By the Numb3rs 2024

<< Return to Newsletter Archive

Letter from the Chair

Welcome to the 2024 Fall Newsletter! 

We are delighted to announce the addition of two new Assistant Professors to our faculty: Dr. Hung-Hsu Chou and Dr. Bruno Poggi. Dr. Chou specializes in machine learning, with a focus on developing theoretical guarantees through implicit bias/regularization and neural tangent kernels. Together with Dr. Stephan Wojtowytsch, he has established our new research group in the Mathematics of Machine Learning, creating exciting academic and research opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students in this emerging field. Dr. Poggi’s research spans harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, geometric measure theory, and mathematical physics, further strengthening our already robust analysis group. In addition to these faculty appointments, several new postdoctoral researchers joined us this fall, enriching our department's research and teaching activities. We also welcome a faculty administration transition: Andrew Mellon Professor Thomas Hales took the role of Undergraduate Director in September 2024, succeeding Professor Jason Deblois, who served from 2021 to 2024. We extend our gratitude to both for their service and dedication.

Our faculty's research achievements continue to thrive, with numerous grants and high-quality publications over the past year. This newsletter highlights the work of Professors William Layton and Roman Fedorov. Dr. Layton's recent research focuses on the predictability horizon of fluid motion, including turbulent flows. He remains exceptionally productive in his research and has been highly successful in mentoring graduate students. Dr. Fedorov recently secured an NSF grant for his work on torsors, electromagnetism, and Higgs bundles in algebraic geometry. The Mathematical Research Center (MRC) continued supporting departmental seminars and research workshops, fostering collaborations and attracting scholars from around the globe. In October 2024, Professor Heather Macbeth from Fordham University delivered the Edmund R. Michalik Distinguished Lecture on Computer-Assisted Thinking. Additionally, we are excited to announce a new lecture series—the Pittsburgh Mathematical Horizons Public Lecture Series—funded generously by the Benter Foundation. This series will feature renowned speakers presenting modern mathematics topics accessible to both research mathematicians and the broader science-interested public. The inaugural lecture will be delivered by Professor James Maynard from the University of Oxford in March 2025.

Our undergraduate and graduate programs also saw significant developments. In April 2024, we celebrated the launch of the first issue of Pittsburgh Interdisciplinary Mathematics Review (PIMR), a journal initiated, managed, and edited entirely by Pitt undergraduates. This journal provides a venue for publishing research and expository articles in mathematics and its applications, for a readership that includes, but is not limited to, undergraduate students. Graduate student Edison Hauptman received the dB-SERC Course Transformation Award for redesigning the Calculus 2 course to better serve our diverse student population. Other highlights include popular events like the Integration Bee, MathFest, and the new Girls Summer Math Camp. We also extend congratulations to our undergraduate and graduate students who earned various awards and recognitions this year.

As we look ahead to 2024–2025, we remain confident in our shared mission of excellence in research, education, and service. Thank you all for your contributions, and I wish you a successful year ahead!

-- Dehua Wang, Professor and Chair