Public, the Lectures WU Mathematics Professor and Host of Were a Series of Four Talks Held Oct
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Department of Mathematics Newsletter www.math.wustl.edu 2008 MATHEMATICS – A Message of Appreciation To 2009 Professor Edward N. Wilson HE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY accomplished mathematician, Ed helped T of May 16, 2008 was a day of great to facilitate a celebration of enormous celebration for Washington University. scale involving complex details and never- Friends and families gathered together in the ending minutiae–making an intricate Quadrangle on a glorious spring morning to process appear effortless to the outside celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of observer. He would take careful notes each our graduates. In a time-honored tradition year following the ceremony and make rich with symbolism and great optimism for needed changes for subsequent Prof. Edward N. Wilson Retires As Grand Marshal for Commencement the future, new graduates of Washington commencements. And he accomplished the 1995-2008 University listened to the insights provided impossible in St. Louis–Ed presided over 13 “With the skills of an accomplished by the day’s speakers and received May Commencement Exercises and mathematician, Ed helped to facilitate commendation and congratulations from our somehow managed to keep inclement a celebration of enormous scale...” trustees, faculty, and administration. weather at bay. Commencement is a time when we not Professor Wilson now becomes an In This Issue: only celebrate the past, but also look ahead alumnus of a fellowship of valuable LETTER FROM THE CHAIR ...............2-3 to a promising future. It is the end of one Washington University leaders–those who FACULTY SPOT....................................5-10 era, and the beginning of a new one. For have borne the important responsibility of ROEVER LECTURES………......….…4, 6 Washington University, on May 16, 2008, serving as Grand Marshal for ROCHFEST…………………........…..8-9 another significant era came to a quiet close. Commencement. On behalf of all of us at MATHEMATICS AROUND Edward N. Wilson, distinguished Professor Washington University, I extend my most THE WORLD......................................10-11 of Mathematics, after over a decade of heartfelt thanks to you, Professor Wilson, GRADUATES……………..….........12-13 service, stepped down from his post as the for serving your University and our UNDERGRADUATES……….….. 14-15 Grand Marshal for Commencement. graduates. It is in large part due to your ALUMNI ……………...…..….………16 Most will remember Ed for his great skill steadfast dedication and commitment that STAFF……………………….….…….16 as a facilitator and orator. His deep, clear, each of those graduates will remember their MATH/TEACHER CIRCLES….…..18-19 baritone voice presided over the Commencement as the perfect conclusion to MATH LIBRARY………………….….18 Commencement Ceremonies of thousands of their time at Washington University. COLLOQUIA………………….….20-21 Washington University Alumni. But it was his LOVE & MATH...….……….……...22-23 strong leadership behind the scenes for which Mark S. Wrighton Chancellor PHOTOS……...2, 4-6, 8-9, 12-19, 22-23 I am most grateful. With the skills of an Letter from the Chair league Richard Rochberg on his 65th of Utah, Lina Lee (Krantz), who took birthday. It was a remarkable success, a position at University of Michigan, featuring 16 principal speakers and and Bo Zhao (Weaver). We also had attracting 80 participants, including a 41 graduating math majors. large number of our former graduate After quite an ordeal we were students. We congratulate Richard, and joined in fall 2007 by Roya Beheshti, thank John McCarthy and Al Baern- who works in the field of Algebraic stein, as well as former students Nicola Geometry. When the fall semester Arcozzi (University of Bologna) and began Roya was stranded in Canada Zhijian Wu (University of Alabama) awaiting the approval of her visa. She for their roles as co-organizers. was not able to join us until well into David L. Wright Chair, Mathematics Department During 2007-2008 we were joined October, so the Algebraic Geometry by Stefan Richter from the University class Roya was slated to teach had to ELCOME TO THE 2008-2009 of Tennessee, who collaborated with be covered first by me then by Mohan W academic year. A number of Richard Rochberg and John McCarthy, Kumar. We welcome Roya into our satisfying events have graced and by Marcus Sundhall, a 2006 Ph.D. ranks. our 2007-2008 year. The Fall 2007 from Gothenburg University in Swe- Congratulations go to John Roever Lectures consisted of a series den, who worked primarily with Rich- Shareshian who was promoted to the of wonderfully lucid talks by John ard. We also had numerous short-term rank of full Professor in a case that Morgan (Columbia) and Gang Tian visiting researchers: Eugenio Hernan- soared through the Dean's committee. (Princeton) speaking on the recent dez (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, John is certainly one of our best teach- solution by Perelman of the Poincaré Spain) and Marco Peloso (Politécnico ers and researchers, a fine colleague, Conjecture. The Spring 2008 Roever di Torino, Italy) working with Guido and graduate student advisor. Lecture was given by Yakov Eli- Weiss and Ed Wilson; Emilio Musso Russ Woodroofe became our new ashberg (Stanford) in honor of Profes- (Università di L'Aquila, Italy), Lorenzo Chauvenet Instructor this fall. Russ is sor Emeritus Bill Boothby on his 90th Nicolodi (Università di Parma, Italy), a 2005 graduate of Cornell who then birthday. The Taibleson Lecture was Rodrigo Montes (Universidade Federal spent two years in Qatar. He is by now given by the venerable Elias Stein da Paraíba, Brazil), all working with a familiar face around the department, (Princeton). Funds were received from Gary Jensen; Baoxue Zhang since he joined us as a visitor in the our dean for two joint colloquia be- (Laboratory for Applied Statistics of spring of this last school year. Russ is tween our department and the School MOE, China) working with Nan Lin; a combinatorialist and group theorist of Engineering. They were organized and Artur Nicolau (Universitat and will be working primarily with by Victor Wickerhauser, Al Baern- Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain) work- John Shareshian. We regret the early stein, and Eliot Fried (who had a cour- ing with Al Baernstein. tesy appointment with us) of Mechani- departure of Joost Berson, who We graduated four Ph.D.s: Brian cal, Aerospace & Structural Engineer- needed to join his wife Susan in The Maurizi (McCarthy), who is now Sen- ing. Netherlands. They are expecting their ior Quantitative Analyst for Ameren first child very soon. Joost's stay here The Rochfest Conference, spon- U.E. in St. Louis, Jeffrey Blanchard was very productive, nonetheless, and sored by Washington University and (Weiss & Wilson), who became VI- quite beneficial to me personally. the NSF, was held in honor our col- GRE Postdoctoral Fellow, University We were briefly joined again in 2 Letter from the Chair (Continued from previous page) the fall by Eugenio Hernandez, of Such meetings can be rather arid but I Once again Gary Jensen conducted Madrid, who received his Ph.D. here must tell you that lately they have the special orientation class for our in 1981 under Richard Rochberg and been quite stimulating and I have de- incoming graduate students in August Guido Weiss. It was a pleasure to veloped a special relationship with my 2008. This proved to be very successful have Eugenio, and it looks like he counterparts in the other departments. the previous year, as both an academic may be with us in future fall semesters I mention in particular Ken Kelton of and social introduction to doing gradu- as well. Also it is good to have back Physics, Joe Ackerman of Chemistry, ate work in mathematics. with us former Chair Steve Krantz, and Ralph Quatrano of Biology (until As always, I want to thank and com- who spent the last two years as Dep- recently, as you probably know - if pliment our office staff for continuing uty Director of the American Institute not read on). Ralph has put forward a to make the department run smoothly. of Mathematics in balmy Palo Alto, bold general proposal for an integra- Shar, Mary Ann, Corine, and Marie, California. Welcome back to wet and tive approach to freshman calculus, you are all wonderful and you make my humid Missouri. physics, and chemistry. The idea is in job so much easier. I am also pleased to The External Review Committee the formative stage and the particulars welcome Leslie Smith who joined our conducted their review this past fall. are still being bandied about, but I department’s office staff last Novem- The committee consisted of John Mor- think it is an innovative approach that ber. Also, I want to recognize and gan (Columbia), Chair, John deserves our consideration. I hope to thank our computing manager Steven Benedetto (Maryland), Jay Kadane tell you more about this soon and to Xiao, who continues to manage our (Carnegie Mellon), and internal mem- solicit your views. computer systems, and our undergradu- ber Steve Fazzari from Economics. Beginning July 1, 2008 we have ate coordinator Blake Thornton, for This was an important event which we two new deans. The new Dean of the continuing to go beyond the call of hope will launch a major program for Graduate School is Richard Smith, duty in many ways to make our cur- the replenishment of our department who is the Ralph E. Morrow Distin- riculum run smoothly. Marie's duties with the advent of upcoming retire- guished University Professor in Arts have now changed to take on manage- ments. & Sciences and Chair of the Depart- ment of our website and the ordering of Our search for a senior statistician ment of Anthropology. Stepping in as textbooks. Congratulations to former has temporarily been put on hold. I Dean of Arts and Sciences is Ralph staff member Sara Quigley and her want to thank the appointed search Quatrano, Spencer T.