Canzani Beaming Over New Book

Professor Yaiza Canzani and her co-author Jeff Galkowski just dropped their new book: Geodesic beams in eigenfunction analysis. Yaiza and Jeff have pioneered methods for studying Laplace eigenfunction concentration by utilizing an intrinsic link between the behavior of eigenfunctions and geodesic flow, a deep reflection of the correspondence between quantum and classical dynamics. From the author’s description: “Geodesic beams have proven to be a valuable tool in the study of Laplace eigenfunctions, but their treatment is currently spread through a variety of rather technical papers. The authors present a treatment of these tools that is accessible to a wider audience of mathematicians. Readers will gain an introduction to geodesic beams and the modern theory of Laplace eigenfunctions, which will enable them to understand the cutting edge aspects of this theory.”

Congratulations Yaiza!

Cherednik Debuts New Book

Professor Ivan Cherednik dropped a new textbook tackling diverse topics in combinatorics, modeling, and number theory but requiring little background from the reader. From the author’s description: “This book is mostly based on the author’s 25 years of teaching combinatorics to two distinct sets of students: first-year students and seniors from all backgrounds. The prerequisites are kept to a minimum; essentially, only high school algebra is required. The design is to go quickly from zero knowledge to advanced themes and various applications with a lot of topics intended for additional reading and research projects. It contains an all-inclusive collection of 135 problems and 275 exercises with four difficulty levels: solutions, hints and answers are provided.”

Congratulations Ivan!

Congratulations Class of 2023!

Commencement celebrating our graduating majors, Masters, and PhD students was held on May 13, 2023. In addition to degrees conferred, the following prizes were awarded:

• Archibald Henderson Mathematical Medal – Yizhou Gu and Connor Magoon,
• Alfred T. Brauer Prize – Anand Hande,
• J. Burton Linker Award – Laurie Short,
• Goodman – Petersen Teaching Award – Professors Linda Green and Shahar Kovalsky.

Also, speaking on behalf of the Class of 2023 was Hannah Cruz, who graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics and minors in Entrepreneurship and Applied Sciences and Engineering.

For more on Hannah, the awards, and the list of graduates, see the 2023 Commencement Program, and for pictures, visit the Commencement page. Congratulations everyone!

Linda Green and Shahar Kovalsky Earn 2023 Goodman-Petersen Award

Professors Linda Green and Shahar Kovalsky are corecipients of the the 2023 Goodman-Petersen Award. The Goodman-Petersen Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Education were established thanks to a donation from UNC Mathematics Alumni Jennifer Johnson and Janos Kollar, and they are given annually by the Department to faculty for excellence in the teaching of Mathematics in undergraduate education. The awards are intended to highlight the accomplishments of Mathematics Department instructors who have made a great contribution to undergraduate instruction over the last two years. The awards are named after two of our Emeritus Faculty members, Professors Sue Goodman and Karl Petersen, both of whom showed incredible devotion to undergraduate education throughout their careers. Congratulations Linda and Shahar!

To see past awardees, visit:

• The Goodman-Petersen Award

Photo Finish for the 2023 Henderson Medal

In the first time in 10 years, two undergraduate students, Yizhou (Josie) Gu and Connor Magoon, earned the 2023 Henderson Medal. The Archibald Henderson Mathematics Medal was established in 1931 and named after the late Archibald Henderson, a mathematician, teacher, literary critic, biographer, and historian. For fifty years Henderson was a member of the Department of Mathematics at Chapel Hill, first as student, then as full professor. This medal is awarded by the Department to undergraduate students for excellence in Mathematics: specifically in demonstrating a high degree of mathematical ability and the greatest promise of originality in the field. Congratulations Josie and Connor!

For more information on Archibald Henderson, the award, and its past recipients, visit:

• The Archibald Henderson Medal

Anand Hande Takes Home the 2023 Alfred T. Brauer Award

Anand Hande, class of 23′, earned the 2023 Alfred T. Brauer Award. Named for the late Professor Alfred T. Brauer, a distinguished member of the Mathematics faculty, this annual departmental award is given to the undergraduate who is judged by the Mathematics Department to have demonstrated the greatest ability and shown the greatest promise for achievement in the fields of algebra or number theory. Congratulations Anand!

For more information on Alfred T. Brauer, the award, and its past recipients, see:

• The Alfred T. Brauer Award

Laurie Short Goes Above and Beyond for the 2023 Linker Award

Graduate student Laurie Short has earned the 2023 Linker Award. The J. Burton Linker Fund, established by J. Burton Linker, Jr., ’44, of Chapel Hill, and Edward M. Linker of Martinsville, Va., in honor of UNC-CH Mathematics Professor J. Burton Linker, provides for this annual departmental award. The Linker Award is presented annually to a graduate teaching assistant who has shown the greatest effectiveness as a teacher of undergraduate mathematics courses. Congratulations Laurie!

For more information on J. Burton Linker, Jr., the Linker Award, and past recipients, see:

• Linker Award

Camassa and McLaughlin’s Overview is Featured in SIAM News

In 2019, Professors Roberto Camassa and Richard McLaughlin, in collaboration with Daniel Harris, Robert Hunt and Zeliha Kilic, published “A first-principle mechanism for particulate aggregation and self-assembly in stratified fluids” in Nature Communications. In their work, they study the aggregation of matter under gravitation in fluid systems and, in particular, they “observe and model mathematically an unexpected fundamental mechanism by which particles suspended within stratification may self-assemble and form large aggregates without adhesion” (Abstract). This work made Nature Communications’ list of 50 most read physics articles of 2019 (ranked at #8).

Recently, Camassa and McLaughlin were invited to write a synopsis of their 2019 work and the process of making the discovery. Their interesting overview was featured on the front page of SIAM News and can be found here.

Dr. Camassa Receives Distinguished Fellowship

Professor Camassa recently received a Rothschild Distinguished Fellowship from the Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI), Cambridge England, UK. During  the 2022 summer and fall activities, Prof. Camassa participated in the program “Dispersive hydrodynamics: mathematics, simulation and experiments, with applications in nonlinear waves” (URL: https://www.newton.ac.uk/event/hyd2/). As part of the program, he gave two keynote public lectures, as well as seminars in the program workshops and colloquia at institutions throughout the UK.

The Isaac Newton Institute of Mathematical Sciences is devoted to the advancement of mathematics “in the broadest sense.”  They strive to achieve this by employing strict criteria for program selection. As mentioned on their website, programs are selected by the extent to which the topic is “interdisciplinary, bringing together research workers with very different backgrounds and expertise.” Since the institute opened in July 1992, 27 Fields Medalists, 9 Nobel Laureates, 23 Wolf Prize winners, and 12 Abel Prize winners have attended programs at the institute.

The INI is able to award fellowships through generous donations. The fellowship awarded to Prof. Camassa was made possible by the support of the  NM Rothschild and Sons foundation. Many other institutions and individuals have also made donations to the Institute, including Hewlett-Packard, the Dill Faulkes Foundation, Leverhulme Trust, CNRS, Rosenbaum Foundation, PF Charitable Trust, London Mathematical Society, Prudential Corporation plc and the Clay Mathematics Institute.

New US News and World Report’s 2024 “Best Graduate Schools” UNC Mathematics ranking released

In U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 “Best Graduate Schools” list, 16 of Carolina’s programs increased their rankings.