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Prof. Simonett Delivers Final Lecture
Apr. 27, 2026—Prof. Gieri Simonett, who has been on the Vanderbilt faculty since 1995, delivered his last lecture on April 22, 2026. The class was Math 2501: Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra and the topic of the final lecture was the proof of the fabled Stokes theorem for manifolds. Prof. Simonett has been a dedicated teacher in...
Department of Mathematics Celebrates 2026 Award Winners
Apr. 25, 2026—The Department of Mathematics proudly recognized an outstanding group of faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, undergraduates, and staff at the 2026 Awards Ceremony, celebrating excellence in research, teaching, service, and scholarly achievement across the department. Below is a list of awardees. Undergraduate Awards Richard J. Larsen Award for Achievement in Undergraduate Mathematics – Luis Chiner...
Prof. Disconzi Awarded Chancellor’s Research Award
Apr. 23, 2026—Prof. Marcelo Disconzi was awarded a Chancellor‘s Research Award at the 2025 Fall Faculty Assembly. This is one of the highest honors that the University can bestow for research. From the A&S communications: Marcelo Disconzi, associate professor of mathematics, was nominated for his work presented in “First-Order General-Relativistic Viscous Fluid Dynamics,” published in the journal Physical Review X....
Brian Morton Awarded Vanderbilt Award for Doctoral Discovery
Apr. 18, 2026—Brian Morton, a third-year graduate student in the Department of Mathematics, has been selected for a 2026 Vanderbilt Award for Doctoral Discovery! The award comes with a stipend of $3,000. Brian studies partial differential equations and fluid dynamics. His thesis adviser is Prof. Marcelo Disconzi. Congratulations, Brian!
Jean-Luc Rabideau Awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship
Apr. 18, 2026—Jean-Luc Rabideau, a first-year Ph.D. student who was awarded this week with a Graduate Research Fellowship from the NSF. The title of his NSF proposal is “Representation stability of congruence subgroups of braid groups.” This project aims to study geometric objects called braids using tools from group theory and representation theory. The goal is to...
Department of Mathematics Welcomes New Senior Lecturers
Apr. 9, 2026—The Department of Mathematics is excited to welcome two new Senior Lecturers to the department in 2026–27. Bailey Heath and Amadeus Martin will join our stellar teaching team and bring a variety of new experiences and perspectives. Bailey Heath earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of South Carolina in May 2024. He most...
Department of Mathematics Welcomes Nicholas Wawrykow
Apr. 9, 2026—The department of mathematics is extremely pleased to welcome Nicholas Wawrykow to the department in 2026–27. Dr. Wawrykow will be joining us as a Research Assistant Professor. He bring expertise in algebraic geometry, representation theory, and topology. Nicholas Wawrykow is an algebraic topologist and geometric group theorist whose work focuses on configuration spaces. He earned...
Department of Mathematics Welcomes Four New Assistant Professors
Apr. 9, 2026—The Department of Mathematics is thrilled to announce that four new Assistant Professors will join the department in 2026–27: Thomas Brazelton, Karen Butt, Sayan Das, and Gregory Patchell. These hires represent a new phase of growth for the department as we continue our expand our reach and impact. Their work covers the gamut from dynamics...
Prof. Osin receives Frontiers of Science Award
Apr. 5, 2026—Denis Osin, along with collaborators Adrian Ioana, Ionut Chifan, and former Vanderbilt graduate student Bin Sun, has been chosen as a recipient of the 2026 Frontiers in Science Award. The award is in recognition of their paper, “Wreath-like products of groups and their von Neumann algebras I: W*-superrigidity,” published in Annals of Mathematics, the top...
Pi Your Professor Day
Mar. 30, 2026—INSERT
Tennessee Math Tournament
Mar. 28, 2026—The Tennessee Math Tournament, hosted by the Department of Mathematics and co-organized with the Tennessee Mathematics Coalition, will take place in Garland Hall on April 4, 2026. The competition consists of five rounds: Individual, Team, Speed, Elimination, and Math Bowl. High school students can register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9zTN_aJJTUAFNB16BZD6f-LLt1E_g_vZJM_3AirOgEkqfVw/viewform?usp=dialog The fee is $15.
Department Collaborates for Pi Day at Cheekwood
Mar. 26, 2026—Along with the Public Engagement team at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, and with the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the Department of Mathematics organized a Pi day event on (of course) March 14 at Cheekwood Gardens. At this science fair-type event, faculty members Sean McAfee, Alice Mark, Sam Sehayek, and Dan Margalit – along...
Prof. Brandt awarded Dean’s Faculty Fellowship
Mar. 20, 2026—Prof. Madeline Brandt, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, has recently been awarded a Dean’s Faculty Fellowship from the Dean of the College of Arts & Science, Tim McNamara. Prof. Brandt’s research is in combinatorial algebraic geometry. In other words, she uses combinatorial tools – such as graphs – to study shapes defined by...
Sapir Distinguished Lecture Series established
Feb. 3, 2026—Long-time faculty member Mark Sapir has been honored with the establishment of the Sapir Distinguished Lecture Series. This biennual series, beginning in 2026, recognizes an outstanding scientific result in group theory. The distinction conferred every two years at an installment of the Geometric and Asymptotic Group Theory with Applications (GAGTA) conference series. It celebrates the...
Prof. Bohmann elected to Council of the American Mathematical Society
Jan. 15, 2026—Prof. Anna Marie Bohmann was recently elected to a three-year term as a Member at Large of the Council for the American Mathematical Society. This is a highly visible and impactful position at the national level. The Council is the body that formulates the scientific policies of the Society and acts in an advisory capacity...
Lorenzo Gavassino receives 2026 George E. Valley Jr. Prize from APS
Nov. 12, 2025—Lorenzo Gavassino, who was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mathematics from 2022 to 2025, was recently announced by the American Physical Society as the 2026 recipient of the George E. Valley Jr. Prize. According to the APS web site, the award is given to recognize an early-career individual for an outstanding scientific contribution...
Prof. Saff publishes Matrix Fundamentals
Aug. 12, 2025—Prof. Ed Saff and Arthur Snider (University of South Florida) have published a linear algebra textbook called Matrix Fundamentals: From Equation Processing to Signal Processing. This is an introductory text, suitable for STEM majors. The book is published by Springer, and its official page is here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-97222-5 From the web site: Matrix Fundamentals introduces tools for...
Prof. Marcelo Disconzi Lectures at Dyer Observatory
Jul. 17, 2025—Prof. Marcelo Disconzi gave a Meet the Astronomer lecture at the Dyer Observatory on July 17, 2025. The title of his lecture was “The Meaning of Einstein’s Equations.” The audience ranged widely in terms of age, background, and interests. Disconzi dazzled, giving something for everybody. Besides explaining the main ideas behind Einstein’s equations, he talked...
Renée Galá B.S. Math ’94 named CEO of Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Jul. 16, 2025—Renée Galá, who received a B.S. in Mathematics from Vanderbilt in 1994, has been announced as the new CEO of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Galá is one of a handful of women who lead a major pharmaceutical company. Before starting at Jazz, Galá held chief financial officer positions at Grail and Theravance. She also worked at Eli...
Groups in Geometry, Algebra, and Logic held at Vanderbilt
Jun. 22, 2025—A new conference, Groups in Geometry, Algebra, and Logic, was held at Vanderbilt University during May 28 to June 1, 2025. The conference was organized by Professors Denis Osin, Spencer Dowdall, and Dan Margalit, along with Carolyn Abbott (Brandeis), Filippo Calderoni (Rutgers), and Adrian Ioana (UCSD). The conference featured five mini-courses by Katrin Tent (Münster),...
Bin Sun receives 2025 Kamil Duszenko Award
Jun. 22, 2025—Bin Sun has been named as the 2025 recipient of the prestigious Kamil Duszenko Award. Sun is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Michigan State University. He received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt in 2019 under the direction of Prof. Denis Osin. The Kamil Duszenko award was established in memory of Kamil Duszenko, an outstanding young mathematician who...
Lorenzo Gavassino is Postdoc of the Year
Jun. 22, 2025—Dr. Lorenzo Gavassino was recently recognized as co-recipient of the 2025 Postdoc of the Year Award. This University-wide award was announced by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at the Spring Postdoc Awards Ceremony. According to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs: The Postdoc of the Year award recognizes a postdoctoral scholar who demonstrates excellence in research...
Shuxian Song repeats as Ping Pong Champion
Jun. 22, 2025—April 21, 2025 – For the second consecutive year, second year PhD student Shuxian Song captured the Department of Mathematics Ping Pong Championship. Song prevailed in the championship round in three straight games against Professor Akram Aldroubi. All three games were highly competitive. The crowd was treated to a breathtaking display of unbelievable volleys, ferocious...
Prof. Simonett receives Madison Sarratt Prize
Apr. 25, 2025—Prof. Gieri Simonett received the Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. This is a prestigious, and well-deserved, university-wide award. This is a major recognition for one of our cherished colleagues. As per the College of Arts and Science news release, Simonett has 30 years of experience teaching at Vanderbilt, working with students to...