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Math Times, Summer 2021 SUMMER 2021 DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS MATH TIMES NEWSLETTER U of I partners with other universities to form math and statistics institute National Science Foundation awards $15.5 million for partnership of four Illinois universities The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $15.5 million to four universities in Illinois, including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to create an institute to bring powerful mathematical ideas to bear on key contemporary scientific and technological challenges. Researchers at the new Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI), to be hosted by the University of Chicago, will People gather to hear the Altgeld Chimes ringers play a special Juneteenth concert titled build a platform that accelerates the “Amplify Their Voices: A Celebration of BIPOC Musicians.” | Fred Zwicky, UI Public Affairs translation of applied mathematical and statistical techniques into “The IMSI project is a powerful investment by the solutions for urgent scientific and societal problems. National Science Foundation in four great universities Many of these problems arise naturally in a range of fields and in the state of Illinois,” said Matt Ando, associate dean already being studied across the four partner institutions, for life and physical sciences at the College of LAS, who including climate change, health care, quantum played a key role in forming the institute. “It puts the state information theory, artificial intelligence, data science, and these universities in a position of national leadership economics, and materials science. in bringing mathematical and statistical research to In addition to the University of Illinois Urbana- bear on pressing societal challenges and in training the Champaign, IMSI will include a collaborative group of next generation of mathematicians and statisticians to mathematicians and statisticians from the University of collaborate with their colleagues across the academy and Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University in business, industry, and government.” of Illinois at Chicago. The $15.5 million grant will be provided by NSF over five years. Continued on page 4 ▪. College of Liberal Arts & Sciences ▪. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN ▪. Math Times Dear friends, U OF I PARTNERS WITH Summer 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the first issue of Math Times, and OTHER UNIVERSITIES the past academic year has certainly been a memorable one. COVID-imposed TO FORM MATH AND restrictions forced us to reimagine and redesign all aspects of our department’s STATISTICS INSTITUTE daily activity. Despite these challenges, we have tremendous accomplishments to 1 celebrate. The theme of this issue of Math Times is “making an impact.” We’re enthusiastic about the recent launch of the Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation. IMSI has the potential to position the state of Illinois as a leading MESSAGE FROM national center for translational and applied research in the mathematical and Jeremy Tyson THE CHAIR statistical sciences, and our department is a key contributor to this new institute. 3 Professor and Chair With several new regional graduate internship programs coming online this year, Department of Mathematics our department continues to be a national pioneer in the training of mathematics PhDs for jobs across a wide range of non-academic sectors. And finally, as this issue goes to press, the first-ever fully online International Congress on Insurance: Mathematics and Economics opens its (virtual) doors. Hosted by a multinational DEPARTMENT NEWS 6 organizing committee spanning three continents, this extraordinary event speaks to the global impact of our department’s highly regarded Actuarial Science Program. Current and former members of our department continue to be recognized at the highest level for their contributions to, and impact on, the mathematics profession. NEW FACES I’m also pleased to recognize in this issue the recipients of the Department of 10 Mathematics 2021 Impact Awards. This one-time award program recognizes individuals or groups of individuals for work which substantially improved the welfare of others since the start of the COVID pandemic. I hope you also enjoy reading compelling stories of the impact made by our alumni in their respective walks of life and in a variety of careers. Please consider 15 THINGS WE LOVE nominating a fellow classmate or a former student for one of our departmental alumni awards. My term as department chair concludes this summer, and next year’s Math Times will feature a new face on this welcome page. I’ve truly enjoyed the opportunity to OLD CHAIR REVEALS HOW share the department’s news and current events over the past several years in this ALTGELD HALL WAS ONCE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS CHAIR | Professor Jeremy Tyson publication. Best wishes for a safe and relaxing summer, and keep in touch: we’d THE CAMPUS SEAT 18 COMMUNICATION COORDINATOR | Jenell Anderson Hironimus love to hear from you! PROGRAM COORDINATOR | Peggy Currid LAS NEWS | Kimberly Belser, Dave Evensen CONTRIBUTORS | Inmas (Internship Network in the Mathematical Sciences), Sheldon Katz, Anu Murphy, University of Chicago, UIUC Public AWARDS 20 Affairs Math Times is published annually by the Department of Mathematics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Current and past issues are available online at math.illinois.edu/mathtimes. 26 ALUMNI NEWS & PROFILES Address updates may be made online at bit.ly/update-my-las-info. Updates may also be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail at the address below. REMEMBERING Math Times | Department of Mathematics 28 GRAHAM EVANS 273 Altgeld Hall (MC-382) | 1409 W. Green Street | Urbana, IL 61801 T: 217.333.3350 | F: 217.333.9576 | [email protected] | math.illinois.edu 2 3 U of I partners with other universities to form math and statistics institute Continued from page 1 The current complex environment of science and “IMSI will be a vehicle for sustained engagement between engineering research involves a deep interaction of mathematical scientists and researchers in a wide range multiple disciplines to address scientific problems. These of disciplines on these kinds of questions.” interactions, which are often at very large scales, need IMSI will operate through a partnership among the four sophisticated mathematical and statistical approaches research universities. The University of Illinois at Urbana- that underpin solutions to the scientific problems. While Champaign and the University of Illinois at Chicago both enabling these applied mathematical approaches, IMSI bring unique and deep expertise in a range of math and will benefit from the institutional strengths of each of engineering disciplines and extend the institute’s reach its university partners in the mathematical sciences as to a much broader population of students. The University well as in the particular application areas of science, of Chicago will leverage the world-class academic technology, economics, and policy, drawing from the resources on campus, its affiliations with Argonne deep programmatic expertise of a network of centers and National Laboratory, Fermilab, and the Marine Biological research groups. Laboratory, and its physical proximity to the Toyota Ando said that the effort to bring IMSI to campus Technological Institute. Northwestern’s strengths in both benefitted from support across the campus. Faculty and theoretical and applied sciences will boost the Institute’s staff in LAS, the Grainger College of Engineering, and the intellectual and vocational reach. Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology contributed IMSI will bring together researchers in application valuable ideas. The Office of Proposal Development and areas from across the nation and around the globe. the staff of the Discovery Partners Institute provided Scientific activity will include workshops and long essential on-going support, and the leadership of the programs, typically a quarter (10 weeks) in length. campus provided invaluable advice and support at Research activity will be organized around themes that multiple critical junctures throughout the development of will evolve over time, with an initial focus on data and the proposal. information, climate science, health care, material “The project builds on the leadership of the University science, quantum computing and information, and of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and of the College of uncertainty quantification. Liberal Arts and Sciences,” Ando said. “The university’s There will also be a sustained focus on communication outstanding record of success with interdisciplinary with researchers in other fields, and in educating the institutes, such as the Beckman Institute and the Carl R. public about the broad utility of mathematics and Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and the innovative statistics to everyday problems and social issues. IMSI will record of the departments of Mathematics and Statistics sponsor outreach and workforce development programs in workforce development, in collaboration with the aimed at K-12 students, teachers, undergraduates, and University of Illinois Research Park, were important graduate students to introduce participants to career strengths of the proposal.” opportunities in mathematics and statistics, especially Doug Simpson, professor of statistics, has been named those from communities traditionally underrepresented associate director of IMSI. Kevin Corlette, professor of in the sciences. mathematics at the University
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