Dr. Lucas Quintero is an Instructor at the University of Colorado-Denver. Lucas was born in Oklahoma and raised in Colorado. In both places, Hispanic culture was minimally available, but a supportive community was able to be found in surrounding cities. As a child, Lucas found joys not just in patterns and studying mathematics, but also in teaching his friends and cohort, helping others to better understand mathematical theories. Lucas did not just enjoy understanding a mathematical topic, but also in understanding several methods to explain the topic, so that he might be able to better help his cohorts’ understanding.

Dr. Quintero completed his Bachelor's and Master's in Applied Mathematics at the Colorado School of Mines, then completed his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics under Dr. Pamela Cook studying Non-Newtonian Fluid Dynamics. During the pandemic years, Lucas spent time in New Orleans where he was able to engage with a larger Hispanic, in particular, a predominantly immigrant, population. The pandemic exposed to Lucas the gaps in education, especially the gap of accessibility of education, as not all students were not able to afford the cost to continue their education virtually. This inspired Lucas to refocus his mathematical work in education.

Lucas returned to Colorado and taught at the University of Colorado-Boulder, before working as a teaching post-doctoral fellow at the Colorado School of Mines under Dr. Gus Greivel and Dr. Rebecca Swanson. Lucas studied non-Newtonian Fluid Dynamics, which involved Stochastic Partial Differential Equations (a mix of Probability and Mathematical Modeling). This work has allowed for inter-disciplinary research. Under Professor Swanson, Lucas studied teaching pedagogy with a focus on alternative summative assessments. The work focused on alternative grading and promoting equitable education. This work resulted in better understanding of how to teach with equitable outcomes to students with diverse backgrounds. Lucas was able to take this study to implement changes in virtual teaching and coordination of courses to promote equitable learning outcomes for students of all different education backgrounds. Lucas continues to do pedagogical study in teaching mathematics, in particular in student mental wellness and long-term education/retention.

Outside of mathematics, Lucas enjoys tennis, rugby, and soccer as well as reading and hiking with his wife and two kids.

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