Naomi Sterlingsdottir ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY MELANIE AZAM WITH EMBRY‑RIDDLE’S NEWS TEAM Naomi Sterlingsdottir came to Embry‑Riddle to study astrophysics, but she also found a new passion — competitive sailing. The Palo Alto, California, senior’s success both on the water and in the classroom recently led to her being named to the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association of North America’s All-Academic Team. She is one of 188 student-athletes nationally named to the team that recognizes juniors and seniors who have participated in seven or more regattas and have a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Sailing isn’t the only additional interest Sterlingsdottir discovered while at Embry‑Riddle. Ultimately, she embarked on a new career path — data science — that allows her to use advanced mathematics, data analytics and statistics to analyze and solve complex problems in the real world. “I was enrolled in four math courses one semester and found I really enjoy mathematics and programming,” she said. In her junior year, she switched her major to Computational Mathematics, with minors in Applied Mathematics, Astrophysics and Applied Meteorology. Sterlingsdottir, who wants to earn a doctorate eventually, has worked on a variety of research projects, examining everything from cryptocurrency to voter data. She has presented her findings at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, Florida Undergraduate Research Conference and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Annual Meeting.
I was enrolled in four math courses one semester and found I really enjoy mathematics and programming. Naomi Sterlingsdottir Computational Mathematics
12 | College of Arts & Sciences
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