News
Math Department Sponsors Yoga Event
Sep. 20, 2024—The Department of Mathematics hosted a free yoga class for the campus community on Friday, September 20. A baker’s dozen yogis were led by Highland Yoga instructor Kelly Swanton in an invigorating session of vinyasa-style yoga. Free yoga mats were distributed to all undergraduates who needed one. Department Chair Dan Margalit participated. In his words,...
Tea + Cookies brings Faculty and Students Together
Sep. 14, 2024—On Friday, September 13, 2024, the Department of Mathematics held a Tea + Cookies event, open to the Vanderbilt community. While we did not count attendees, we can confidently announce that over 400 Crumbl (and Christie’s) cookie units were consumed (1 large Crumbl cookie = 4 cookie units). Aside from the cookies, tea, and a...
Prof. Webb named Centennial Professor
Sep. 10, 2024—Prof. Glenn Webb has recently been named Centennial Chair of Mathematics by Vanderbilt. Prof. Webb has been a dedicated member of the Department for 56 years, beginning in 1968. Prof. Webb received his Bachelor’s degree in 1965 at Georgia Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from Emory University in 1968. Centennial Professorships were created during...
Ryan Matzke is co-recipient of 2024 Alexanderson Award
Aug. 12, 2024—Dr. Ryan Matzke, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mathematics, has recently been announced as a co-recipient of the 2024 Alexanderson Award. This award is presented by the American Institute of Mathematics, an NSF-sponsored mathematics institute in Pasadena, California. Gerald Alexanderson was Professor of Mathematics at Santa Clara University and founding...
Prof. Bohmann hosts Collaborative Research Workshop on K-theory and Scissors Congruence
Jul. 26, 2024—Vanderbilt University’s Math Department is hosting the Collaborative Research Workshop on K-theory and Scissors Congruence during the week of July 29 to August 2, 2024. The theory of scissor congruence starts with the classical fact that if we have two polygons of the same area, we can cut the first one into pieces and reassemble...
Prof. Rolen Teaches Summer Course on Number Theory for Talented Youth
Jul. 25, 2024—As part of the VSA summer program offered by Vanderbilt’s Program for Talented Youth, Larry Rolen taught a 2 week course called “Exploring Number Theory: Unveiling the Queen of Mathematics.” This was an intensive introduction to number theory for 12 gifted high schoolers from across the country and the world. Students met from 8:45-3:45 every...
Anna Marie Bohmann named Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow
Jun. 12, 2024—We are delighted to share the news that Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Anna Marie Bohmann, was named as a 2024 Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow. This is a highly prestigious award that comes with a $40K research fund. This year only 13 faculty were chosen from across the university. You can read the official...
Shuxian Song Wins First Departmental Ping Pong Tournament
Apr. 28, 2024—The first annual departmental ping pong tournament, which took place over nine grueling months of pinging, ponging, and heroic scheduling achievements, came to a thrilling close on April 25, in front of a packed common room, as Shuxian Song, first-year graduate student, was awarded the championship belt by PP Commish Nate Tenpas, with a 3...
2024 CUBE program announced
Mar. 29, 2024—The 2024 CUBE Program is an in-person summer research experience for undergraduates. This year’s program will be held on the beautiful campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Participants will conduct research in groups of 2-3 under the supervision of research faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students. The topics will be in the field of...
Denis Osin awarded Simons Fellowship
Mar. 27, 2024—Prof. Denis Osin has received a prestigious Simons Fellowship. According to the Simons Foundation web site: “The Simons Fellows program extends academic leaves from one term to a full year, enabling recipients to focus solely on research for the long periods often necessary for significant advances. The foundation is proud to support the work of...
Koichi Oyakawa receives Provost Pathbreaking Discovery Award
Mar. 9, 2024—Koichi Oyakawa, a PhD student in the Vanderbilt Mathematics Department, has received the Provost Pathbreaking Discovery Award. As stated in the citation, this premier award from the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School celebrates doctoral students who demonstrate truly exceptional research...
Dr. Lorenzo Gavassino wins the MERAC Prize
Mar. 6, 2024—Dr. Lorenzo Gavassino, a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Vanderbilt Department of Mathematics and member of the VandyGRAF Initiative, has been awarded the 2024 MERAC Prize in Theoretical Astrophysics for his PhD thesis. The prize is awarded by the European Astronomical Society. His thesis focused on a thermodynamics-based formulation of relativistic viscous hydrodynamics for multi-messenger and...
Prof. Osin publishes in Annals of Mathematics
Feb. 25, 2024—Prof. Denis Osin recently published a paper in Annals of Mathematics, widely considered the most prestigious journal in pure mathematics. The paper, “Wreath-like products of groups and their von Neumann algebras I: W*-superrigidity” was written with Adrian Ioana (UCSD), Ionut Chifan (U Iowa), and a former Vanderbilt Ph.D. student Bin Sun (Michigan State U). The...
Welcoming visiting Professor Cabrelli and Professor Molter
Feb. 6, 2024—The Department of Mathematics is pleased to host Carlos Cabrelli, Professor and Investigador Superior (the highest researcher rank in CONICET), along with Ursula Molter, Professor (and former Director of the IMAS UBA/CONICET the largest mathematics institute in Argentina). They are visiting the Department of Mathematics through the Vanderbilt Global Scholar Program. Professors Cabrelli and Molter...
Professor Laurent Baratchart to visit this spring
Feb. 6, 2024—Professor Laurent Baratchart, Research Director at INRIA Sophia Antipolis, France, is visiting the Department of Mathematics during the Spring semester of 2024. He is hosted by Professors Doug Hardin and Ed Saff. Professor Baratchart’s research areas include the analysis of harmonic fields, approximation, inverse potential problems, and control. He is teaching a graduate course on...
Rubik’s Cube Competition
Jan. 30, 2024—On Saturday, March 9, there will be a first-of-its-kind event on the Vanderbilt campus: a Rubik’s cube competition. This is the 50th anniversary year for the invention of this beloved puzzle. The competition will be held from 8 – 6 in the SLC ballroom. It will be facilitated by the World Cube Association and CubingUSA. ...
Prof. Ed Saff awarded Honorary Doctorate from National Schevchenko University of Kyiv, Ukraine
Dec. 30, 2023—Ed Saff, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics, has been granted the title of “Honorary Doctor of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.” There will be an online ceremony on January 2, 2024, to celebrate the occasion, which coincides with Prof. Saff’s 80th birthday. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is the most prestigious university in...
Prof. Speck publishes research breakthrough on the big bang
Dec. 21, 2023—Prof. Jared Speck, along with Grigorios Fournodavlos (University of Crete) and Igor Rodnianski (Princeton University) recently published a breakthrough paper about the stability of the big bang theory. Their paper answers a 50-year-old conjecture made by physics. It was published in the highly-prestigious Journal of the American Mathematical Society, which is considered as one of...
Prof. Marcelo Disconzi publishes autobiographical children’s book
Dec. 13, 2023—Prof. Marcelo Disconzi published a children’s book in the “Who, Me?” series. Books in the series are designed to help young readers understand that scientists are regular people like themselves who are excited about learning and discovering new things and who decided to work hard in school in order to create scientific opportunities for themselves....
Prof. Anna Marie Bohmann receives Nordhaus Award
Dec. 7, 2023—Prof. Anna Marie Bohmann is the recipient of the 2023 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in the Natural Sciences award. This is a prestigious, college-wide award. Prof. Bohmann is known throughout Vanderbilt as a brilliant lecturer and an energetic advocate for her students. We are lucky to have her in our ranks! The award was presented...
Prof. Jared Speck to deliver AMS Invited Address
Nov. 30, 2023—Stevenson Chair Jared Speck will give one of three invited lectures at the Fall Southeastern Sectional Meeting of the American Mathematical Society, to be held at Florida State University, March 23-24, 2024. The title of his talk is Singularity Formation for the Equations of Einstein and Euler and the abstract is as follows: In recent...
Prof. Dan Margalit awarded 2024 Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition
Nov. 28, 2023—The American Mathematical Society has awarded Benson Farb and Dan Margalit the 2024 Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition. The award is in recognition of their book, A Primer on Mapping Class Groups, published by Princeton University Press in 2012. The Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition is given annually for a book or substantial survey or...
Margalit awarded 2024 Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition
Nov. 28, 2023—The American Mathematical Society has awarded Dan Margalit, Stevenson Chair in Mathematics, and Benson Farb (Univeristy of Chicago), the 2024 Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition. The award is in recognition of their book, A Primer on Mapping Class Groups, published by Princeton University Press in 2012. The Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition is given annually...
Prof. Costas Tsinakis Publishes New Book with Vanderbilt-Affiliated Colleagues
Nov. 11, 2023—Prof. Costas Tsinakis has published a new book entitled “Residuated Structures in Algebra and Logic” in the AMS book series Mathematical Surveys and Monographs. His two co-authors also have affiliations with Vanderbilt: George Metcalfe is a former Vanderbilt postdoc, while Francesco Paoli has visited Vanderbilt several times. The book is available from the American Mathematical...
Prof. Dietmar Bisch Awarded Major Interdisciplinary Grant
Nov. 9, 2023—Prof. Dietmar Bisch was awarded the three-grant W911NF-23-0026 from the US-Army Research Office. Entitled “Von Neumann Subfactors, Noncommutativity and Quantum Computing,” the $571,783.00 grant provides substantial support for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The research lies at the intersection of pure mathematics and quantum information theory.