Abigail Raz

Assistant Professor, Mathematics

Dr. Abigail Raz earned her B.A. from Wellesley College in 2014 and her Ph.D. in mathematics from Rutgers University in 2019 under the direction of Jeff Kahn. Her research is focused in extremal and probabilistic combinatorics. Much of her work has dealt with analyzing thresholds for various classical properties in two different random graph models. 

In 2019 she became an Edith T. Hitz Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. During this time in addition to research and teaching she also served on the undergraduate activities committee, helping to organize, and run events for the UNL math club as well as the Association for Women in Mathematics chapter. She is also a member of the 2020 class of Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) fellows. Project NExT is a professional development program run by the Mathematical Association for America focusing on improving the teaching and learning of mathematics. Specifically, she is involved in the mastery based grading cohort and has been implementing this grading style into her courses for the past three semesters. 

“I am thrilled to be joining the Albert Nerken School of Engineering at The Cooper Union. I strongly believe in the commitment to quality education for all and am excited to enact that commitment through the department of mathematics. I am passionate about encouraging a growth mindset in all my students so that they leave my classes not only with greater mathematical knowledge but also an enriched confidence to pursue their goals. I look forward to working with the students to explore not only the use but also the beauty of modern mathematics.”

Related News

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.