The students’ research interests range from algebraic geometry to number theory and applied mathematics.

Eleven graduate students in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Maryland received 2021-22 Herbert A. Hauptman Endowed Graduate Fellowships. 

The fellowship program was created with an estate gift from Carol Fullerton that honors the memory of her late father, Nobel laureate Herbert A. Hauptman (Ph.D. ’55, mathematics), and launched in 2020 thanks to a gift from Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Mathematics James A. Yorke (Ph.D. ’66, mathematics). 

The 2021-22 Hauptman Fellows are:

• Priyankur Chaudhuri, algebraic geometry
• Yunjiang Ge, bioinformatics/biostatistics
• Jackson Hopper, representation theory
• Elliott Lehrer, algebraic number theory
• Qihang Li, number theory
• Michael Rawson, harmonic and signal processing
• Arpith Shanbhag, algebraic geometry
• Stephen Sorokanich, applied mathematics
• Tessa Thorsen, applied mathematics
• Gustavo Varela-Alvarenga, statistics
• Xuze Zhang, semiparametric statistics and time series analysis

UMD’s 35 scholarships in the past decade rank second in the nation.

George Li, a sophomore computer science and mathematics double-degree student at the University of Maryland, has been awarded a 2022 scholarship by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, which encourages students to pursue advanced study and research careers in the sciences, engineering and mathematics. 

Li is among 417 Goldwater Scholars, three from UMD, selected from 1,242 nominees nationally. Goldwater Scholars receive one- or two-year scholarships that cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to $7,500 per year.

Over the last decade, UMD’s nominations yielded 35 scholarships—the second-most in the nation behind Stanford University. The Goldwater Foundation has honored 76 UMD winners and five honorable mentions since the program’s first award was given in 1989.

“Our Goldwater Scholars are conducting research on the leading edge of their disciplines—engineering new clean energy solutions, using algorithms to optimize the distribution of limited resources in contact tracing or access to vaccines, and designing new gene-based diagnostics and therapies against aggressive cancers. Each of them is on a trajectory to make major research contributions that have societal impact,” said Robert Infantino, associate dean of undergraduate education in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. Infantino has led UMD’s Goldwater Scholarship nominating process since 2001.

Li arrived at UMD in fall 2020—when most classes were still being taught online due to the pandemic—but that didn’t stop him from jumping into research his first semester. In fact, the pandemic offered him unique research opportunities. Working with Aravind Srinivasan, Distinguished University Professor of Computer Science at UMD, and collaborators at the University of Virginia, Li developed an algorithm for efficient contact tracing that has been recommended for implementation to the Virginia Department of Health. Li also developed an approximation algorithm to determine where to deploy vaccine distribution sites to improve accessibility to vaccines. 

“George is the first author on two papers accepted in a well-known artificial intelligence conference, AAMAS 2022, on contact tracing and mobile vaccination for diseases like COVID-19,” Srinivasan said. “He came up with new mathematical and algorithmic ideas and very fast software development for these submissions. He has a strong career ahead combining math, computer science and data science."

Li also worked with UMD Assistant Professor of Computer Science Furong Huang on using a powerful algebraic tool called tensor decompositions to develop learning algorithms that make non-discriminatory decisions. This project fueled Li’s interest in deriving practical implications from theoretical models. 

In addition to earning an International Collegiate Programming Contest Regionals Bronze Medal, Li is a member of UMD’s table tennis club and a teaching assistant for CMSC 451: Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms. While at UMD, Li was awarded a President’s Scholarship, Michael Antonov Endowed Scholarship and Edgar Krahn Scholarship.

After graduation, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science, with a focus on theoretical computer science in the areas of learning theory, algorithms and combinatorial optimization, and differential privacy.

Center will expand the Department of Mathematics’ research in mathematics and statistics.

The University of Maryland announces today a $4.75 million gift to its Department of Mathematics to expand research in pure and applied mathematics and statistics. 

Mathematics Professor Emeritus Michael Brin and his wife Eugenia and the Sergey Brin Family Foundation are establishing the Brin Mathematics Research Center, which will expand the university’s mathematics and statistics research and education programs and support visiting scholars, workshops and symposia, and summer programs.

“The impact and generosity of the Brin family here at the University of Maryland is extraordinary,” said Amitabh Varshney, dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. “We are honored that the Brin family’s latest gift will support pure mathematics and statistics research and its applications to nearly every sector of our economy.”

 The center will provide a platform for UMD to expand and showcase its mathematics and statistics research excellence nationally and internationally. It will also foster interactions between mathematicians at UMD and around the world.

Housed in the Computer Science Instructional Center, the center will organize its activities around annual themes. Each year will be dedicated to several different research areas. The center will invite visiting scholars and host scientific meetings on these themes. 

 “The University of Maryland was a welcoming home for our family for many years. We hope that the new center will significantly advance mathematics research at Maryland,” said Michael Brin, who retired from UMD in 2011 after 31 years on its faculty.

Michael and Eugenia, a retired NASA scientist, parents to Google co-founder Sergey (B.S. ’93, mathematics and computer science) and Samuel (B.S. ’09, computer science), have made several significant gifts over the years to support the university’s Department of Mathematics; Department of Computer Science; Russian program; and School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies.

“This gift is truly transformational for our department,” said Doron Levy, chair of the Department of Mathematics and inaugural director of the Brin Mathematics Research Center. “With exciting faculty hires, an expanded postdoctoral program, new research opportunities and many educational initiatives, our department aims to be one of the top mathematics departments in the world. The Brin Mathematics Research Center is key to achieving our goals. The level of support it will provide to our research activities is unprecedented within the mathematical community. On behalf of my colleagues, I would like to thank the Brin family for their outstanding gift.”

 The department currently ranks 9th in the nation among public institutions according to U.S. News & World Report and has over 100 tenured/tenure-track and professional-track faculty members, nearly 800 undergraduate majors and 200 graduate students, and teaches about 10,000 students a semester.

The Brin family’s generous gift supports Fearless Ideas: The Campaign for Maryland, UMD’s $1.5 billion fundraising campaign focused on elevating and expanding the university’s mission of service, enhancing academic distinction and bolstering UMD’s leading-edge research enterprise.