Author: sjziemen

Stovall and Cai named 2023 AMS Fellows

Betsy Stovall and Jin-Yi Cai have been named as 2023 AMS Fellows.  This program recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication, and utilization of mathematics. Jin-Yi Cai has been named “For contributions to computational complexity theory, especially in the areas of complexity dichotomy.” Betsy Stovall has been named “For …

In Memorium: Seymour Parter

Seymour Parter died on October 21, 2022. He got his Ph.D. from Courant Institute in 1957 after spending several years working on early computers at Los Alamos.  He had a joint appointment in both the mathematics and computer science departments from 1963 to 1996.   He continued to be involved in the department’s  probability seminar and …

Jean-Luc Thiffeault named as APS Fellow

Jean-Luc Thiffeault was named as an 2022 Fellow by the American Physical Society.  He is cited “for innovative contributions to the understanding of mixing and transport in dynamical systems, including the development of topological methods, and the understanding of enhanced diffusion by swimming micro-organisms.”  He is one of four recipients on the UW campus. The …

Former faculty Melanie Matchett Wood wins Macarthur Fellowship

Melanie Matchett Wood, who was a faculty member here from 2011-2019, has won a Macarthur Fellowship.  These awards are unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.  Melanie is now at Harvard University. Link:  https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2022/melanie-matchett-wood Link:  https://www.macfound.org/programs/fellows/

Ellenberg honored with Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced the inaugural recipients of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication, given by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in partnership with Schmidt Futures. Supported by Schmidt Futures, these prestigious awards recognize science journalists and research scientists who have developed …

Conference on orthongonal polynomials and special functions dedicated to Dick Askey held in June 2022

In June 2022, there was a conference on orthogonal polynomials and special functions, dedicated to Dick Askey, held (remotely) at CRM in Montreal. There was a day’s program with talks from former students and colleagues about the role of Dick in their work. Two of Dick’s students, Dennis Stanton, Charles Dunkl and Shaun Cooper gave …

Jordan Ellenberg wins 2023 Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) Communications Award

Jordan Ellenberg and Grant Sanderson will receive the 2023 Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) Communications Award during a prize reception at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at 4:25 p.m. Jordan Ellenberg receives the 2023 Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) Communications Award for his clear and entertaining prose …

Raymond Damadian, BS, 1956, inventor of the MRI scanner, dies at age 86.

Dr. Raymond Damadian, who built the first magnetic resonance imaging scanner, which revolutionized doctors’ ability to diagnose cancer and other illnesses — but who, to his dismay, saw the Nobel Prize for the science behind it go to two others — died on Aug. 3 at his home in Woodbury, N.Y. He was 86. Since …

Jean-Luc Thiffeault offers research on how many times to flip a hamburger

Backyard wars have been launched over the question of the optimal number of times to flip hamburgers, steaks or zucchini on the grill—is once sufficient? Does ten flips result in a better, more quickly cooked burger? It’s a question that also fascinated Professor of Mathematics Jean-Luc Thiffeault, who was inspired to develop a simple mathematical …

Mark Shusterman, former Van Vleck Prof, awarded Levitzki Prize

Mark Shusterman, Van Vleck Professor from 2018-2020, has won the prestigious Levitzki Prize.  The prize is awarded every two years to a young Israeli mathematician for research in Algebra or related areas.  The Levitzki prize committee decided to award the 2022 prize to Mark Shusterman in light of his many contributions to group theory and …