Luka Mernik

Assistant Professor

The Faculty & Staff Directory is being updated and will be available in the near future.

Dr. Luka Mernik joined Florida Polytechnic University as an assistant professor in August 2024. Prior to this, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Oklahoma State University from 2021-2023, where he taught various math classes. He also taught classes at Columbus state Community College during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Mernik said he became interested in math during a high school Olympiad prep course in which he explored higher level topics and his eyes were opened to “the beauty and richness of mathematics.” He said he wants to share that excitement and appreciation of math with his students.

He is originally from Slovenia and moved to the United States in 2007 during his high school years. He is a lifelong tennis player, taking on some of the best players as an NCAA division 3 player in college.

When not in the classroom, Mernik loves going on walks with his cockapoo, Riemann. He also enjoys cooking and eating different cuisines.

Awards and Honors

Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award Finalist, Oklahoma State University, 2023
Phil Huneke Distinguished Graduate Teaching Associate Award, The Ohio State University, 2019
Tibor Rad´o Graduate Fellowship Award, The Ohio State University, 2014

Education

Ph.D. in Mathematics, The Ohio State University, 2020
M.S. in Mathematics, The Ohio State University, 2017
B.S. in Mathematics, California Institute of Technology, 2014

Expertise

Several Complex Variables
Complex Analysis and Geometry
Complex Dynamics, Fractals

Professional Activities

Member, American Mathematical Society (AMS)

Select Publications

Lebl J., Mernik L., On Segre degenerate Levi-flat Hypervarieties, https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.07259. Accepted for publication in Arkiv for Matematik
Mernik L., Local Plurisubharmonic Defining Functions on the Boundary, Pacific Journal of Mathematics, 2020, vol. 307-1, pp. 221–238. DOI: 10.2140/pjm.2020.307.221.
McNeal J. D., Mernik L., Regular Versus Singular Order of Contact on Pseudoconvex Hypersurfaces, The Journal of Geometric Analysis, 2018, 28,2653-2669 DOI: 10.1007/s12220-017-9926-9.
Cosper D. J., Houghton J., Mayer J. C., Mernik L., Olson J. W., Central strips of sibling leaves in laminations of the unit disk. Topology Proceedings, ISSN 0146-4124, 2016, vol. 48, pp. 69-100. arXiv:1408.0223.