Ileana Vasu

Ileana Vasu was born in Bucharest, Romania, and came to the United States as a political refugee and immigrant while still in high school. Always exceling in mathematics and STEM, as a young immigrant, Vasu spent many years feeling isolated and yearning to be valued or even accepted. These experiences impacted Vasu's identity and stance for equity and inclusion.

Vasu has research interests including STEM education, implications for gender and marginalized student inclusion, promoting, researching and advancing culturally responsive teaching and mentoring, and promoting teaching with inquiry. Vasu led several NSF initiatives notable for their support of students traditionally underrepresented in STEM. They think a lot about teaching, and enjoy learning more discrete mathematics and combinatorics, topology, and the history and philosophy of mathematics. 

Vasu is one of the founders of the New England Community for Mathematics Inquiry in Teaching, NE-COMMIT, a community in New England advocating for active and inquiry-oriented teaching.  

Outside academia, Vasu likes being active outdoors, theater, literature and art.