Senior wins Churchill Scholarship

Alpoge 14 to pursue graduate study at the University of Cambridge

April 15, 2014

By Stephanie Kacoyanis, Harvard Correspondent

hen he first arrived on campus from his native Long Island, N.Y., Harvard

senior Levent Alpoge debated between two concentrations: computer science and
mathematics.
The debate ended when Alpoge took Math 55 during his freshman year. That one class
convinced him that the mathematics facultys teaching was inspired.
One thing thats really cool about Harvard is that professors take a significant interest
in helping undergraduates learn mathematics, he said. Theyre into teaching, and
teaching is their passion.

Now his decision is paying an exciting dividend, and taking him from one Cambridge to
another.
Alpoge was recently named a Churchill Scholar and will spend next year at theUniversity
of Cambridge. There, he will complete Part III of the universitysMathematical
Tripos and conduct research in analytic number theory, which will earn him a master of
advanced study in mathematics.
Alpoge decided to apply for the scholarship after his friend and fellow Quincy House
resident Tony Feng 13 won it last year.
This opportunity really couldnt have come at a more ideal time, Alpoge said. The
U.K. is currently producing some excellent mathematical research. There are a lot of
breakthroughs coming out of Cambridge and Oxford right now, especially in the field of
analytic number theory.
There are other benefits, too.
Ive never been to the U.K. for an extended period of time, he said. Im looking
forward to traveling around Europe, especially visiting my relatives in Turkey.
At Harvard, Alpoge is active as a course assistant for Math 55 and teaches 8- to 10-yearolds in the Harvard Math Circle program. He is co-editor in chief of theHarvard College
Mathematics Review and has been a member of the Harvard Computing Contest
Club team throughout his College career. His interests are not limited to mathematics,
however: He enjoys soccer and is also an avid runner, completing his first marathon last
November.
In addition to the Churchill Scholarship, Alpoge won the Detur Book Prize, an award
given to Harvard sophomores who achieved high academic standing as freshmen, was
named a Goldwater Scholar, a John Harvard Scholar, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
First awarded in 1963, the Churchill Scholarships were created to encourage American
students to spend a year studying in the U.K. Each year, the program provides 14
American scholars with funding for a year of postgraduate study in engineering,
mathematics, or the sciences at Churchill College, University of Cambridge. In addition
to covering academic costs, the scholarship funds each students travel, housing, and
visa expenses.