The University of Maryland announced on Thursday a $27.2 million gift to the Department of Mathematics to endow the Brin Mathematics Research Center, establish a new Brin Endowed Chair in Mathematics and pilot the Brin Maryland Mathematics Camp for talented high school students in the state.

The gift is the latest from UMD mathematics Professor Emeritus Michael Brin and his wife Eugenia, a retired NASA scientist, who established the Brin Mathematics Research Center in December 2021 with a $4.75 million gift.

"We are always happy to help support the Department of Mathematics at the University of Maryland,” said Michael Brin.

This is the fourth-largest outright gift to the university from an individual and the largest ever to the department.

“Michael and Eugenia Brin believe in the power of research to expand knowledge and solve grand challenges, and we are grateful for their investment,” said university President Darryll J. Pines. “The research at the Brin Mathematics Research Center expands our mathematics and statistics understanding and showcases excellence here at the University of Maryland.”

Housed in the Computer Science Instructional Center, the Brin Mathematics Research Center is a platform for UMD to expand and spotlight its mathematics and statistics research excellence nationally and internationally. The center brings hundreds of mathematicians to the university every year for workshops, summer schools and distinguished lectures. It also fosters interactions among mathematicians from near and far.

“This generous gift from the Brins ensures that the research and scholarship taking place in the Brin Mathematics Research Center will continue for generations to come,” said Amitabh Varshney, dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. “The additional support for an endowed chair is critical for recruiting and retaining the best faculty members in mathematics, and we’re excited that the summer camp will bring young scholars to College Park to explore our programs and campus.”

Michael and Eugenia Brin, parents to Google co-founder Sergey Brin ’93 (mathematics and computer science) and Samuel Brin ’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.

The impact of their gifts has been immediate. Since the Brin Mathematics Research Center launched, the University of Maryland rose to become the No. 20 graduate-level math program, and No. 6 among public institutions, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“The Brin Mathematics Research Center makes the University of Maryland a destination for mathematics and statistics research,” said Doron Levy, the center’s director and chair of the Department of Mathematics. “With this transformational gift, we will continue to boost the visibility of our program, attract top faculty and students, and provide our Maryland community with unparalleled educational and research opportunities.”

The new gift includes:

• $25 million to endow the Brin Mathematics Research Center and support activities such as visiting scholars, workshops and research
• $2 million to establish a new Brin Endowed Chair in Mathematics
• $200,000 for the new Brin Maryland Mathematics Camp, a competitive summer camp launching in 2024 for high school students in the state

The Department of Mathematics has over 100 tenured/tenure-track and professional-track faculty members, 650 undergraduate majors and 200 graduate students and teaches over 10,000 students a semester.

Virtual Course, Summer Program Taught by UMD Faculty Give Prince George’s Students Free College Math Experience.

Savannah Grooms ’27 hated math in middle school and stewed over the C she got in her seventh-grade introduction to algebra. But just a few years later, she found herself on the other side of the desk, tutoring students who had similarly struggled with the subject at her alma mater—and a University of Maryland program was a big factor in her turnabout.

As a rising senior at Bowie High School, Grooms enrolled in a virtual summer program and calculus course taught by University of Maryland math professors and coordinated by College of Education faculty. Launched in 2020 and funded by the Office of the President, the collaboration with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) has allowed more than 100 students from demographically diverse high schools—some of which don’t consistently offer calculus—to get a leg up on their math education for free.

“It’s a way to allow students to get a sneak peek to what studying at Maryland is like,” said Francesca Henderson, a UMD Ph.D. candidate in mathematics education who’s helped coordinate the program for three years. “For a lot of people, getting some college credit while you’re still in high school makes college less of a financial burden.”

Since the partnership began, students at 16 PGCPS schools have accessed the course, including this past year at Charles Herbert Flowers, Northwestern, Chesapeake Math and IT South, and Oxon Hill high schools. Students must have at least a 3.5 GPA to enroll in the three-credit class on Zoom three days a week; UMD teaching assistants hold discussions and office hours during the same time slot on the other two days.

While the program initially taught Calculus I (MATH 140), it now instead eases students into the subject with Elementary Calculus I (MATH 120), which is “more accessible for students at different math levels,” Henderson said. It’s similar to what’s taught in AP Calculus AB, but students taking the UMD-taught course need to pass the class, not a national exam, for college credit.

For the past two years, the program has also incorporated a summer component, where enrollees get a college algebra and precalculus refresher, also taught free of charge by UMD faculty.

“If you’re going into engineering, physics or chemistry, calculus is sort of a gateway. Having some exposure to it before you get to college is very valuable,” said Professor Larry Washington, associate chair for undergraduate studies in the Department of Mathematics, who’s also helping to coordinate the course. “We’re taking the most talented students and trying to keep them going and giving them a push. And maybe some of them find out, ‘This is not what I want,’ but it’s good to find out (in high school).”

For Grooms, the class inspired her to become a tutor and minor in math at UMD, and the skills she learned also translate to her journalism major, she said.

“I learned the rigor of college early on. I know I have to go to office hours, become close with my teacher and ask questions,” she said. “I also built relationships with the people in the class. We all still remain friends. We all had our own study sessions. That really is also what happens in college.”

The program has evolved into a partnership with UMD’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Henderson said. Most students who take the course apply to the university, and they receive support throughout the application process.

Partners from both UMD and PGCPS hope to build on the program’s success in helping open doors to college, STEM fields and beyond.

“The constant collaboration and conversation between the university and the school system has really created a model that works,” said Olivia Pearson, PGCPS college readiness supervisor.

Spring Awards 2024 

Congratulations to the faculty, students, and staff on their outstanding achievements and well-deserved awards! Their dedication, hard work, and excellence have not only brought pride to the Math Department but have also set a remarkable example for others to follow. We celebrate their success and look forward to witnessing their continued contributions and accomplishments.

Faculty

• Alfio Quarteroni receives the Blaise Pascal Medal in Mathematics

• Archana Khurana - Donna B Hamilton Award, Provost Do Good Innovator, Deans Outstanding Lecturer Award

• Nirajan Ramachandran - Deans Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Yanir Rubinstien - Do Good Campus Fund

• Maria Cameron 2024 MURI Award

• Tamas Darvas, Adam Langowski, and Yanir Rubinstien named Simons Fellows

• Doron Levy - Class of 2024 It is AMS Fellow

Graduate Students

Summer Research Fellowship (Grad School)

• Aditi Sen

Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship

• Vlasios Mastrantonis
• Jiaqi Wang

Ivo & Renata Babuska Award

• Lucas Bouck

Monroe Martin Spotlight Award

• Revati Jadhav
• Brandon Kolstoe

Seymour Goldberg Spotlight Award

• Soyoung Park
• Luis Suarez
• Mark E Lachtman
• Vlasios Mastrantonis
• Shuo Yan
• Keith Mills
• Yuxiang Ji

Patrick & Marguerite Sung Fellowship in Mathematics

• Morgan Bryant
• Prakhar Gupta

Ralph P. Pass Award

• Zhiming Li
• Chengze Duan

Aziz/Osborn Gold Medal in Teaching Excellence

• Nicholas Forman
• Isabelle Stepler
• Leah White
• Ben Goldschlager
• Oscar Copploa
• Mohammand Sharifi Kiasari

Hauptman Summer Award

• Maeve Wildes
• Marco Bornstein
• Soyoung Park
• Spencer Durham
• Brandon Kolstoe

Ruth Davis Math & Physics Award

• Ran Tao

Monroe Martin Math & Physics Award

• Yong Cui
• Sanghoon Na
• Shashank Sule

Janine Tucker & Ira Schwartz Endowed Graduate Award

• Meenakshi Krishnan

Hauptman Summer Award

• Qihang Li
• Shenghao Li
• Shaoyang Zhou
• Chenzi Jin
• Valerie Wray
• Charles Dziedzic
• Amandeep Chanda
• Vasanth Pidaparthy
• Philip Charles
• Ian Teixeira
• Shin Eui Song
• Nicholas McConnell
• Zezheng Song
• Zhirui Li
• Sze Hong Kwong
• Wen-Tai Hsu

James C. Alexander Prize for Graduate Research in Mathematics

• Luke Evans
• Rachel Lee

Hauptman Summer Fellowship 2024

• Shitao Fan
• Junaid Aftab
• Yilin Zhang
• Zhangchi Xu

Undergraduate Students

Goldwater Scholar - Yash Anand and Jerry Shen 

2023 Putnam Team - Vincent Trang, Daniel Yuan, Omar Habibullah, and Andrew Parker 

Antman Undergraduate Award

• Maria Nikolaitchik

Aziz Mathematics Scholarship

• Svetlana Semenova

Outstanding Senior Award

• John Brownfield,

Higginbotham Award

• Adam Melrod

Abramowitz Award

• Ezra Ayalaian,
• Emerson Hemley,
• Liron Karpati,
• Daniel Levy,
• George Li,
• Samuel Lidz
• Turner McLaurin
• Karthik Sellakumaran Latha
• Matthew Schneider

Konter Scholarship

• Sydney Gravel
• Lauren Sherr
• Grace Tao

Strauss Scholarship

• Noah Kupinsky
• Dan Shanks Award
• Uma Tikekar

Daniel Sweet Undergraduate Research Fellowship

• David Koralov
• Quentin Ludet

Strauss Teaching Assistant

• Kevin Flanary
• Linsen Liu
• Quentin Ludet
• Dongxing He
• Noelle Mitchell
• Gary Peng
• David Koralov

Honors and High Honors 

• Anh Cao
• John Brownfield
• Daniel Levy
• Ezra Ayalaian
• Turner McLaurin
• Emerson Hemley
• Karthik Sellakumaran Latha
• George Li
• Uma Tikekar

Matthew Tremba

Staff

Dedicated Staff Award

• Trystan Denhard
• Jemma Natanson
• Ayala Nuriely
• Victoria Villafranco

Provost’s Do Good Innovator Award

• Jacqueline Dwyer-Xec

RISE Grant Progressive Terp

• Jessica Sadler