Ava Ahmadi

I'm a Mathematics undergraduate at UBC (BSc, expected 2027), working on transformer-based retrieval with Dr. Jian Zhu, specifically on Reason-ModernColBERT and neural retrieval systems, and on multilingual transformer mapping and cross-lingual representation alignment with Dr. Isabel Papadimitriou, both at UBC.

My interests span NLP, linear algebra, stochastic processes, optimization, and reinforcement learning, with a growing focus on responsible AI. I'm also drawn to quantitative finance: the mathematics of uncertainty, risk, and how rigorous modeling translates into real market decisions.

Alongside my research, I founded and lead the AWM chapter at UBC, the first undergraduate chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics at this institution, with a focus on building community, mentorship, and access for women across the mathematical sciences.