Dr. Ioana Mihaila is a full professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at California State Polytechnic University Pomona and a Fulbright Scholar at the Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Her teaching interests include real and complex analysis, topology, and combinatorics. She is interested in problem-solving and mathematical competitions.

Ioana received her PhD in mathematics from the University of New Hampshire. Her thesis was in complex and functional analysis, and she also received a minor in category theory. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from the University of Bucharest. Her interest in problem-solving developed while participating in the Math Olympiad as a student. As a faculty member, she has organized several math competitions, including MathCounts, and has coached students for the Putnam Exam, MathCounts, and others. She is a member of the American Mathematics Competition 10-12 editorial board and a grader for the Putnam and USA Math Olympiad competitions.

Ioana has published articles in the College Mathematics Journal, Mathematics Teacher, and others and submitted problems and solutions to various mathematics journals. In addition, she has directed student work that resulted in over 100 solutions to math problems submitted to various journals. She is an active reviewer for the College Mathematics Journal and MAA online.