{"id":4,"date":"2022-11-02T18:09:55","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T18:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/zhanhu\/?page_id=4"},"modified":"2026-04-17T18:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T01:57:36","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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“We are all so much the same, yet each of us is a different individual. That is the Timeless Genius of Humanity.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ivan Z. Feng, “Timeless Genius of Humanity \u2014 See the Person, Not the Label<\/a>“<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Welcome to my homepage! (Click here<\/a> to enjoy the background music I chose for this page, sung by me.) My name is Ivan Feng, where Ivan is pronounced as “AI-vn,” and Feng is pronounced as “FENG.” My nom de plume is Ivan Mathman. I am currently a fourth-year math Ph.D. candidate<\/span>\u00a0at the Department of Mathematics.<\/p>\n

In the Spring 2026 semester, I’m serving as a Teaching Assistant (TA)<\/span> for Math 108 (Contemporary Precalculus) and 117 (Introduction to Mathematics for Business and Economics). For over 4 years as a TA, I am proud to have contributed to my department\u2019s reputation among my students with my passion for education. I excitedly display all my amazing students’ overwhelmingly positive teaching evaluations here<\/a>. For fellow TAs and teaching enthusiasts \u2014 this paper<\/a> I published captures the essence of what made my math teaching super easy to understand, and this article<\/a> reflects my experience of what made me a memorable and impactful TA. Any thoughts and insights are welcome!<\/em><\/p>\n

In this academic year, I’m serving as the President<\/span>\u00a0of Math DRP (Directed Reading Program)<\/a>. In the past two academic years (2023~2025), I also served as the Digital Director of MGSA (Mathematics Graduate Student Association)<\/a>, responsible for its website design and improvement; I held a firm commitment to the artistic stewardship of this website, consistently reflected in the entries of my Website Update Journal<\/a> on the MGSA homepage.<\/p>\n

I am a mathematics enthusiast<\/a>. My research interests can be found in the “Research<\/a>” tab in the top column. I believe the future of math lies in different thinking and intuitive taste. As a math researcher<\/span>, I’m committed to leaving my own mark upon modern math and propelling its development to the best of my ability.<\/p>\n

I am also an enthusiast in math education. Here are my Educator Statement<\/a> and “Teaching<\/a>” page on this website. I consider math education a form of artistic expression, a way to show my appreciation for the rest of humanity. Just as a painter enjoys painting and a writer enjoys writing, I enjoy teaching. As a math educator<\/span>, I’m committed to making math attractive and super easy to understand for the public.<\/p>\n

Speaking of artistic expression, I\u2019m an amateur actor<\/span><\/a>, voice actor<\/a><\/span>, and singer<\/span><\/a>, and I\u2019m building my presence as a distinctive and emotionally driven performer. I love it. I’m also a magician<\/span> who\u2019s been performing since I was 7; I know the fundamentals of magic, enjoy collecting professional magic props, and can perform hundreds of tricks. In addition, I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and am\u00a0a writer<\/span> and poet<\/span>\u00a0passionate about literature<\/a> and about reading and writing poetry<\/a>.\u00a0For example, this poem, “A Sonnet for Calc 3 Scholars<\/a>,” penned in November 2023, uses mathematics as the “language<\/a>” to articulate my emotional resonance and connections. Here’s the poem’s video<\/a>, complemented by a voiceover from Professor Emerson<\/a>. Likewise, this poem, “A Sonnet for Math 225 Scholars<\/a>,” penned in March 2024 (actaully on my birthday), is recorded by Professor Geske<\/a>; video here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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First published: Jan 26, 2021<\/em>
\nLast update: Apr 5, 2026<\/em><\/em><\/div>\n
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\u00a9 2026 Ivan Z. Feng. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n From Ivan\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n
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Recent posts and announcements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n \n

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Latest Updates<\/h3>\n \n
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