News
John Jumper BS Math ’07 wins Nobel Prize
Jul. 16, 2025—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...
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...
Department hosts International Constructive Functions 2025 Conference
Jul. 3, 2025—The Vanderbilt University Department of Mathematics hosted the international Constructive Functions 2025 which was held on the university campus May 19-22. The conference was in large part a recognition of the mathematical work of Distinguished Professor Edward Saff, as well as a celebration of his 80th birthday. The local organizers of the conference were Liudmyla...
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...
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...
Math Department Spurs Nashville SC to Victory
Sep. 20, 2024—On September 18, eighteen members of the Department of Mathematics got the royal treatment as special guests at the Chancellor’s Suite in Geodis Park. Home club Nashville SC defeated visiting Chicago Fire in a 1 to nil thriller. Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge scored on a header, which came off a long-distance cross from NSC...
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...