Kasso Okoudjou

Kasso was born and raised in Benin (West Africa). Growing up, he dreamed of a career in Law or Diplomacy until a conversation with his father who is a philosopher by training, changed his plans. He then started contemplating a career in engineering or medicine. After graduating from high school with a Baccalaureate with a concentration in Mathematics and Physics, one of his best friends, Armel Kelome,  convinced him to Major in Mathematics. They both ended up graduating from Georgia Tech with a Ph.D. in Mathematics, having been recruited by Wilfrid Gangbo

He believes that everyone can succeed in mathematics and he strives to make the discipline less intimidating to his students. It pains him when students get discouraged to pursue a career in the mathematical sciences because of the widespread myth that makes them believe that they need to be a genius to be in the field. He urges undergraduate students with some inclination to Math, to focus on the long-term hard work so that they too can become a mathematician.