News
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...
Math Hosts First Annual Pi Your Professor Event
Mar. 25, 2025—On March 20, 2025, the Department of Mathematics hosted the first annual Pi Your Professor Event. This was a belated celebration of Pi Day, which is March 14 and generally falls over spring break. The format of Pi Your Professor is quite simple. Undergraduate students are welcome to come to Stevenson Center 1, grab a...
Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Akram Aldroubi’s Research Cited in Industry Patents
Mar. 25, 2025—Prof. Akram Aldroubi is a world-renowned expert in harmonic analysis, functional analysis, and signal processing. While his research is classified as theoretical mathematics, his work has had far-reaching implications in industry. His papers are referenced in several industry-owned patents, indicating that his work has had significant impact on real-world applications and has influenced the development...
Katherine Booth awarded NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship
Feb. 4, 2025—Katherine Booth was awarded a Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Science Foundation in February 2025. This is a highly prestigious award, given to about 40 mathematicians around the country each year. Katherine is a non-degree-seeking graduate student at Vanderbilt, and will receive her Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology in Spring 2025. Katherine’s research...
Dr. Lorenzo Gavassino featured in Discover Magazine
Jan. 16, 2025—The research of Dr. Lorenzo Gavassino, postdoctoral researcher in the department, and member of the VandyGRAF initiative has recently been featured in Discover Magazine: https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/mathematician-reveals-strange-new-enigmas-for-time-travelers According to the article, Lorenzo’s article shows that “The laws of physics suggest [a time traveler’s] memory would be wiped clean as soon as they returned to the present.” Dr....
Prof. Marcelo Disconzi Speaks at Dyer Observatory
Dec. 2, 2024—Prof. Marcelo Disconzi gave a lecture at the Dyer Observatory on Nov 21, 2024. The title of his talk was: When Mathematics & Physics Collide: Black-Hole Mergers, Neutron Stars, and the Theory of Relativity. From Marcelo’s abstract: “In 1915, Einstein developed the general theory of relativity, a theory born out of what he called his...
Math Department Makes Chocolate Hot!
Nov. 24, 2024—On October 24, 2024, the Math Department hosted a Hot Chocolate and Hot Apple Cider extravaganza at the department. In the Stevenson 1 lobby, students were treated to tasty beverages, made hot to go! Students, faculty, and staff also participated in a design-your-own-pumpkin contest. The winner of the contest was Griffin Sims, and undergraduate who...
Prof. Marcelo Disconzi appears at Parnassus Bookstore
Nov. 24, 2024—Professor Marcelo Disconzi appeared at a meet-the-author event, discussing his book “I’m a Mathematician Now!” The event was held on October 21, 2024 at the Parnassus Bookstore in Green Hills, the flagship bookstore owned by famed author Ann Patchett. Prof. Disconzi appeared alongside Prof. Larisa DeSantis, Associate Professor in the Departments of Biological Sciences and...
Prof. Dan Margalit and Isaiah Williams ’25 Unravel Mysteries of Math
Nov. 17, 2024—A new video made by the College of Arts & Science communications team aims to answer some of the frequently searched questions about mathematics. Prof. Dan Margalit, Chair of Mathematics and Stevenson Chair, along with undergraduate Isaiah Williams, class of ’25 fielded questions and answered them in the madcap video made by Liz Chagnon. The...
John Jumper BS Math ’07 wins Nobel Prize
Oct. 9, 2024—John Jumper, who received a BS degree in Mathematics and Physics from Vanderbilt in 2007, has won a share of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Jumper works as American Director at Google DeepMind Technologies. His team created the AI model AlphaFold, which predicts protein structures from their amino acid sequence. About his work Jumper...