2018 Virginia Math Bulletin
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Virginia Math ▪ Faculty News Bulletin ▪ Department News & Activities ▪ Undergraduate News ▪ Community Outreach ▪ Graduate News Views from the Chairs in Phi Beta Kappa and Sebastian Haney these additions comes a feeling of was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship. On anticipation and activity with the new term Zoran Grujić the graduate side, Mariano Echeverria and just around the corner. I know that we are Professor of Veronica Shalotenko were the recipients of all dedicated to making the department the Mathematics All-University Graduate Teaching Awards best it can possibly be, by working as hard Interim Chair and Mike Reeks received Class of 1985 as we can to find excellence in new hires 2017-2018 Fellowship for Creative Teaching. and new admissions, and by fostering a nurturing environment for newcomers and The Institute of Mathematical Sciences Greetings friends, veterans alike. old and new. I am (IMS) experienced a flurry of activity, writing this after including two series of Virginia The upcoming year will be a busy one, with completing my Mathematics Lectures,by Yair Minsky a faculty search in the works, several one year-term as the Interim Chair, happy (Yale) in the Fall and Irene Fonseca promotions to attend to (a welcome and to report that the Department is alive and (Carnegie Mellon) in the Spring, two IMS natural consequence of the hiring we have well! Special Lectures by Barry Simon (Caltech), been doing), and continued expansion of an IMS Public Lecture (co-sponsored with calculus reform (with new faculty member The stage set by Craig Huneke's four-year Physics) by Jacob Sherson (Aarhus) on James Rolf joining Paul Bourdon in that term as the Chair was the one of a citizen science, as well as two workshops. effort). department in which the faculty and the In addition, the public lectures sponsored Readers of this newsletter series will see students (graduate and undergraduate by theA&S Diversity and Inclusion Grant, over the last few issues all the momentous alike) were pursuing a variety of exciting awarded to Sara Maloni, sparked the avenues of the mathematical inquiry, a interest of the broader University changes and accomplishments over these years. My heartfelt thanks goes to Zoran department committed to exploring new community; the lectures were given by for accepting the chair position during the ways of how we teach mathematics Moon Duchin (Tufts), Abby Stewart last year. During this time, I was able to (particularly Calculus) by adopting/ (Michigan) and Henry Segerman pursue a year of research leave in redesigning a variety of student-centered, (Oklahoma State), addressing the topics of Princeton, developing exciting ideas and active learning methodologies, as well as a mathematics of gerrymandering, changing new collaborations that will keep me busy department fully engaged in outreach departmental culture to be more inclusive, during lulls in department business -- across the University, the Commonwealth and artistic mathematics, respectively. and beyond; hence, it should come as no assuming there are any! His dedication to surprise that the academic year 2017-2018 On a personal note, I am quite ready to go the department's well-being has been was a productive one. A glimpse of what back to research and teaching as my evident from the beginning. I realize that transpired can be gained from the rest of favorite pastimes. The good news is that every challenge he faced and surmounted the newsletter, in what follows, I will just John Imbrie is here ready to take our during the last year makes my work that touch on several highlights. department to the exciting new much easier. I only hope I can serve the adventures. department as well as Craig and Zoran Our Calculus transformation efforts have. With the efforts of our dedicated initiated by Craig and spearheaded by Paul faculty, staff, and students, and with the Bourdon received a boost this year by support of the Dean's office and alumni, I hiring James Rolf who previously served as John Imbrie Professor of have every expectation for another banner Director of Quantitative Learning at Yale. year in Kerchof Hall. Mathematics A number of our faculty members received Chair national honors and awards; in particular, Karen Parshall received The Albert Leon I write this note as Supporting Us Whiteman Memorial Prize of the AMS, Julie I begin a three- Bergner received The Ruth I. Michler year term as chair. The Mathematics Department is grateful for the Memorial Prize of the AWM, Nicholas Kuhn I am humbled by generous support of its alumni and friends. The and Weiqiang Wang were inducted in the all that has been Department welcomes gifts annually to address its most urgent needs, as well as to the endow- 2018 Class of the Fellows of AMS, and John accomplished in the department during the ment which provides funding in perpetuity. To five years since my interim chairmanship Imbrie and Andrei Rapinchuk held their learn about how you can make a difference by Simons Fellowships in Mathematics. in 2012-3: four years under Craig Huneke's supporting the Mathematics Department, please guidance, and last year with Zoran Grujic at contact Liz Blaine at [email protected] or On the undergraduate side, Grace Dwyer, the helm. There have been quite a few new Kevin Lee and Luca Scerbo were inducted (434) 924-6156. To make a gift online, please faculty added over this timespan, and with visit http://giving.virginia.edu/mathematics New Faculty Profiles Benjamin graduate student who does the best job (Mathematical Association of America, Hayes explaining their research to someone 2012). His work has been supported by Assistant outside of their field. numerous grants funded by the Association Professor of American Universities, the National (2017- ) Hayes received his B.S. in mathematics from Science Foundation; Microsoft Corporation, the University of Washington (2009) and Working with Yale's Center for Teaching and Learning, and earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from UCLA colleagues in the others. (2014). Department of Rolf received a Ph.D. from Duke Mathematics’ Hayes will be teaching an Introductory Real University in 1997, a Master of Divinity from operator theory Analysis course in the fall and Calculus on Southwestern Theological Seminary, and a group, Benjamin Hayes Manifolds in the spring. Excited to work with bachelor's of science from Baylor University. researches topics involving the the department’s operator theory group, Before coming to the University of Virginia, measurement of how many finitary Hayes also plans to explore possible he served as the Shizuo Kakutani Lecturer at approximations there are of a given collaborations and connections with the Yale University, as an associate professor of infinitary object, including: entropy for department’s algebra and probability mathematics at the United States Air Force actions of nonamenable groups, free groups. Academy and as an assistant professor at the probability with connections to von Jim Rolf United States Military Academy at West Neumann algebras and random matrices, Point. and sofic groups. Associate Professor Joining the Department of Mathematics, Rolf Hayes arrives at the University of Virginia (2018- ) will teach Math 1320 (Integral Calculus) this with a grant from the National Science next year and will help design metrics to Foundation’s Division of Mathematical Trained as a assess changes in student learning and Sciences for his continuing research. He has numerical analyst, attitudes in this course when changes to published nine papers, including articles in James (Jim) Rolf course design are implemented. Geometric and Functional Analysis, currently focuses International Mathematics Research Notices on the scholarship He also will continue to work with other and Journal of the Institute of Mathematics of teaching and institutions as they seek to implement and Jussieu. As a graduate student at UCLA, learning assess innovative ways to help incoming Hayes earned a Dissertation Year mathematics. He has published a number of students prepare for quantitative reasoning Fellowship and the Heaviside Wealth articles and is a co-author of the book requirements at their institution. Management Award, which recognizes the Explorations in Complex Analysis Vivek ideals, multiplicity theory, koszul algebras National Board for Higher Mathematics Mukundan and other topics. postdoctoral fellowship from India’s Postdoctoral Department of Atomic Energy, an Vivek received his master’s degree in Fellow INSPIRE Faculty Award from India’s (2017- ) mathematics from the Indian Institute of Ministry of Science & Technology, a Technology in Madras, India, and a Ph.D. Working in the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced in mathematics from Purdue University. areas of Scientific Research Fellowship, and travel Before coming to the University of commutative grants from the American Mathematical Virginia, he was a visiting fellow at the algebra and Society and the Mathematical Research Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in algebraic geometry, Communities program. Mumbai, India. Vivek Mukundan’s research spans At UVA, he plans on furthering his methods for computing the defining ideal Mukundan’s research grants and research in the fields of commutative of the Rees algebra, studying the fellowships include multiple summer algebra and algebraic geometry while invariants of powers of edge research grants from Purdue University, a expanding his teaching repertoire. New Faculty Profiles Prasit professor (2015-2017). introduced in the last decade, which have brought about a surge of interest in the area. Bhattacharya Bhattacharya has taught mathematics Whyburn courses at all college levels, including Liron will be joining the University of Instructor pre-calculus, calculus (at various levels), Virginia directly from Osaka University, (2017- ) linear algebra and finite mathematics. He Japan, where he held a postdoctoral Working in the area of enjoys mentoring undergraduate students fellowship funded by the Japan Society for algebraic topology, as well as high-school students. the Promotion of Science.