University of Wisconsin - Madison
Richard Askey died on October 9, 2019 after a short illness. He joined the UW Department of Mathematics in 1963 and retired in 2003 after 40 years of service. Dick was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Honorary Fellow of the Indian Mathematical Society. He was named Gabor Szego Professor of Mathematics in 1986 …
Two mathematicians, Will Sawin of Columbia University and Mark Shusterman of University of Wisconsin-Madison, recently posted a proof of a version of one of the most famous open problems in mathematics. The result opens a new front in the study of the twin primes conjecture, which has bedeviled mathematicians for more than a century and has implications …
Jordan Ellenberg joins a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, another bestselling author and a leader in global sustainable agriculture are among six newly elected Andrew Dickson White Professors-at-Large at Cornell. The professors-at-large program at Cornell sponsors up to 20 outstanding scholars and public intellectuals at one time, in the life sciences, physical sciences, humanities, social sciences and …
In The Guardian, Jordan Ellenberg explains his own way of calculating a book’s unreadability, which he dubbed the Hawking Index. Ellenberg looked at the sections that readers have highlighted on Amazon’s Kindle e-readers, and infers that after they’ve stopped highlighting, they’ve probably stopped reading. Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/books-to-read-unread-tsundoku-hawking-index-malcolm-cowley-antilibrary-a8521901.html
The University of Denver has chosen Jeremy Haefner as its 19th chancellor. Haefner, who earned a master’s degree and PhD in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983 and 1986, respectively, joined the University of Denver in 2018, serving as provost and executive vice chancellor. He previously held the positions of provost and senior vice …
New research from an NYU/Abu Dhabi team has found that temperatures in the Atlantic are having a growing effect on the Indian monsoon, something that could prove crucial in predicting how severe rains are likely to be. The study comes as climate change alters the patterns of monsoon rainfall in India, with likely far-reaching effects …
A supportive environment helped a group of female graduate students in mathematics reach lofty goals. Already a leader in the number of women hired as faculty members, the department hopes to continue improving the experience for female students to help bring equity to the field. After graduation, a group of seven female graduate students, Eva …
Every four years the UW-Madison Mathematics Department awards Van Vleck Prizes to faculty members on the basis of excellence in research and promise of significant future achievement. The prizes are funded by the Van Vleck Professorship Fund. The four winners of the 2019 Van Vleck Prizes are…
Soledad Benguria-Andrews and Sara Nagreen were honored for career achievement and excellence by the College of Letters and Science on May 8, 2019. Soledad won a 2019 Early Career award for her work with redefining the Calculus sequence; this impacts thousands of students each year! Sara won a Mid-Career Award for her impact on service, …