Tim Novikoff

Academic

I'm a PhD student at the Center for Applied Mathematics at Cornell University.

The goal of my research is to develop algorithmic education theory. Personalized educational software will one day gather data generated by the student using the software, fit the data to a mathematical model of a student, and then adjust the algorithms that drive the software so that they are tailored to the model student.

Before educational software can reach its full potential, mathematical models of students and the educational process must be developed. Also, a mathematical theory of educational algorithms must exist in order to aid in the design and analysis of personalizable versions of these algorithms. Furthermore, mathematical models must be developed to underpin new data analysis techniques for measuring the effectiveness of educational software algorithms based on the usage data for the software.

Thus the goal of my research is to develop the mathematical models and theory that will provide the tools, techniques and intuitions to make the next generation of educational software possible. Some of the methods that we have developed are general and have potential applications far beyond educational software.

Work on algorithmic education theory is being done in collaboration with Steve Strogatz and Jon Kleinberg. It is funded in part by an NSF graduate research fellowship.

Publications

• T. Novikoff, J. Kleinberg, S. Strogatz Education of a Model Student PNAS (2012)

• S. Miller, T. Novikoff, A. Sabelli, The Distribution of the Largest Non-trivial Eigenvalues in Families of Random Regular Graphs Experimental Mathematics (2008)

About Me

Before coming to graduate school I worked as a teacher at Stuyvesant High School for 4 years. At various times in my life I've pursued passions in acting, software development, entrepreneurship, travel and writing. Some links pertaining to these pursuits can be found below.

Software Development and Entrepreneurship

• In 2008 I founded Flash of Genius LLC in order to sell the iPhone app Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab, which was downloaded over 50,000 times.

• In 2009 Flash of Genius launched an Android version of Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab, which became a Top 10 Finalist in Google's Android Developer's Challenge.

• In 2012 I co-founded Vantageous Video Inc. as CEO. We were a finalist at Y Combinator and joined DreamIt in NYC in May 2012.

Teaching

• I made mathematical animations and videos as a teacher, including this one about the circumcenter of a triangle.

• The class of 2007 at Stuyvesant High School elected me to give their faculty graduation speech.

• In Fall 2012 I will be teaching Introduction to iPhone App Development at Cornell University.

Travel

• I've gone backpacking or bicycling in many places, including (in roughly chronological order) Italy, Croatia, Alaska, Morocco, Panama, Japan, China, Peru, Kenya, Tanzania, and Costa Rica.

Writing

• The Nose Job Jew is a short film I made in 2002. I co-wrote the screenplay, and I also play the main character.

• The book iPhone User Interface Design Projects, published in 2009, included a chapter that I wrote about the user interface design of the iPhone app Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab.

• I contributed the first part of this Op-Ed, which was published in The New York Times in 2010.