Eduardo Torres Dávila was born in Santa Rosa, California. He grew up in a Spanish speaking household so he always struggled with English at school. Because of this, he was drawn to mathematics from an early age. He went on to attend San Diego State University (SDSU) to pursue a degree in Applied Mathematics. During the Summer of 2019, Eduardo attended the MSRI Undergraduate Program (MSRI-UP) where he had the opportunity of meeting many talented mathematicians of color and learned that he wanted to earn his PhD in Mathematics.

Eduardo is now a third-year PhD student at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The first two years of his PhD program were very tough for Eduardo because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and because he did not know what area of math he wanted to pursue. At the start of his third year, he decided that he would pursue commutative algebra and algebraic geometry. He started working under his advisor Dr. Christine Berkesch and passed his oral exam at the end of Spring 2023.

Throughout his undergraduate career, Eduardo's main interest was in the field of combinatorics. Eduardo started doing research under Dr. Christopher O'Neill during his third year at SDSU and continued until he graduated. During this period, Eduardo made contributions to the study of Numerical Semigroups from a combinatorial and geometric lens.

To speak a little more on what Eduardo is currently doing, he is interested in the application of using differential operators to describe ideals of commutative rings. In terms of teaching, Eduardo was a teaching assistant for Calculus I at the University of Minnesota during Spring 2022. This was the first time he taught so he spent the majority of the semester figuring out his style and learning what worked best for his students. Eduardo is a proud co-leader of the Council for the Advancement of Underrepresented Scientists and Engineers (CAUSE).

‍

“Hispanic Heritage Month gives me a chance to focus on reconnecting with my culture and with my family. Nowadays, it's hard to step away from the day to day responsibilities that come about in trying to complete a PhD in mathematics. Therefore, it's really important to me that I spend time reflecting and reminding myself of where I come from by enjoying traditional food, immersing myself in the Hispanic community, and stepping back from work to enjoy time with my family. I am proud of my culture and my Mexican roots! ¡Viva México!”

‍