Retired Professor and Wife Aim to Boost UMD’s Leadership in Math and Emerging Fields

A University of Maryland retired professor of mathematics and his wife made a $1 million bequest to the Department of Mathematics to help ensure the university remains at the forefront of mathematics and related emerging fields. An additional $50,000 gift established the C. David and Lucia Levermore Endowed Graduate Student Support Fund in Mathematics.

For Charles David Levermore and his wife, Lucia, supporting the future of mathematics means preparing faculty and students to respond to a rapidly evolving landscape. Levermore, who taught at UMD for more than two decades and was the founding director of the applied mathematics & statistics, and scientific computation (AMSC) graduate program, pointed to artificial intelligence (AI) as one example of a related emerging field reshaping the discipline.

“The technology is still maturing. No one knows how it's all going to sort out,” Levermore said. “The only way we can be productive is to be on top of it as much as possible. We have to rethink things constantly. The gift is a small contribution to the university's effort to keep itself relevant.”

The Levermores’ philanthropy supports Forward: The University of Maryland Campaign for the Fearless, the largest fundraising initiative in the university’s history with a goal to raise $2.5 billion to expand access to UMD’s first-rate education, spur transformative research and create stronger communities.

Their planned gift leverages the college's Bequest Legacy Challenge, an incentive program that provides an immediate cash match for donors who document new or increased planned commitments to the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS).

“Professor Levermore really is a staple of this department. He retired several years ago officially, but he never really retired,” said Doron Levy, chair of the Department of Mathematics. “He's genuinely a true educator, someone who cares a lot about the educational mission of the institution and is always trying to figure out how to do things better.”

The Levermores’ new fund will benefit the department’s nearly 200 graduate students, providing them with resources to attend conferences, acquire materials for dissertation research, and take part in internships, extracurricular activities and other enriching opportunities.

Strengthening the department’s graduate programs in mathematics, mathematical statistics and AMSC remains one of Levy’s top priorities. Graduate education plays a major role in shaping the department’s national reputation, he said, and Maryland’s momentum is evident: Four students received National Science Foundation graduate research fellowships this year alone. 

The strength is also reflected in national rankings. Maryland’s graduate programs rank No. 7 in mathematics, No. 8 in applied math and No. 10 in analysis among public institutions, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“Our department has been on an upward trajectory in terms of its visibility to the mathematical community,” said Levy, highlighting how the recently endowed Brin Mathematics Research Center hosts workshops, summer schools and distinguished lectures year-round with participants from around the world.

By investing in the department and its graduate programs, the Levermores are helping ensure that this momentum continues even as the field evolves. With so much uncertainty around how AI may reshape both mathematics education and research, the couple wanted its gifts to be flexible enough to meet the department’s most pressing needs.

“The Levermores' generosity will have a lasting impact on Maryland mathematics,” CMNS Dean Amitabh Varshney said. “Their investment will elevate our graduate programs and help position the department for continued leadership in new frontiers of mathematics.”

By Jessica Wilson

Celebrating a Sesquicentennial of Excellence

This past Maryland Day, the University of Maryland campus hummed with an extra sense of pride and nostalgia as the Department of Mathematics officially celebrated its 150th anniversary. A century and a half of groundbreaking research, transformative education, and global academic leadership culminated in a day-long celebration that brought together generations of Terrapins. From world-renowned faculty emeriti to undergraduate students, the event served as both a reminiscence of a storied history and a look forward to the next frontier of mathematical discovery.

The morning’s festivities started in the Jim Yorke Rotunda, which had been transformed into a museum of the department's legacy. Displays showcased archival photographs, historical timelines of former department chairs, and retrospectives on evolutionary shifts in math curricula over the decades. Memorials dedicated to late faculty members reminded attendees of the legacy underpinning the department's success over the years. Showcases of current research groups underscored the Math Department’s ongoing impact on modern science and technology.

The day commenced with a celebratory breakfast in the department’s lounge. Alumni, faculty emeriti, and newly admitted students mingled over coffee. Dean Amitabh Varshney of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) offered warm welcoming remarks, commending the department for its historical role as a cornerstone of research excellence at the University of Maryland.

Unearthing Our Roots: The Early History of UMD Mathematics

Following breakfast, the program began with an opening lecture dedicated to the early history of the department. Presenters took the audience back in time, tracking the department's growth from a modest program focused primarily on serving engineering and agricultural students to an independent, highly visible international center for pure and applied mathematics. This session featured three former department chairs: Brit Kirwan, Jim Yorke, and Scott Wolpert.

Anecdotes from the archives highlighted the department’s resilience through major global events, including its rapid expansion post-World War II. Attendees learned about the early integration of computing resources in the mid-20th century, which laid the groundwork for Maryland as a future powerhouse in applied mathematics and computational research. The session illustrated how the early leadership’s commitment to rigorous inquiry and diverse hiring practices paved the way for the department to steadily climb international rankings.

The Golden Age of Chaos: The 1960s and 1970s

The next session focused on the department's "Golden Age" in the 1960s and 1970s, a period of intellectual growth. This era was brought to life by a distinguished panel featuring Simon Levin, John Benedetto, Peter Wolfe, and Stu Antman. Together, they reminisced about the vibrant, highly collaborative environment that defined the department during a time of rapid academic expansion and emergent federal research funding.

Simon Levin, a distinguished alumnus who earned his Ph.D. from Maryland in 1964, discussed how his early training at UMD laid the groundwork for his interdisciplinary breakthroughs in mathematical biology and spatial ecology. John Benedetto reflected on the department's foundational strides in harmonic analysis that began to mature during his early decades on the faculty. Further showcasing the era's strength in applied mathematics, Peter Wolfe and Stu Antman shared insights on UMD's rise as a hub for continuum mechanics and nonlinear elasticity. They described an open intellectual environment where the boundaries between pure theory, physical systems, and ecological modeling were fluid. The scholars painted a vivid picture of a department that was firmly cementing its reputation as a global hotbed for analytical innovation.

Breaking Barriers and Expanding Horizons: The 1980s and 1990s

Following a lively lunch, attendees gathered in the Herbert Hauptman Colloquium Room for the afternoon session. The venue itself added a layer of historical gravitas, named after UMD mathematics alumnus Herbert Hauptman, who was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his revolutionary development of mathematical methods for determining crystal structures.

The afternoon session shifted focus to the 1980s and 1990s with a panel discussion featuring a group of alumni and longtime faculty: Dr. Kimberly Sellers, Dr. Larry Washington, Camille and Bill D'Annunzio-Szymczak, and Dr. Robbie Robinson. Together, they described an era characterized by the rapid integration of computing and the diversification of mathematical career paths.

Dr. Kimberly Sellers opened the conversation by reflecting on her formative student years, emphasizing how the department expanded into statistics and stochastic processes to meet the demands of an increasingly data-driven world. Dr. Larry Washington, a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and prominent number theorist, shared insights into the era’s academic milestones, with many wonderful stories about his nearly 50 years in the department. The panel highlighted the vast reach of a Maryland degree through the alumni couple Camille and Bill D'Annunzio-Szymczak. They illustrated how the department's training translated into high-impact industry careers. Rounding out the panel, Dr. Robbie Robinson recounted stories about earning his doctorate at Maryland. Together, the speakers noted how the department bridged the gap between classical pure mathematics and the dawn of the digital age.

The 21st Century and Looking Toward the Future

The final panel discussion of the day brought together current faculty members and student leaders to examine the Math Department’s trajectory in the 21st century and outline its vision for the future. The conversation centered on the department’s adaptability in the wake of the digital revolution.

Panelists discussed the integration of data science, machine learning, and quantum topology into the modern curriculum, noting UMD's institutional partnerships with federal entities like NIST and the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS). Key takeaways emphasized that while the tools and computational power available to mathematicians have shifted dramatically, the core mission remains unchanged: fostering deep problem-solving capabilities. Looking forward, the department chair, Doron Levy, outlined the department's commitment to mathematical excellence, sustainability in research funding, expanding outreach, and adapting pedagogical methods to train the next generation of quantitative thinkers.

A Community United by Mathematics

Overall, the 150th-anniversary celebration was a monumental success. It was moving to witness hundreds of visitors, spanning many generations of graduating classes, come together to reconnect with old mentors and share stories about late nights spent studying in the math building. The event highlighted that the true strength of the Maryland Mathematics Department lies not just in its rankings or research output, but in the enduring community it fosters.

For those alumni, friends, and community members who were unable to attend the celebration in person, photo galleries of the Rotunda displays and full video recordings of all the historical lectures and panel discussions and are available for streaming.

To explore the digital archive, relive the presentations, or contribute your own memories to the living history project, please visit the official anniversary website at www.math150.umd.edu. Here’s to the next 150 years of mathematical excellence at the University of Maryland!

As surface temperatures rise and reshape ecosystems across the United States, a new study suggests that Lyme disease—one of the country's most common vector-borne illnesses—may not just spread but relocate.

University of Maryland researchers found that rising temperatures are likely to shift Lyme disease risk westward in Maryland, reducing transmission in some densely populated regions while increasing it in cooler, less-populated areas.

Published in the journal Royal Society Open Science on March 25, 2026, the researchers developed a detailed mechanistic mathematical model calibrated with two decades of ecological and case data to simulate how warming affects the lifecycle of the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, the primary vector of the Lyme-causing bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.

“Vector-borne diseases constitute about 16% of all infectious diseases of humans,” said the study’s senior author Abba Gumel, a Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics at UMD with a joint appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing. Gumel also holds the Michael and Eugenia Brin Endowed Chair in Mathematics.

“This study helps answer a central question in ecology, whether and how anthropogenic climate change will alter these diseases’ distribution and burden,” he said.

A moving target

Scientists have long known that temperature plays a crucial role in tick development, survival and host-seeking activity. The new paper highlights a nuanced reality: ticks and Lyme disease transmission intensity peak within a narrow thermal band—17 to 20.5 degrees Celsius (roughly 63 to 69 degrees Fahrenheit). Outside that range, tick survival and transmission capacity decline.

As surface temperatures rise, that optimal “sweet spot” is expected to shift downward.

The researchers found that under moderate warming scenarios, parts of central Maryland, currently the hardest hit by Lyme, could see a decline in disease risk as temperatures rise above the range optimal for tick activity. Meanwhile, cooler western counties, including mountainous regions with historically few Lyme cases, may warm into the new optimal range, becoming more vulnerable to sustained transmission.

With more extreme warming, the shift becomes even more pronounced. 

“Under the high-emission scenario, Western Maryland falls fully within the new temperature window and emerges as the primary hot spot, while central, southern and eastern counties, where about 70% of the state’s population live, experience significant reductions in transmission due to thermal overshoot,” said study co-author Salihu Musa, a visiting assistant research scientist at UM-IHC. 

Importantly, the net effect of both warming scenarios is a statewide reduction in overall Lyme disease burden—but with the emergence of new risk areas in less populated western counties, the authors noted.

A patchwork future

The findings challenge a common assumption.

“Global warming does not uniformly intensify Lyme disease risk,” Gumel said. “Instead, it shifts the thermal landscape.” 

The resulting redistribution of risk creates a patchwork that could complicate public health planning, he said. But that planning is essential, as Lyme disease is unlikely to disappear on its own even without shifting weather patterns.

“Our theoretical analysis establishes that under current ecological and environmental conditions, Maryland will continue to experience Lyme disease outbreaks,” Gumel said. 

Rising temperatures only underscore the need for intervention. And no single intervention will do the trick, the authors said.

“A hybrid strategy combining rodent baiting, habitat clearance and personal protection offers the most robust pathway to elimination,” Musa said. “At moderate coverage levels—­­around 50%—this integrated approach remains effective under both moderate and high warming scenarios.”

He added that “elimination of Lyme disease in Maryland is mathematically feasible, but the threshold for intervention success rises with temperature.”

The study's authors emphasized that their mechanistic modeling framework intentionally focuses on temperature as the central climatic driver, enabling a clear, data-driven understanding of how rising temperatures reshape tick ecology and disease distribution. This approach provides public health officials with a powerful, interpretable tool for anticipating geographic shifts in risk and designing adaptive intervention strategies across Maryland.