John Samuel Sterling
Mathematics Ph.D. Student at Purdue University
Research Interests: Algebraic topology, Vietoris-Rips and Čech complexes, persistent homology, and combinatorial topology.
Academic Employment
2025–present
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN
Purdue University
Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant
West Lafayette, IN
2023–2025
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Auburn University
Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant
Auburn, AL
2024–2024
UAH RSESC
Huntsville, AL
UAH RSESC
Research Associate I, Step I
Huntsville, AL
Developed large scale SysML models for financial optimization.
Education
2025–present
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN
Purdue University
PhD in Mathematics
West Lafayette, IN
2023–2025
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Auburn University
M.S. in Mathematics
Auburn, AL
Advised by Ziqin Feng.
Thesis: “Vietoris-Rips Complexes of Torus Grids”.
GPA: 4.0
2022
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Huntsville, AL
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
B.S. in Mathematics
Huntsville, AL
GPA: 4.0, summa cum laude
Papers [Interactive Version]
Publication
P1
Vietoris-Rips Complexes of Torus Grids
Henry Adams,
Adenike Y. Adetowubo,
Hector Barriga-Acosta,
Ziqin Feng,
John Sterling
.
Mediterranean Journal of Mathematics, 2025.
Thesis
Talks [Interactive Version]
Seminar
Strategies for Teaching Precalculus
—
Auburn GTA Teaching Seminar
, Auburn, AL
Vietoris--Rips Complexes of Torus Grids
—
Auburn University
, Auburn, AL
Combinatorial Laplacians
—
Auburn Student Research Seminar
, Auburn, AL
Teaching
Summer 2026
MATH 19000: Foundations of College Math
Purdue University
MATH 19000: Foundations of College Math
Instructor
Purdue University
Spring 2026
MATH 261: Calculus III
Purdue University
MATH 261: Calculus III
Recitation Leader
Purdue University
Fall 2025
MATH 261: Calculus III
Purdue University
MATH 261: Calculus III
Recitation Leader
Purdue University
Spring 2025
MATH 1610: Calculus I
Auburn University
MATH 1610: Calculus I
Recitation Leader
Auburn University
Fall 2024
MATH 1000: College Algebra
Auburn University
MATH 1000: College Algebra
Instructor
Auburn University
Spring 2024
MATH 2660: Linear Algebra
Auburn University
MATH 2660: Linear Algebra
Teaching Assistant
Auburn University
Fall 2023
MATH 1120: Precalculus Algebra
Auburn University
MATH 1120: Precalculus Algebra
Teaching Assistant
Auburn University
Awards & Grants
2018-2022
President's List
, UAH
2018
Undergraduate Astronomy Award
Service & Outreach
Spring 2026
Mentor at Purdue Mathematics Directed Reading Program
West Lafayette, IN
•
Student:
Alperen Uraz Tasci
·
Slides
•
Focused on conformal mappings, particularly the Schwarz-Christoffel Mapping.
Fall 2025, Spring 2026
Mentor at Purdue Mathematics Directed Reading Program
West Lafayette, IN
•
Student:
Dhruv Jain
·
Slides
•
Focused on Elementary Algebraic Topology and Topological Data Analysis.
Fall 2024
Mentor at Auburn Mathematics Directed Reading Program
Auburn, AL
•
Focused on advanced linear algebra.
Spring 2024
Judge at Alabama Science and Engineering Fair
Auburn, AL
2022
Co-organizer at UAH Putnam Club
Huntsville, AL
2018–2020