Reggie, Connor and Ian Bain all double majored in mathematics and a field of science, and they’re all alumni of the University of South Carolina’s Honors College and the College of Arts and Sciences (Ian graduates in May) and Carolina Scholars. Each was named a Goldwater Scholar, which is considered the nation’s most prestigious undergraduate award for STEM majors.

Reggie graduated from the university in 2012 with a double major in math and physics. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics from Duke University and was an assistant professor of physics at the University of Houston for several years before returning to South Carolina to become an instructor at the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville.

Connor graduated in 2015 with dual degrees in computer science and mathematics. He is now a Ph.D. candidate in computer science and learning sciences at Northwestern University.

Ian exercised his musical interests as a member of the Marching Band and his intellectual interests with majors in math and chemistry, and he will begin a graduate program in chemistry in the fall.

There’s actually one thing more that Reggie, Connor and Ian have in common — and it’s something the Department of Mathematics is quite proud of, too. Their brother Quentin graduated magna cum laude from the university in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a slew of undergraduate mathematics awards. He's now a graduate student in the department. That makes a grand total of four Bain brothers to have earned degrees in Math major.