Excellence in Research Awards | John Nohel Prize in Applied Mathematics | Elizabeth Hirschfelter Scholarship
Excellence in Research Awards
The Department of Mathematics has an annual competition for awards which recognize excellence in research by a mathematics graduate student. This award given for making significant and substantial contributions to research in pure or applied mathematics, as part of their thesis work towards a PhD. ($500)
John Nohel Prize in Applied Mathematics
The John Nohel Prize in Applied Mathematics recognizes a graduate student who writes an outstanding Ph.D. thesis in applied mathematics at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
John Nohel was a professor in the Department of Mathematics of the University of Wisconsin - Madison from 1961 to 1991. He was professor emeritus until his death in 1999. At Wisconsin, Professor Nohel was Chair of the Department from 1968 to 1970, and Director of the Mathematics Research Center (MRC) from 1979 to 1987. He was the founding director of the new Center for Mathematical Sciences (CMS) from 1987 to 1990. His research interest initially focused on Volterra integro-differential equations. In later years, his interests changed to mathematical problems in viscoelasticity and non-Newtonian fluid dynamics. The John Nohel Prize in Applied Mathematics was established to honor his memory and his good work with young people. ($500)
The Department of Mathematics annually awards the Elizabeth S. Hirschfelder Scholarship of $2,000 to up to three women graduate students who are making excellent progress towards the PhD. Elizabeth S. Hirschfelder was one of the earliest recipients of a PhD in Mathematics granted by the University of Wisconsin. Her PhD class in 1930 consisted of three people and they were the 18th, 19th, and 20th Wisconsin Mathematics PhDs. At the Wisconsin Mathematics PhD Centennial Celebration held in 1997, Dr. Hirschfelder was the earliest Wisconsin Mathematics PhD present; at that time, she held her PhD for 67 years. Dr. Hirschfelder taught mathematics at the University of Wisconsin for almost 20 years and was the co-author of the important textbook "Higher Mathematics for Engineers and Physicists" published in 1934. In 1997 she endowed the Elizabeth S. Hirschfelder Fund for Graduate Women in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics at the UW-Foundation. She died in 2002 at the age of 100.