Cape Central senior to have math research published in professional journal

For Cape Girardeau Central High School senior Samuel Hwang, math was never a subject he had to suffer through in school.

Hwang, 18, will have a paper co-written by Southeast Missouri State University professor Daniel Daly published in the Missouri Journal of Mathematical Sciences this spring.

Daly and Hwang's paper, called "Equidistribution of the Major Index and Inversion Number for Fibonacci Compositions," is one of four papers the pair has worked on together. Others may be published in the future, Hwang said.

"I'm used to it by now, but it's still interesting," Hwang said of researching with a university professor. "It's kind of unreal, to be honest. I didn't expect to do this but I've had a lot of fun."

As a hobby for the past two years, Hwang and Daly have researched mathematical concepts together. They work with subjects ranging from bijections to Tribonacci compositions -- asking Hwang what any of that means only leads to more questions.

"It's simpler than it sounds, I promise," Hwang said.

Hwang and Daly met through Hwang's brother when Hwang was freshman in high school. His brother, Michael Hwang, researched with Daly before he left the area to attend Harvard University.

Hwang tagged along to one of their sessions one day and joined in on their research. He and Daly continue to work together.

"Math always clicked quickly for me, so it's something I've always enjoyed," Hwang said.

His parents always fostered his knowledge in the subject, Hwang added.

His mother gave Hwang and his siblings math books before they entered elementary school. The books tasked Hwang and his brother with simple addition problems, but they were enough to get them excited in the subject, Hwang said.

Hwang's math skills impressed teacher Jameson Kuper right off the bat. Kuper taught Hwang trigonometry -- a senior-level course -- when Hwang was in eighth grade.

"'Teach' is a strong word, though," Kuper said. "He was already beyond everything I could teach him at that point."

Hwang learned trigonometry on his own before taking Kuper's class. But Kuper did teach him a bit about statistics when he took his class as a high school freshman, Hwang said.

Though math has always been a creative outlet for him, Hwang said it won't be the focus of his studies in college. He said he's more interested in computer science at the moment, so math may stay as a minor.

Even though he's an 18-year-old with published research, Hwang stays humble.

"Despite the paper being published, it is not the most complicated topic to follow and comprehend," Hwang said. "This should not be thought of as a genius student working on never-before-seen huge projects, but as a regular high schooler who was lucky enough to meet a professor and research a comparatively simple topic."