton, who was a history professor and WKU’s first graduate dean and served as vice president for Administrative Affairs and as WKU’s fifth president.

Outstanding Graduate Students

In addition to Brown, the following students were also recognized by Graduate Studies as Outstanding Graduate Students: 

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences: Keirsten Howard, Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology

College of Health and Human Services: Dylan Freeman, Master of Science in Kinesiology

Gordon Ford College of Business: Cody Moore, Master of Science in Cybersecurity Data Analytics

Potter College of Arts & Letters: Heather Neidlinger, Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

For more information on a graduate degree in Mathematics or WKU’s JUMP program in Mathematics, visit https://www.wku.edu/math/graduate. 

#WKUGrad series: As part of our #WKUGrad series, articles on graduating students are shared in the weeks leading up to Commencement. See all of their stories at https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=default&categoryid=799&multinewsid=187

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Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.