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Virtual Conference: Climate & Math to be held 5/26/22

May 11, 2022 By

As part of the Brandeis’ Year of Climate Action, Thomas Fai, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Jonathan Touboul, Associate Professor or Mathematics (with Denis Patterson from Princeton University) have organized a Climate and Math Conference for Thursday, May 26th (10:00 AM to 5:00 PM). This will be a virtual one-day conference offered as part of the Brandeis Mathematical Biology Seminar.

This conference will bring together leading researchers in mathematical modeling related to climate change. It will cover techniques from mathematical modeling, data analysis and climate policy, and topics including impact of climate change on vegetation, animal populations, water/ice, carbon, and human health.

This virtual conference is part of the Brandeis Year of Climate Action program that will be occurring throughout 2022 and 2023. The Office of Sustainability is responsible for this program.

 

Filed Under: Biology, division of science, division of science, General, labs, Mathematics Tagged With: , , ,

Dmitry Kleinbock is awarded a Simons Fellowship in Mathematics

March 22, 2022 By

Dmitry KleinbockProfessor of Mathematics Dmitry Kleinbock has been awarded a prestigious Simons Fellowship in Mathematics, which will support research activities during his sabbatical leave in the fall of 2022.

Kleinbock’s research deals with dynamical systems of algebraic origin and their applications to number theory. A dynamical system is simply a set of points together with an evolution law that governs the way points move over time. It turns out that many mathematical problems concerning integer solutions of some equations or inequalities can be understood in terms of the behavior of certain dynamical systems. Furthermore, systems that arise in this context are of algebraic nature (so called flows on homogeneous spaces of Lie groups), which makes it possible to use a wide variety of sophisticated tools such as representation theory, hyperbolic geometry and geometry of lattices.

During the Spring 2022 semester Kleinbock is visiting the Institute for Mathematical Research at ETH (Zürich, Switzerland), giving a lecture course on the topic of dynamics on homogeneous spaces. The plan for the spring is to finish several projects and start new collaborations. Then in the Fall 2022 semester Kleinbock will be a member of a thematic program on Applications of Dynamics in Number Theory and Algebraic Geometry at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, NJ, led by Tamar Ziegler (Hebrew University, Jerusalem). This will be an excellent opportunity, thanks to the Simons Fellowship, to explore further connections between dynamics and number theory.

Filed Under: awards, division of science, division of science, General, Mathematics Tagged With: , , ,

Anish Ghosh receives the 2021 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize

December 16, 2021 By

Anish Ghosh has received the 2021 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in Mathematical Sciences. The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize is India’s highest science award within the country. While at Brandeis, Anish Ghosh was the student of Dmitry Kleinbock, Professor of Mathematics. He is currently a faculty member at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai where he specializes in Ergodic Theory and Number Theory.

Kleinbock wrote the following about his former student:

“It was a great pleasure to find out that Anish Ghosh, my former student here at Brandeis, has received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize. Anish is a talented mathematician working in the field of ergodic theory on homogeneous spaces. Interest in this field rose significantly during the late 1980s and early 1990s after the seminal achievements of Marina Ratner and Anish’s mathematical grandfather Gregory Margulis, whose work, in particular the proof of the Oppenheim Conjecture, has since served as a basis for numerous links between dynamics and number theory.”

“Anish has been exploring connections between the two fields throughout his mathematical career. Since his graduation in 2006 he has authored more than 40 papers, many published in top-level journals, and has become one of a few people who are shaping the subject of ergodic theory and its arithmetical applications. Among his notable achievements I can mention the work on distribution of dense lattice orbits in homogeneous spaces, on intrinsic Diophantine approximation, on applications of equidistribution to counting lattice points and – most recently – an approach to quantitative Oppenheim-type problems involving Rogers’ moment formulas.”

“Anish has also been a great mentor, who as of now has produced at least 8 PhD students and collaborated with them extensively on various problems. He has lectured extensively on the subject of connections of dynamics and number theory and edited several collections of papers. To summarize, the Bhatnagar Prize is well deserved, and I am positive that the mathematical talent of Anish Ghosh will continue to flourish.”

Filed Under: awards, division of science, division of science, labs, Mathematics Tagged With: , , ,

New Undergraduate Engineering Science Program Approved

May 24, 2021 By

Technology is central to our society. Universities play a key role as innovation hubs in new technology development, by linking knowledge creation, workforce development and commerce. After a multi-year planning process with Brandeis stakeholders and Engineering education experts, the Brandeis Faculty and Board of Trustees has approved the creation of a distinctively Brandeisian undergraduate Engineering Science program, designed for ABET accreditation. Unlike other models in which Engineers are siloed in their own department or school, this interdepartmental program is designed to  maximize horizontal integration across and beyond the Sciences.  All hands are now on deck to make this program a reality.  Institutional Advancement is working closely with faculty to raise the funds necessary to meet our ambitious goals.

Science Engineering LogoTo build up this program, we will  capitalize on the existing synergy between the life and physical sciences, while enhancing core research areas with an emphasis on translating basic research to technological applications.  Our goal is to integrate the engineering curriculum with the social justice mission that is integral to Brandeis. We envision providing opportunities for our students and faculty to deeply engage in science, design, and problem-solving while participating in a curriculum and culture that grapples with issues of social justice, business ethics and sustainability. The curriculum will be designed with these aspirations by engaging faculty from all of arts and sciences, IBS and Heller.  Ultimately, we hope that this new program will give our students the tools to intervene in the world and challenge them to build a better one.

We welcome input from our friends and alums as we begin to engage in the task of building up this exciting new program.

Filed Under: Biochemistry, Biology, chemistry, Computer Science, division of science, Engineering Science, labs, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Psychology, Undergrads Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Ruth Charney to become AMS President on Feb. 1

January 25, 2021 By

Ruth CharneyRuth Charney, the Berenson Professor of Mathematics, will become the President of the American Mathematical Society on February 1.  The Notices of the American Mathematical Society recently published an interview with Charney. In the interview, Charney was asked about COVID’s impact on her own teaching, AMS’s response to COVID and the impact of the crisis on job prospects for new PhDs and postdocs.

Charney, whose research focus is geometric group theory, discussed how she first became involved with AMS and AWM (Association for Women in Mathematics) at a time when there were very few women in the field. One of Charney’s priorities as AMS president will be to increase diversity and inclusion into the study of mathematics.

Charney finished the interview by discussing the importance of professional societies like AMS to the mathematics community.

 

Filed Under: labs, Mathematics Tagged With: ,

Alum, Past Postdoc Receive Awards from Breakthrough Prize Foundation

September 25, 2020 By
Netta Engelhardt

Netta Engelhardt. photo: MIT

Lisa Piccirillo

Lisa Piccirillo. photo: Quanta Magazine.

Lisa Piccirillo, a recent Brandeis postdoc and Netta Engelhardt, a Brandeis undergraduate alumni have received two awards from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. While the Breakthrough Prizes are intended to help scientific leaders gain financial freedom, the New Horizons award and the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize focus on young scientists early in their careers.

The Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize is awarded to early-career women mathematicians. Lisa Piccirillo received this prize for her work in resolving the Conway Knot problem. Piccirillo was a postdoc working with Daniel Ruberman, Professor of Mathematics, from 2019 until her recent appointment as Assistant Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Netta Engelhardt, is part of a group that received the 2021 New Horizons in Physics Prize. Netta and three other scientists were awarded for their research in calculating the quantum information content of a black hole and its radiation. Engelhardt is currently an Assistant Professor of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was a 2011 graduate who majored in Physics. She received a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship prior to graduating from Brandeis.

 

Filed Under: awards, labs, Mathematics, Physics Tagged With: , , , ,

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