João smiles for the camera with trees in the background

Where They’re Headed: João Pedro Carvalho ‘22

The math and linguistics double major will pursue a Ph.D. in math at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

What’s up next for João Pedro Carvalho, now that the math and linguistics double major has graduated from Haverford? More math. “I usually describe what I like doing as drawing little pictures and playing games on them,” said Carvalho. He will be studying algebraic combinatorics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, starting this fall. 

“I think I always imagined that I would maybe pursue this path, but I do think the good experience I had at the math department at Haverford consolidated that,” said Carvalho.  “One particular class I think really inspired me to go deeper in my explorations was ‘Algebra II.’”

Carvalho thanks his thesis advisor, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Elizabeth Milićević, for giving him a strong foundation in algebraic combinatorics that led him to his Ph.D. program. He selected Michigan due to the school’s postdoctoral opportunities and its strong group in algebraic combinatorics.

He is looking forward to a career in math, though he doesn’t yet know if he will want to stay in academia after getting his Ph.D. or work in data science or quantitative finance.

In the meantime, this summer, Carvalho will be working as a camp counselor in Maine at Canada/USA Mathcamp, which he attended in high school.

“Where They’re Headed” is a blog series reporting on the post-collegiate plans of recent Haverford graduates.