About Me

 I'm Jessie Oehrlein. I am an assistant professor of mathematics at Fitchburg State University, where I mostly teach statistics and data analysis. I use POGIL and other inquiry-based methods as the core of my teaching. My research interests are in atmospheric science, particularly polar stratosphere-troposphere interaction, and scholarship of teaching & learning in math, stats, and computer science. You can find my CV here.

Before Fitchburg State, I previously taught math, statistics, and computer science at the undergraduate level at Columbia University and LaGuardia Community College, and I've taught K-12 students everything from combinatorics to Soviet ballet history through Art of Problem Solving, Wave Learning Festival, and Columbia/MIT Splash events.

My PhD work was advised by Prof. Lorenzo Polvani and Dr. Gabriel Chiodo at Columbia University. Prior to that, I graduated from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering with a degree in mechanical engineering.

In my free time, I enjoy ballet and modern dance, watching entirely too many sports, and riding roller coasters. As of January 2026, I have been on 256 roller coasters in four countries. My 250th was Underground at Adventureland, and my 50th wooden roller coaster was Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Over Georgia. I blog about math, atmospheric science, and teaching at Math In The Sky.