News 2012

• November, 2012

Mid-Atlantic Numerical Analysis Day 2012

On November 2 the Department of Mathematics hosted its second annual Mid-Atlantic Numerical Analysis Day. These conferences are aimed at graduate and postdoctoral researchers from the region; the conference featured 20 short talks by these participants. The keynote talk was Numerical Analsyis of Turbulent Flow, by Professor William Layton, University of Pittsburgh.

• November, 2012

Shiferaw Berhanu awarded NSF conference grant

Professor Shiferaw Berhanu is PI on the NSF grant Workshop in Partial Differential Equations and Several Complex Variables, to help fund the upcoming conference on those topics to be held August 5-9, 2013, in Serra Negra, Brazil.

• November, 2012

Conference in memory of Professor Marvin Knopp (1933-2011)

The Department of Mathematics hosted the Marvin Knopp Memorial Conference, November 11-12. Talks were presented by George Andrews (Pennsylvania State University and former President of the American Mathematical Society), Bruce Berndt (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), YoungJu Choie (Pohang University of Science and Technology), Dorian Goldfeld (Columbia University), Henryk Iwaniec (Rutgers University), Winfried Kohnen (Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg), Geoffrey Mason (University of California, Santa Cruz), Peter Sarnak (Institute for Advanced Study), and Doron Zeilberger (Rutgers University). This conference was sponsored in part by the Number Theory Foundation. Conference organizers were Edward Letzter, Geoffrey Mason, and Wladimir Pribitkin.

In addition to the mathematical program, there was a memorial concert performance by the Peabody Trio (Seth Knopp, piano; Natasha Brofsky, cello; Violaine Melancon, violin). A memorial banquet followed the performance.

Professor Knopp joined the Department of Mathematics in 1976. He was a leading expert in the theory of modular forms, and he was a pioneering figure in the theory of Eichler cohomology, modular integrals, and generalized modular forms.

An article in Temple News on Professor Knopp and the conference can be found here.

• November, 2012

Nahed Hamid and Igor Rivin win CST awards

Professor Igor Rivin won the 2012 CST Dean's Distinguished Award for Excellence in Research. Mathematics instructor Nahed Hamid won the CST Dean's Distinguished Teaching Award. The awards were presented at the annual CST awards banquet, November 4, 2012.

• September, 2012

Irina Mitrea organizes research conference at Temple

Associate Professor Irina Mitrea organized the conference, Perspectives in Harmonic Analysis, Geometric Measure Theory, and Partial Differential Equations, and their applications to Several Complex Variables, September 13-15, 2012. The conference featured twelve plenary lectures, five shorter talks, and a poster session. The conference was supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation on which Mitrea was PI. Temple faculty who presented their work at this conference included Professors Shiferaw Berhanu, Cristian Gutierrez, and Gerardo Mendoza.

• July, 2012

New postdoctoral faculty: Alexander Hoffnung, Sunnie Joshi, Sui-Chung Ng, Brian Rushton, and Elia Ziade

Our department welcomed five new Postdoctoral Assistant Professors for 2012-2013: Alexander Hoffnung (Ph.D. from University of California, Riverside) studies combinatorial, geometric and algebraic methods in representation theory, as motivated by mathematical physics. Sunnie Joshi (Ph.D. from Texas A&M University) works on mechanics of biological and in particular cardio-vascular materials, continuum mechanics, partial differential equations, numerical analysis and inverse problems. Sui-Chung NG (Ph.D. from University of Hong Kong) specializes in complex geometry and several complex variables, particularly in the geometry of bounded symmetric domains. Brian Rushton (Ph.D. from Brigham Young University) studies 3-manifold theory, hyperbolic geometry, and geometric group theory. Elia Ziade (Ph.D. from University of Missouri) studies functional analysis, harmonic analysis and partial differential equations.

• July, 2012

New faculty member: Brian Rider

Professor Brian Rider joined our department in July 2012. Rider is a probabilist whose current research is focused on random matrix theory. The study of (large dimensional) random matrices has somewhat humble roots in multivariate statistics dating from the early part of the last century, but has grown to have important implications for an enormous range of areas including combinatorics, information theory, operator algebras, number theory, theoretical physics, and integrable systems. Rider's recent work has resulted in new descriptions of some of the most basic distributions in random matrix theory, forming yet additional connections to different fields. Rider comes to Temple from University of Colorado Boulder. Prior to that he held postdoctoral positions at the Technion and Duke University; he earned his Ph.D at NYU under the direction of Henry P. McKean, Jr. In 2008, Rider was a recipient of the Rollo Davidson Prize, an international prize awarded annually to leading young probabilists. In 2012, Rider was awarded a Simons Fellowship. (These fellowships are highly competitive awards recently initiated by the Simons Foundation; Jim Simons is a mathematician and hugely successful hedge fund manager.) Rider's research has been funded by the NSF and he currently holds an NSF CAREER grant. Brian and his wife Jennifer (and kids ages 1 and 4) are delighted to be returning to the Northeast after many years. Both have always had a special fondness for Philadelphia, though Rider will remain a Sabres fan.

• July, 2012

New faculty member: Isaac Klapper

Professor Isaac Klapper joined our department in July 2012. Prior to coming to Temple, Klapper was a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, where he was awarded the Montana State University Charles & Nora L. Wiley Faculty Award for Meritorious Research. Klapper has also held appointments at UCLA, the University of Arizona, and Columbia University. Klapper earned his Ph.D in 1991 at New York University under the direction of Steve Childress. While there he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for study at Cambridge and Newcastle Universities in the UK. Afterwards, he received an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship. While originally studying magnetohydrodynamics in the context of solar magnetic fields, more recently he has been interested in using mathematical methods to model and develop theory for microbial communities, particularly biofilms. To better facilitate communication between mathematicians and microbiologists, Klapper has, together with mathematics graduate students, been actively working in related lab and field work, including a year-round sampling effort at a Yellowtone National Park hotspring. Klapper's research has received funding from the NSF, NIH, and AFOSR.

• July, 2012

Daniel Szyld co-organizer of BIRS workshop

Professor Daniel Szyld was co-organizer of the Workshop on Theoretical and Applied Aspects of Nonnnegative Matrices, July 27-29, 2012, Banff International Research Station (BIRS) for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery, Banff, Alberta, Canada.

• June, 2012

Graduate students Jessie Hamm, Seth Baldwin, and Brian Paljug participate in MSRI summer workshop

Graduate students Jessie Hamm, Seth Baldwin, and Brian Paljug participated in the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) Summer Graduate Workshop in Noncommutative Algebraic Geometry, June 18-29, 2012.

• June, 2012

Irina Mitrea co-organizer of AMS Research Communities workship

Associate Professor Irina Mitrea was a co-organizer of the American Mathematical Society Research Communities Workshop, Partial Differential Equations, Harmonic Analysis, Complex Analysis, and Geometric Measure Theory, Snowbird Resort, Utah, June 17-23, 2012. Temple mathematics graduate students Meredith Hegg, Eric Stachura, and Ahmad Sabra participated, each presenting a 50 minute talk.

• June, 2012

Daniel Szyld on scientific committee for UK workshop on parallel matrix algorithms

Professor Daniel Szyld was on the scientific program committee for the 7th International Workshop on Parallel Matrix Algorithms and Applications (PMAA 2012), June 28-30,2012, Birkbeck University of London, United Kingdom.

• June, 2012

Shiferaw Berhanu on scientific committee of Addis Ababa Conference

Professor Shiferaw Berhanu was on the scientific committee of the Addis Ababa Conference on Complex Analysis and Partial Differential Equations, June 25-29, 2012. He and Gerardo Mendoza were invited speakers at this conference. (See here for a more complete list of faculty and student conference presentations.)

• June, 2012

Professor Cristian Gutierrez was awarded (as sole PI) a new three-year NSF grant, Monge-Ampere-type equations and geometric optics, for $270,000. From the abstract: "The research pursued in this project arises naturally in the design of optical devices (e.g., aspherical lenses, mirrors, antennas) that have multiple applications in the construction of many optical and transmission instruments. A large portion of the problems under study have practical interest, for example, in the design of lenses focusing light into a desired targeted destination. The impact of the project lies in the development of a mathematical theory that would render this design more efficient, precise, and easily and quickly adaptable to changing situations." • June, 2012 Daniel Szyld co-organizer of minisymposia at Valencia SIAM conference Professor Daniel Szyld was co-organizer of two minisymposia, Recent Advances in the Numerical Solution of Large Scale Matrix Equations and Challenges for the Solution and Preconditioning of Multiple Linear Systems, at the SIAM Conference on Applied Linear Algebra, 18-22 June 2012, Valencia, Spain. • May, 2012 Vasily Dolgushev awarded tenure The Board of Trustees, Temple University, has approved tenure for Associate Professor Vasily Dolgushev. • May, 2012 David Zitarelli promoted The Board of Trustees, Temple University, has approved David Zitarelli's promotion to the rank of Full Professor. • May, 2012 Meredith Hegg awarded Ph.D. Temple mathematics student Meredith Hegg was awarded her Ph.D. on May 18, 2012. Her dissertation title was Exact Relations and Links for Fiber-Reinforced Elastic Composites, and her thesis advisor was Yury Grabovsky. Dr. Hegg will be Precepter in the Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, beginning in Fall 2012. • May, 2012 Kirk Soodhalter awarded Ph.D. Temple mathematics student Kirk Soodhalter was awarded his Ph.D. on May 18, 2012. His dissertation title was Krylov Subspace Methods with Fixed Memory Requirements: Nearly Hermitian Linear Systems and Subspace Recycling, and his thesis advisor was Daniel Szyld. Dr. Soodhalter has begun a postdoctoral research position at the Industrial Mathematics Institute, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria. • May, 2012 Austin Daughton awarded Ph.D Temple mathematics student Austin Daughton was awarded his Ph.D. on May 18, 2012. His dissertation title was Hecke Correspondence for Automorphic Integrals with Infinite Log-Polynomial Periods, and his thesis advisor was Marvin Knopp. Dr. Daughton will be an instructional assistant professor in our department for the 2012-2013 academic year. • May, 2012 David Futer co-organizer of Luminy workshop Assistant Professor David Futer was a co-organizer of the workshop Rigidity and Flexibility in Dimensions 2, 3 and 4: In Celebration of Steve Kerckhoff's 60th Birthday, May 14-18, 2012, at the Centre International de Rencontres Mathematiques, Luminy, France. He also presented a talk at this workshop. (See here for a more complete list of faculty and student conference presentations.) Futer was co-PI on the NSF conference grant supporting the workshop. • May, 2012 Temple Mathematics hosts Sonia Kovalesky Day The Department of Mathematics held its first Sonia Kovalesky Day, on May 12, 2012, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, organized by Ph.D. student Meredith Hegg, Dr. Maria Lorenz, and Associate Professor Irina Mitrea. A total of 25 girls in grades 6 through 10 spent the day on mathematics; most of the girls were from the city of Philadelphia. The instructors included Temple undergraduate mathematics majors and graduate students, and one professor from Old Dominion University. Everyone had a terrific time, and the girls remained engaged, enthusiastic, and energized throughout the day. Funding for the program was provided by the Association for Women in Mathematics (through a nationally competitive selection process), the NSF, TU-Teach, and the mathematics department. • April, 2012 Andrea Bertozzi delivers Grosswald Lectures Professor Andrea Bertozzi of UCLA delivered the 2012 Grosswald Lectures, April 10, 11, and 12, 2012. The series was titled Mathematics in the Real World, and the individual talks were titled Mathematics of Crime, Swarming by Nature and Design, and Geometric Methods for Image Processing and Data Analysis. • April, 2012 Vasily Dolgushev awarded NSF grant Associate Professor Vasily (Vasiliy) Dolgushev was awarded (as sole PI) a new three-year NSF grant, Puzzles of homotopy algebras related to deformation theory, for$257,800. From the abstract: "Homotopy algebras appear in various problems of algebraic topology, algebraic geometry, deformation theory, and mathematical physics. The PI's work on homotopy algebras is motivated by quantization: a process of constructing quantum versions of models of classical mechanics. The project will enhance our understanding of fundamental principles which underpin quantum theory and their links to other branches of mathematics."

• March, 2012

Math Circles organized by Maria Lorenz and Irina Mitrea

Dr. Maria Lorenz and Associate Professor Irina Mitrea organized and ran the Spring 2012 Temple University Mathematics Circle. The Mathematics Circle met on selected Saturdays, designed to provide middle school students with a variety of engaging mathematical experiences. Topics included: divisibility, modular arithmetic, introduction to cryptography, introduction to probability, and geometry.

Undergraduate and graduate students in STEM disciplines at Temple University were mentors for the middle school students. Funding for the program was provided by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, the National Association of Mathematics Circles, and the Department of Mathematics.

• February, 2012

Karen Uhlenbeck delivers Grosswald Lectures

Professor Karen Uhlenbeck, Sid W. Richardson Regents Chairholder, University of Texas, Austin, presented three talks for our Grosswald Lecture Series, February 7,8, and 9, 2012. (These talks had originally been scheduled for our 2011 Grosswald series.) The talks were Review of the Yang-Mills equations, Hitchin's equations, and The Kapustin-Witten equations.

• February, 2012

John Paulos in the New York Times

Why Don't Americans Elect Scientists?, by Professor John Paulos, appeared in the New York Times' Opinion Pages.

• January, 2012

Graduate student Stephen Shank spends Spring 2012 semester as ATLANTIS exchange student at the University of Bologna

Graduate mathematics student Stephen Shank spent the Spring 2012 semester at the University of Bologna (Universita di Bologna), sponsored by the ATLANTIS Complex Analysis and Partial Differential Equations Excellence Mobility program, funded in part by the US Department of Education. ATLANTIS member institutions include Universita di Bologna (Italy), Universite de Paris 7 (France), Universite de Rennes 1 (France), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain), University of Arkansas, University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University.

• January, 2012

Martin Lorenz awarded new NSA grant

Professor Martin Lorenz was awarded a new two-year research grant from the National Security Agency, Noncommutative Algebras and Transformation Groups, for \$84,652

• January, 2012

Temple Mathematics well represented at AMS-MAA Joint Meetings

Several departmental faculty and students participated in the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Boston, MA. Some highlights: David Futer co-organized the special session, Hyperbolicity in Manifolds and Groups. This session included the presentations Small volume link orbifolds by Chris Atkinson, On genericity of pseudo-Anosovs in the Torelli group by Justin Malestein, and On convex and non-convex Fuchsian polyhedral realizations of hyperbolic surfaces with a single conical singularity by Kei Nakamura. Irina Mitrea presented Regularity properties of Green functions in non-smooth domains in the special session Classical Fourier Analysis and Partial Differential Equations. Kirk Soodhalter presented Block Krylov Subspace Recycling: Theory and Application in a Newton Iteration, and Fei Xue presented Local convergence analysis of several inexact Newton-type algorithms for general nonlinear eigenvalue problems in the special session Mathematics of Computation: Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and Applications. David Zitarelli presented Elevating the ranking of American mathematics departments 1900-1940 in the special session History of Mathematics. (See here for a more complete list of faculty and student conference presentations.)