Master’s Degree Student Taisiya Morozova Shared her Achievement and Plans

Taisiya, the Master Degree student of the Institute of Mathematics and IT and programmer of the Automation Systems Center of PetrSU, has been granted two scholarships from the Government of Russia and the Republic of Karelia. Now Taisiya is studying at the University of Umea where she majors in the theory of probability.

-          Taisiya, you are a holder of two scholarships. What does such high distinction mean to you?

-          Once I’ve been granted scholarships I realized that my scientific work has been recognized as successful, which I obviously was happy about. Moreover, such distinction increases the chances of being admitted to graduate programs which is my goal.

-          What does appeal to you in mathematics? Sporting interest to solve a problem or an opportunity to change daily life?

-          At school, I have enjoyed solving difficult problems. Over time, I realized that mathematics lies at the heart of impactful research in medicine, pattern recognition, queuing theory, so if you pursue mathematics you can contribute to one of these research areas. Now it occurs to me that perhaps I can achieve something of importance in the area of cancer research and early disease detection, but this involves many other people and several years of committed work by a team of scientists. In Umea, we study real gene data of cancer patients and construct models that allow forecasting the speed of disease development on the basis of gene analysis.

-          Please, tell us more about this project.

-          This is my first time working in this area. It was a group project: four students have been working on it within a course. We have received real gene data obtained at hospitals. The teacher of the course has said that Umeo implements many projects related to medical statistics and offered us to take part in more substantial projects in the future. Actually, today the combination of machine learning and medicine is one of the most prospective research areas in the world. This is due to the fact that these studies are related to diagnostics of grave diseases and the development of treatment aimed at the improvement of health.

-          We wish you luck in your complicated and very important endeavor. What do you think is special about a mathematician’s mind? Critical thinking?

-          I think it’s rather unorthodox thinking, yet at the same time, it is consistency and supportability of reasoning.

-          What is behind your interest in the theory of probability? What is the practical utility of your research?

-          At the Automation Systems Center, I work on the application of the theory of probability to queuing systems, perhaps we can increase their service quality, perhaps these models can be used in other systems. Anyway, the analysis of various queuing systems is quite important.

-          Please, explain this.

-          We study random processes and queuing systems. We construct a model of a system, analyze it and further model in a programming language to see how it will behave. Imagine that you call customer service, they do not answer your call as all the lines are busy. You wait for a minute or two, then end the call. Then you call again, and if after a while no one answers you again you decide that you will not be a client of this company anymore. In its turn, the company loses a client and revenue. What I’ve just described is called “queuing system with repeated calls”, our main area of research. We model this system and try to understand under which parameters it will be most efficient, i.e. have the least number of clients lost, at the same time the average waiting time for each client should also be minimal.

-          They say that the theory of probability is the mathematics of chance. Do you believe in destiny or is everything decided by chance? Is the role of chance in our life bigger than we think?

-          Yes, the theory of probability works with casual events, and this makes working in this area challenging. Still chance is conditional here, as in theory, every casual event has a cumulative distribution that allows calculating the probability of this event happening. In life, obviously, we do not always know the probability of an event, yet everything happens for a reason: if you roll the dice and get a six there was a reason for this, for instance, specific pressure and environment of the dice, molecules assembled in a certain way and everything happened as it did. I believe that everything in life is predetermined. By the way, this approach helps you to take your life easy and do not spend every second thinking “What if I am doing it wrong?” All will happen as it should happen. Still, of course, you shouldn’t take actions that are obviously wrong.  

-          Knowing the principles of this theory, can you make a prediction about your nearest future?

-          More or less, as many things that I am not aware of can happen. Most probably I will receive my Master's Degree diploma and perhaps enroll in graduate studies, considering my ambitions and participation in conferences.

-          Taisiya, you have spent half a year in Sweden already. How did you get there and do you enjoy studying?

-          I have long dreamed of studying in Sweden, I’ve learned the Swedish Language. The employees of the Department of International Programs of PetrSU told me that there are several options of exchange with Sweden. The courses in Umeo suited me best. I really enjoy studying, even though the courses are difficult. The university is enormous and very modern: each campus has kitchens, café, canteens, restrooms, and places to study, there are electronic or ordinary blackboards everywhere. What is unusual is that all exams are held in written form, and when a teacher checks your work he doesn’t know who the student is as instead of your name you write a code on the exam paper. I plan to study until summer, and as this is an exchange program the courses I pass here will be credited instead of the current courses at PetrSU. Nevertheless, I will defend my thesis at PetrSU.

-          Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, studying abroad, plans for graduate studies… How did you start doing research? Do you remember your first scientific result?

-          My desire to pursue science appeared while looking at my father Evsey Morozov, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of the Institute of Mathematics and Information Technologies of PetrSU. At first, it appealed to me that he takes part in so many conferences at Russian and international levels and I thought “I want to do this too”. Of course, now I understand that for this you have to work hard and that these trips are work and not leisure, and I like this. I’ve seen the earnest interest my father had in his tasks and eventually I too became engaged in research. My first scientific result is the paper I coauthored in my 3rd year of studying that was devoted to the analysis and modeling of a cluster for improvement of its efficiency. Later this work has become the basis of my thesis.

-          I know that you travel a lot and you have a collection of badges from scientific events in which you have taken part. Do you have time for hobbies?

I have already taken part in 8 conferences and visited Finland, Italy, and Belgium. Studies and research are the top priority for me, yet I like sports: volleyball, table tennis, badminton, snowboard, skiing, jogging, I go to a swimming pool and gym. Since my childhood I like drawing, now I mostly draw portraits of singers of my favorite rock groups and landscapes. I enjoy studying foreign languages: Italian, Swedish, and English.