Kseniya Garaschuk (born 1982) is a Belarusian Canadian mathematician and mathematics educator. She is an associate professor of mathematics and statistics at the

University of the Fraser Valley The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), formerly known as University College of the Fraser Valley and Fraser Valley College, is a public university with campuses in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, British Columbi ...

, and the editor-in-chief of the mathematics journal ''

Crux Mathematicorum ''Crux Mathematicorum'' is a scientific journal of mathematics published by the Canadian Mathematical Society. It contains mathematical problems for secondary school and undergraduate students. Its editor-in-chief is Kseniya Garaschuk. The journ ...

''.

Education and career

Garaschuk was born to a family of mathematicians in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, Belarus. She began studying mathematics and computer science at the

Belarusian State University The Belarusian State University (BSU) (, ; ) is a university in Minsk, Belarus. It was founded on October 30, 1921. The university was ranked 387th in the world in the 2023 QS World University Rankings. History 1919–1949 On February 25, 1919, ...

but after a year, when she was 18, moved with her parents to Canada. She took a

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educatio ...

to improve her English and then completed her undergraduate studies at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

, staying at Simon Fraser for an additional year to earn a master's degree for work in exponential sums in 2008. Next, she went to the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

for doctoral research in mathematics, in

combinatorial design Combinatorial design theory is the part of combinatorial mathematics that deals with the existence, construction and properties of systems of finite sets whose arrangements satisfy generalized concepts of ''balance'' and/or ''symmetry''. These co ...

theory. She completed her PhD in 2014; her dissertation, ''Linear methods for rational triangle decompositions'', was supervised by Peter Dukes. Finding herself isolated in her research work and more energized by teaching, Garaschuk took a postdoctoral fellowship in science education at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, under the university's Carl Weiman Science Education Initiative, before joining the faculty at the University of the Fraser Valley, in 2016. Her current research interests include examining effectiveness of various classroom and assessment practices in undergraduate mathematics. As well as her editorial work with ''

'', Garaschuk has been active in service to the

Canadian Mathematical Society The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS; French: ''Société mathématique du Canada'') is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to advancing mathematical research, outreach, scholarship and education in Canada. The Society se ...

(CMS) since 2008, as student committee chair, a member of the board of directors, in running mathematics camps and community mathematics events. She is a member of the CMS Education Committee and is a contributing editor of the CMS Education Notes.

Book

With

Andy Liu Andrew Chiang-Fung Liu ( zh, t=劉江楓, March 15, 1947—March 26, 2024) was a Canadian mathematician. He was a professor emeritus in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Alberta. Liu was born in Guangzh ...

, Garaschuk is coauthor of the book ''Grade Five Competition from the Leningrad Mathematical Olympiad, 1979–1992'' (Springer, 2020).

Recognition

In 2021, the

gave Garaschuk their Graham Wright Award for Distinguished Service, and named her as a fellow of the society. In 2018, Garaschuk won University of the Fraser Valley Faculty of Science Teaching Award. In 2020, she was awarded University of the Fraser Valley Faculty of Science Achievement Award for overall excellence in academic endeavours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garaschuk, Kseniya 1982 births Living people Belarusian emigrants to Canada Scientists from Minsk Canadian mathematicians Canadian women mathematicians Canadian mathematics educators Canadian women educators Simon Fraser University alumni University of Victoria alumni Academic staff of the University of the Fraser Valley