Department of Mathematics
Four Duke University undergraduates have received the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, a federally endowed award that supports students in pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Ayush Jain, Juliet Jiang, Michelle Si and Marie-Hélène Tomé are among the 508 students nationwide awarded Goldwater Scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year. The Goldwater Scholars were chosen based on academic merit from a pool of 1,353 natural science… read more about Four Undergraduates Receive National Goldwater Scholarships »
Professor Harold E. Layton, a long-time faculty member in the Department of Mathematics, passed away last November. Below is a statement from Mike Reed that was read at his memorial service: Harold Layton was a first-rate mathematician and a deeply moral and kind man. I’ll start by reviewing his professional career. Harold received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Duke in 1986 and was a visiting member of the Courant Institute at New York University from 1986 until 1988, when he came back to Duke as… read more about In Memoriam: Math Professor Harold E. Layton »
Duke University has awarded distinguished professorships to 32 faculty and will recognize them in a ceremony at the Washington Duke Inn on May 23. “I am very pleased to honor these faculty members with distinguished professorships,” said President Vincent Price. “Their outstanding scholarship has advanced knowledge across a wide variety of fields and made a positive impact on society, and I am proud to have them as colleagues.” Distinguished professorships honor faculty who are well-established members of the Duke… read more about Five Trinity Faculty Members Among Those Awarded New Distinguished Professorships for 2024 »
Jessica Fintzen, Professor of Mathematics, was recently awarded the 2024 Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Algebra. “Receiving the Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Algebra is a great honor and at the same time a big encouragement for me,” said Fintzen. The Cole Prize in Algebra recognizes outstanding research in algebra that has been published within the past six years. Fintzen’s research deals with contributions in reshaping comprehension of representations of p-adic groups. It is awarded every three years and comes with a prize… read more about Jessica Fintzen Wins Frank Nelson Cole Prize for Algebra »
What inspired an Economics and Mathematics dual major to also pursue a seemingly disparate minor in Cinematic Arts? For Parinay Gupta, it was his Writing 101 course: Gender and Sexuality in Latin American Films. “Delving into the analysis of gender representation in Latin American cinema, I became increasingly intrigued by the creative processes that transpired behind the camera and shaped the narratives presented on screen,” he explains. He took an acting course in Theater Studies in the spring and followed with a summer… read more about When Cinematic Arts Brings Economics into Focus »
On October 27th, we welcomed Dr. Corrine Yap from Georgia Tech for our Fall Duke Math DEI Colloquium. Dr. Yap performed a one-woman play called Uniform Convergence that took place in Physics 128. More than 60 people were in attendance, including undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty at Duke Math, as well as colleagues and students from Duke Theater Studies and UNC Math. The performance was inspiring and everyone had a chance to connect with Dr. Yap at a reception following the play. Uniform… read more about Duke Math DEI presents Corrine Yap in "Uniform Convergence" »
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Four new assistant professors in the Duke Department of Mathematics represent a great stride toward the future of math, Department Chair and Phillip Griffiths Professor of Mathematics Robert Bryant says. “For all four of these new people, computation has fundamentally changed their approach to problems,” he says. “They are exploring areas that were simply out of reach in the past.” The hires also reflect Math’s participation and support of Duke’s commitment to the Center for Computational Thinking. Duke’s vision is to… read more about Four New Faculty Members Represent a ‘New Wave’ of Computational Thinking in Math »
Sven Hirsch and Langxuan Su have won the 2023 Rudin Prize for Outstanding PhD Dissertation from the Duke Mathematics Department. The award was established in 2020 is in honor of Mary Ellen Rudin and Walter Rudin. Mary Rudin taught in the Duke Mathematics Department and went onto further positions at the University of Rochester and the University of Wisconsin. Walter Rudin received his BA and PhD from Duke in Mathematics; his classic textbooks on analysis have been very influential for many generations of mathematicians.… read more about Hirsch and Su win 2023 Rudin Prize »
“Middle school girls are a lot smarter than we give them credit for,” said Mathematics major Clara Henne. “We really shouldn’t underestimate them.” Henne learned that lesson by volunteering as a mentor with Girls Exploring Math (GEM), a Bass Connections project that offers free math enrichment workshops each Saturday at Gross Hall to girls who attend Durham Public Schools (DPS). In addition to math problems, the workshops include interactive discussions about why women occupy a disproportionately low percentage in STEM… read more about How Trinity Faculty and Students Are Sharing Resources in Support of Durham Public Schools »
Three undergraduate students who found an engaging intellectual topic and worked with Duke faculty to conduct original research that advances knowledge in that field were honored with Faculty Scholar Awards, the highest honor bestowed by university faculty on undergraduates. The award was established to highlight students with an exceptional record of independent research and scholarship and who show promise of a scholarly career. Marcos Hirai Catao is recognized for the study of the relationship between… read more about Three Students Honored as Faculty Scholars »
Jianfeng Lu, professor of Mathematics at Duke, was recently awarded the 2023 Feng Kang Prize, which recognizes young Chinese scientists domestically and internationally who have made noteworthy contributions in the wide-ranging field of scientific computing. Lu is an applied mathematician who specializes in developing mathematical analysis and algorithms to address problems in computational physics, theoretical chemistry, materials science, and other related fields. His research primarily centers around electronic… read more about Duke Mathematics Professor Wins 2023 Feng Kang Prize in Scientific Computing »
Amid questions about its methodology and impact, US News and World Report released its annual rankings of graduate and professional programs Tuesday, with many Duke schools and departments scoring high. The schools of law and medicine chose not to participate in the US News survey this year, expressing reservations about the value and validity of the rankings and their influence on education decisions. US News has indefinitely delayed publication of the rankings in those fields. Of the participating schools, the School… read more about Duke Graduate, Professional Programs Score High in US News Rankings »