Research in Mathematics

Tamar Avineri grew up just outside of Los Angeles, completing her bachelor's degree in applied mathematics at the University of California at San Diego and her master's in mathematics at the University of California at Los Angeles. Tamar moved to North Carolina in 2004 and began teaching at NCSSM that same year. In her 14 years on the mathematics and DEEP faculties, she has taught a variety of courses, including Precalculus and Modeling, Finite Mathematics, Calculus AB and BC, Modeling with Differential Equations, Graph Theory and Introduction to Proof, Combinatorics and Game Theory, Number Theory, and Multivariable Calculus. Tamar received National Board Certification in 2008 and completed her Ph.D. in mathematics education at North Carolina State University in 2016, focusing her research on professional development for mathematics teachers. She also became part of the 100kin10 Teacher Forum in 2019. Tamar is most passionate about teaching, working with students inside and outside of the classroom, learning from and collaborating with colleagues and other educators, and thinking hard about mathematics. She has co-developed and taught courses in Finite Mathematics and Multivariable Calculus for the Online Program and has taught students across North Carolina for a number of years through videoconference. Tamar served as the Mathematics Department's communications facilitator from 2016-2018 and currently serves as department coordinator. She has served as a member and officer of the Faculty Senate and on the school re-accreditation and Math Department curriculum review writing teams, and is currently a co-chair of the UNC Math Pathways Task Force.

Philip Benge joined the NCSSM Mathematics Department in August 2021 by way of the Mississippi School of Math and Science, where he taught AP Calculus, Multivariable Calculus, Cryptography, Linear Algebra, Math Modeling, and much more. He was awarded the honor of Teacher of the Year at MSMS in 2021 where he “[strove] to make the classroom an open, honest, judgment-free area where the students are welcome to ask questions whenever they please.” Philip has been active in the Mississippi Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools, leading sessions at their conferences over the past several years.