CV

Curriculum vitae

Contact Information

Name Abel Okojunu
Professional Title Applied Mathematician
Email abelokojunu@gmail.com
Location Tallahassee, Florida 32306

Professional Summary

Applied and computational mathematician with interests in scientific computing, high-performance computing, machine learning, and AI.

Experience

  • 2023 - present

    Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    Graduate Teaching Assistant (Instructor of Record)
    Florida State University, Department of Mathematics
    Responsible for instruction, student mentoring, course content design, grading, and providing feedback on 50+ original problems for approximately 30 students each semester.
    • Calculus 3 (Spring & Fall 2025): multivariate calculus, vector analysis, optimization
    • Applied Linear Algebra I (Summer 2025): matrix algebra, eigenvalue analysis, least-squares optimization, numerical methods (LU, QR, SVD)
    • Calculus 1 (Spring & Fall 2024): differential & integral calculus, optimization, limit theory
    • Pre-Calculus (Summer & Fall 2023): function analysis, logarithmic/exponential modeling, algebraic geometry
  • 2024 - 2024

    Livermore, California, USA

    Graduate Research Intern
    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
    Summer graduate internship in computational methods for aerospace/aviation applications.
    • Developed an accelerated ODE technique using the Sherman-Morrison formula for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) modeling
    • Applied HPC techniques to computational methods for dynamical systems in an aerospace engineering context
    • Collaborated with interdisciplinary technical teams on algorithm development
  • 2022 - 2023

    Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    Graduate Research Assistant
    Florida State University, Department of Mathematics
    • Jet noise reduction, compressible flow, and gas dynamics research
  • 2021 - 2022

    Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    Graduate Teaching Assistant (Lab & Recitations)
    Florida State University, Department of Mathematics
    Organized recitations, graded coursework, and provided feedback to students.
    • Courses: Pre-Calculus, Business Calculus III
  • 2019 - 2019

    Ward 4, Unit 11, Ndi Etiti Nkporo, Ohafia L.G.A., Abia State, Nigeria

    Assistant Presiding Officer (APO 1)
    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
    Election duty officer for the 2019 Nigerian presidential election.
  • 2019 - 2019

    Nigeria

    Private Tutor (Mathematics), Part-time
    Private Tutoring
    • Tutored an undergraduate Computer Engineering student in college algebra
    • Customized problems to address the student’s conceptual gaps
  • 2018 - 2019

    Ohafia, Abia State, Nigeria

    Mathematics Tutor (National Youth Service Corps)
    Peniel Intellectual Academy
  • 2012 - 2014

    Nigeria

    Mathematics Tutor
    Faith Academy
    Instructor of record for primary school mathematics students.
  • 2018 - 2019

    Ohafia, Abia State, Nigeria

    Community Development Service (CDS) Member
    National Youth Service Corps -- Federal Road Safety Club, Ohafia (FRSC)
    Community development service component of Nigeria’s mandatory National Youth Service Corps program.

Education

  • - 2026

    Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    PhD
    Florida State University
    Applied & Computational Mathematics
    • Dissertation: Global Linear Stability Analysis of Capillary-Driven Interfacial Instability: A Jacobian-Free Approach
    • Expected completion: Fall 2026
  • - 2023

    Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    M.Sc.
    Florida State University
    Mathematics
  • 2013 - 2018

    Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria

    B.Sc.
    Federal University of Petroleum Resources
    Mathematics
    • B.Sc. Thesis: Higher Order Compact Finite Difference Schemes for Linear 2-point Boundary Value Problems

Awards

Publications

Skills

Scientific Computing & Programming (): MATLAB, Python, R, Julia, C++, FORTRAN
Symbolic & Optimization Software (): Maple, Mathematica, GAMS, GAP
Machine Learning (): scikit-learn, XGBoost, PyTorch, TensorFlow/Keras
Typesetting & Environments (): LaTeX, Typst, Windows, Linux

Languages

English : Fluent

Interests

Scientific Computing & Numerical Methods: High-Performance Computing, Uncertainty Quantification, Stiff ODE Solvers, Domain Decomposition
Machine Learning & AI: Physics-Informed Neural Networks, Bayesian Inference, Surrogate Modeling

Certificates

  • Applied Data Science with Python Specialization (5 courses) - Coursera -- University of Michigan ()
  • Statistics with R Specialization (5 courses) - Coursera -- Duke University ()
  • Julia Scientific Computing - Coursera -- University of Cape Town ()
  • Introduction to Programming in MATLAB - Coursera -- Vanderbilt University ()
  • Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Power BI - edX -- Microsoft ()
  • Data Science Ethics - Coursera -- University of Michigan ()

Projects

  • Sherman-Morrison-Accelerated ODE Solvers for Sustainable Aviation Modeling

    Applied the Sherman-Morrison formula to avoid re-factorizing a system matrix at every implicit-Euler time step in a rank-one, time-varying ODE system motivated by aircraft fuel-burn dynamics.

    • Reduced per-step cost from O(n^3) to O(n^2)
    • Validated against a naive refactor-every-step baseline
  • Stiff ODE Solvers and Stability Analysis

    Analyzed why explicit Runge-Kutta methods fail on stiff systems (Van der Pol oscillator) and benchmarked explicit vs. implicit (Radau) solver cost across a range of stiffness parameters.

    • Derived absolute-stability regions for forward/backward Euler from the Dahlquist test equation
  • Uncertainty Quantification via Polynomial Chaos Expansion

    Built a Legendre polynomial-chaos surrogate model and compared its spectral convergence against standard Monte Carlo sampling.

    • Matched machine-precision accuracy in ~15-20 evaluations vs. tens of thousands for Monte Carlo
  • Physics-Informed Neural Networks vs. Classical Solvers

    A quantitative, from-scratch comparison of a PINN against a classical adaptive ODE solver on a problem with a known closed-form solution.

    • Benchmarked accuracy and wall-clock cost against ground truth, not just against each other
  • HPC Domain Decomposition for Wave Propagation

    Implemented 1D domain decomposition with halo exchange for a 2D wave equation and verified bit-for-bit equivalence with a monolithic solve.

    • Analyzed scaling behavior via Amdahl’s Law and a weak-scaling communication-overhead model

References

  • Dr. Mark Sussman (PhD Supervisor)

    Department of Mathematics, Florida State University

  • Elizabeth Scott (Sr. Graduate Coordinator)

    Department of Mathematics, Florida State University

  • Dr. Courtney Simmons (G.T.A. Coordinator)

    Department of Mathematics, Florida State University