News
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...
Colloquium – Talk by Dr. Yvonne Lai(University of Nebraska-Lincoln): April 9, 2026
Mar. 31, 2026—April 9, 2026 (Thursday) 4:10-5:00 PM SC 5211 Dr. Yvonne Lai– University of Nebraska-Lincoln Unreasonably effective, and unreasonably taught? When scholars wrote that mathematics is “unreasonably effective”, they meant the application of mathematical structure for the doing of the sciences and engineering; but what about for the teaching of mathematics in and for the sciences?...
Colloquium – Talk by Dr. Matthew Baker (Georgia Institute of Technology): April 2, 2026
Mar. 31, 2026—April 2, 2026 (Thursday), 4:10-5:00 PM SC 5211 Dr. Matthew Baker– Georgia Institute of Technology Matroids with coefficients and Lorentzian polynomials In the first part of the talk, I will briefly survey the theory of matroids with coefficients, which was introduced by Andreas Dress and Walter Wenzel in the 1980s and refined by the speaker...
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...
Colloquium – Talk by Dr. Christine Berkesch: January 29th, 2026
Feb. 15, 2026—January 29, 2026 (Thursday), 4:10-5:15 PM Dr. Christine Berkesch, University of Minnesota Geometry and Multigraded Polynomials In a graded polynomial, all terms have the same degree. For instance, $x^3+x^2y+z^3$ is graded of degree 3. There is a long and rich history tying the geometry of projective varieties and the algebra of graded polynomials and modules....
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...
Math Department introduces new Core class “Math for the Misinformation Age”
Jan. 19, 2026—This fall, Vanderbilt students encountered a new way to study mathematics—one centered not on equations in isolation, but on the numbers, charts, and claims that surround us every day. Mathematics for the Misinformation Age, designed and taught by Dr. Sean McAfee, debuted in Fall 2025 as one of the inaugural offerings in the College of...
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. Alex Lupsasca begins research with OpenAI for Science
Nov. 2, 2025—Congratulations to Alex Lupsasca, Assistant Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Vanderbilt University, who will be joining the OpenAI for Science initiative! In addition to his current research at Vanderbilt, he will be working with OpenAI to explore its potential to assist in solving research-level problems in astrophysics. You can find more details about his...
Faculty Spotlight: Professor Glenn Webb
Sep. 16, 2025—Centennial Professor Glen Webb, a leading expert on the mathematics of epidemiology, is the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant, which funds an interdisciplinary research project on epdiemic disease modeling. Under this grant, Prof. Webb is collaborating with Prof. Nicole Creanza from the Vanderbilt University Department of Biology. Together they are developing mathematical models...
Prof. Alex Lupsasca appears in Discover magazine
Aug. 31, 2025—Alex Lupsasca, Assistant Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Vanderbilt University, was recently asked by Discover magazine to share his thoughts on wormholes: hypothetical structures that could bridge two points across space and time. In the article, he discusses their purely (at this point) theoretical nature, their potential resemblance to black holes, and their relation...
Nashville Math Circle returns for 2025
Aug. 31, 2025—This school year, the Vanderbilt University Department of Mathematics is delighted to continue its tradition of encouraging young math minds at the Nashville Math Circle. This biweekly program provides Nashville-area students in grades 7-12 the opportunity to develop creative mathematical problem-solving skills in a friendly and engaging environment. Past Math Circle sessions have investigated questions...
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...
Junhwi Lim receives Provost Pathbreaking Discovery Award and Vanderbilt Award for Doctoral Discovery
Aug. 6, 2025—Junhwi Lim, a PhD student in the Vanderbilt Mathematics Department, has received the Provost Pathbreaking Discovery Award, as well as Vanderbilt Award for Doctoral Discovery. Junhwi is a fifth-year graduate student who has been working under the direction of Prof. Dietmar Bisch since 2021. He has proved several first-rate results in the theory of subfactors...
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...