Abdullah Malik

Why FSU?

When I was first applying for schools, I was primarily looking to be a supervisee for someone who not only knew the tips, tricks, and tools of my area of interest, but also for someone who had the experience of working in three different worlds of pure mathematics, mathematical physics, and physical mathematics. My current supervisor has all these qualities, which is what pulled me to FSU. Another giant in this field, P. A. M. Dirac, has worked, walked, and spoken on this very campus. There's a bust of him by the Nobel Walk, a statue by the Dirac Library, and even a collection of his items. The Tallahassee weather was another added bonus. I would have been stupid to let all of this go by.

Motivation to pursue a graduate degree

Math is very alive and rich, and offers its jewels to those who seek it. I want to be one of those. I don't think I'm there, yet, and it might take a lifetime to get there, and it might seem Sisyphean, but that's okay, because the mere act of pushing up that stone is a reward in itself in math. When you're working through a labyrinth of ideas and tools, and come across some Minotaur of rigor, and slay it over and over again with different formulae, is immensely satisfying. A PhD is a sure way of continuing this epic journey.

Importance and impact of research

Machines have completely transformed not only our civilization, but also our humanity itself -- first with the Industrial Revolution, then with the Silicon Chip revolution, followed by Internet Revolution, and now with Machine Learning (ML). ML is famous for its black magic. It works, and in many cases we don't know why. My research focuses on marrying a combinatorial structure of math with ML. We're trying to get ML on steroids, but in a very tame and penetrable way.

Advice for prospective graduate students

Grad school is about how resilient you are. That means you'll almost certainly be testing your limits. Remember to pause and take deep breaths whenever you test the depth of different waters and swim in them. Be prepared to test with both feet.

Accomplishments during graduate career

I am a 2018 recipient of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. My proudest accomplishment is finding a balance between demands of my degree, family, and inner self. I learned how to work on cars! I mentored an undergrad and I participated in outreach programs.

Career aspirations

I think knowledge is humanity's heritage, and it deserves to be passed on. I have always planned on doing that, but the more I teach, the more I realize how much responsibility that entails, completely antagonistic to how nonchalantly I view myself. I see a crack being formed in these aspirations, and I no longer have a well-defined view of where I would like to see myself. Time will tell if I am up for this job that I really like.