Two summer schools and nine workshops planned for this summer and the next academic year. 

After winter break, we returned to the permanent location of the Brin Mathematics Research Center—a fully remodeled, beautiful space in the Computer Science Instructional Center. 

Our first spring semester workshop brought computational mathematicians and chemists for a meeting on “Rare Events.” Such events occur rarely on the timescale of the system but may affect the system most dramatically. This became a very active area of research due to the adaptation of ideas from data science and machine learning. The workshop was beautifully organized by Maria Cameron (Mathematics) and Pratyush Tiwary (Chemistry and Biochemistry/Institute for Physical Science and Technology).

Our second workshop was organized by Leonid Koralov (Mathematics) and Lenya Rhyzik (Stanford) on “Branching Processes.” Branching processes are mathematical tools used to model the evolution of particle systems with applications in biology, chemistry and other sciences. This workshop attracted a very dynamic group of junior researchers. The workshop was also attended by Henri Berestycki, who will be joining our department as a Visiting Professor for the next five years. 

Abba Gumel (who holds the Michael and Eugenia Brin Endowed Chair in Mathematics) and Bill Fagan (Biology) organized a workshop on “Human Behavior and Disease Dynamics.” While it is true that the COVID-19 pandemic is decaying (at least for now), this work is necessary to prepare for the next pandemic. This workshop also featured our alum Simon Levin (Princeton) as a Distinguished Brin MRC Lecturer with a talk on “The Mathematics of Consilience.” 

The month of May started with a workshop on “Partial Hyperbolicity,” an area within dynamical systems. We were very fortunate to have Michael Brin (Mathematics) join us for this workshop. This was no coincidence as partial hyperbolicity is exactly his area of expertise. This beautiful gathering of experts in dynamical systems was organized by Dima Dolgopyat (Distinguished University Professor of Mathematics), Federico Rodriguez Hertz (Penn State University) and Amie Wilkinson (University of Chicago). 

Our last workshop of the semester was on “Frontiers of Numerical Partial Differential Equations.” Organized by Howard Elman (AMSC/Computer Science), Tobias von Petersdorff (Mathematics), and several former students (Andrea Bonito, Enrique Otarola, Abner Salgado, and Shawn Walker), this workshop brought together numerical analysists to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ricardo Nochetto. Congratulations Ricardo! This summer we will host two summer schools on partial hyperbolicity and fluid dynamics. 

For the next academic year, we planned nine workshops and three summer schools. This impact on the research profile of our department is already noticeable. We could not have hoped for a better start for the first academic year of the Brin Mathematics Research Center.

Colleagues, collaborators, students and friends gathered at a four-day conference to honor Nochetto and his remarkable achievements in numerical analysis and scientific computing.

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On May 16, 2023, the University of Maryland’s Department of Mathematics, Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST) and Brin Mathematics Research Center kicked off a four-day conference commemorating Mathematics Professor Ricardo H. Nochetto’s 70th birthday and his outstanding achievements in computational mathematics.

Held in Kirwan Hall, the celebratory conference hosted world-class mathematicians who were all impacted by Nochetto’s work. Speakers shared their perspectives on the many branches of mathematics Nochetto helped to advance, particularly highlighting his work in solving partial differential equations (PDEs), which can be used to develop algorithms, as well as analyses and computer simulations used in weather prediction modeling and the manufacturing of novel materials.   

The event also offered a unique opportunity for Nochetto’s current students and postdocs to meet alums he advised and his closest collaborators—a reflection of Nochetto’s continuing scope of influence over his field.  

From Argentina to Maryland

Nochetto’s professional journey as a mathematician started in Argentina, where he received master’s degrees in mathematics in 1976 and electrical engineering in 1979 from the University of Rosario. After completing his Ph.D. in mathematics at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral and University of Buenos Aires in 1983, Nochetto moved to Pavia, Italy, to begin his postdoctoral studies. There, Nochetto says, he enjoyed years of intellectual growth and friendship, starting years-long collaborations with a number of Italian mathematicians, many of whom came across the ocean to be part of his milestone conference at UMD.

“I met Ricardo for the first time almost 40 years ago while he had a scholarship position at the University of Pavia,” recalled Lucia Gastaldi, a professor of mathematics at the University of Brescia in Italy. “It was very inspiring for me to work with him as a collaborator because his approaches to tackling a mathematical problem helped me shape some of my own, but we have also remained good friends over the years. I’m very glad we were able to honor his achievements in person this year.”

In 1986, after his three-year stint in Italy, Nochetto spent a year working in numerical analysis at the University of Minnesota's Institute for Mathematics and its Applications. Nochetto joined the UMD faculty in 1987. Since then, he has continued to influence students and peers alike with his mentorship and collaborative efforts; during his career, he authored or co-authored 160 research journal articles and successfully advised 18 graduate students and 22 postdocs who have gone on to make their own marks on the mathematics world. 

In addition to his work in College Park, Nochetto has been active on the international stage, giving plenary talks at prestigious events such as the International Congress of Mathematicians and the International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics. In 2011, Nochetto was named a Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Fellow for his contributions to the study of free boundary problems and phase transitions. The following year, he was named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. 

Nonlinear PDEs and free boundary problems are ubiquitous in modern science and engineering. Fundamental research in these areas has led to Fields Medals, one of the highest honors a mathematician can receive. Nochetto's work has been pivotal to important developments in the approximation of such problems.

‘Math research is a team sport…pass the ball’

Thanks to his extensive network of frequent collaborators and colleagues, Nochetto’s graduate students and postdocs have always been able to connect with top-tier mathematicians and access both guidance and resources essential to their research.

One of Nochetto’s former students, Omar Lakkis (Ph.D. ’02, applied mathematics & statistics, and scientific computation), who is now a reader in mathematics at the University of Sussex in England, credits Nochetto as a major contributor to his love for abstract math and his current research trajectory.

“He described to me that modern math research is a team sport, like football. What could be reached by lone players is harder to achieve because different skills are required to finally make a goal,” Lakkis said. “Ricardo’s motto is to ‘pass the ball,’ implying that when you’re stuck on a hard math problem, you should share it with someone else. His teaching goes beyond the lecture hall.”

Many others who worked with Nochetto echoed Lakkis’ sentiment.

“It’s hard to express how Ricardo impacted and continues to impact my career,” said Abner Salgado, a former postdoc of Nochetto’s who is now a professor of mathematics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “It was under Ricardo’s mentorship that I started working on nonlocal problems, singular diffusion problems, fully nonlinear equations and many other topics that to this day shape my research profile.”

Salgado also nostalgically recalled spending Fridays with Nochetto sharing prosciutto and gorgonzola pizza at the Three Brothers Italian Restaurant on Kenilworth Avenue, a local haunt for Nochetto’s research group. 

Figuring out complex mathematical concepts over delicious food and coffee with Nochetto was a shared memory for many of his students and colleagues—one highlighted by the lighthearted ribbing and bantering peppered between math presentations at the conference. Nochetto’s current graduate student Lucas Bouck and Lakkis both referenced Nochetto’s penchant for “religiously brewing coffee” in an Italian ‘moka’ percolator while discussing difficult questions or theories. 

Even Ronald DeVore, a frequent collaborator and Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Texas A&M University known for his work in wavelet theory and compressive sensing, admitted that some of his first few in-person meetings with Nochetto also started as conversations over coffee. 

“Ricardo’s involved in a field called adaptive finite elements, which is a way to solve PDEs on a computer. He was one of the first to promote these adaptive finite elements methods, and it’s really proven the test of time,” DeVore said. “I became interested in his work because it was related to what I was working on. With my experiences collaborating with him, I can say that I respect not only the quality of his math but also the quality of his thinking and communication. That is not a pairing that every mathematician possesses.”

DeVore added: “Interestingly, Ricardo was also a postdoc advisor for Andrea Bonito, who is now my colleague at Texas A&M—that really cemented our relationship over the years.”

Building a legacy

As Nochetto reflects on his decades-long career, he believes that the people he met and mentored will become the foundation of his legacy in the mathematics world. Seeing them become independent and masters of their destinies is among his proudest accomplishments. 

“I would like to continue my collaborations with colleagues around the world, to travel and meet new people to learn new ideas,” he said. “There are also a few books and several pending projects with former students and postdocs that I’d like to finish.”

In addition to his academic achievements, Nochetto also shared some personal successes at this major milestone of his life; he’s a proud grandfather to three and looks forward to spending more time with them in the years ahead.

“I have a lot of plans for my math projects, but I really want to devote time to my dear family, which has been a pillar throughout my life,” Nochetto added. “Math and family—thankfully, they both keep me active and alert.” 

Written by Georgia Jiang

UMD mathematicians teach math classes inside a Washington, D.C. correctional facility.

University of Maryland Mathematics Professor Sandra Cerrai has always loved teaching, but the new math class she led this spring has been especially inspiring.

“I have rarely seen such participation, such a commitment, such engagement in a classroom,” Cerrai said. “It’s unbelievable.”

The students in this class aren’t from the university, they’re inmates at the Washington, D.C. Jail. Since March 2023, Cerrai and others from the UMD Department of Mathematics have been going to the jail (also known as the D.C. Central Detention Facility) every week to teach pre-college math to men incarcerated there. For Cerrai, it’s a unique and special educational opportunity—and not just for her incarcerated students. 

“This is not only a service we are doing for the prisoners, this is also a service that they are doing for us,” Cerrai explained. “I think as educators it’s extremely important to engage in these types of initiatives because we can learn so much and become better teachers, and I think we have the possibility to make a significant difference.”

Building on an idea

The idea to start the D.C. Jail math program came from Dan Cristofaro-Gardiner, an associate professor who joined UMD’s Department of Mathematics in 2020. Inspired by a prison education program he was involved with during his postdoc in New Jersey, Cristofaro-Gardiner wanted to create a similar experience for his faculty colleagues and students at Maryland. 

“Teaching in prison really feels a lot different than teaching in a classroom in a very special way,” he said. “I really wanted there to be a space in our department for our undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty to be able to get together and have easy access to these opportunities and partner with each other. From the beginning, the department was very supportive.”

But starting a UMD math program inside the D.C. Jail was no small task. It took weeks of research, emails and phone calls before Cristofaro-Gardiner finally connected with the Petey Greene Program, which operates volunteer education programs inside the nation’s correctional facilities. Petey Greene agreed to partner with the UMD math initiative as part of their College Bridge Program for Incarcerated Learners, a program that helps incarcerated men and women acquire pre-college level academic skills. 

Holding in-person classes for incarcerated students was not a new idea at the jail. Inmates were already being taught subjects like English and reading. But Cristofaro-Gardiner was excited to learn that the UMD program would likely be the first to bring in mathematics.

“The idea is to give incarcerated students access to mathematics education that can bridge gaps between where they are currently with their math and where they need to be,” he explained. “Ideally, when they’re released from prison, they can have positive educational experiences at the college level as well as a good understanding of the mathematical concepts that are helpful in their day-to-day life.”

Recruiting volunteers and building a program

During the planning phase for the program, representatives from Petey Greene took charge of administrative challenges like determining which inmates would be selected to participate, while Cristofaro-Gardiner focused on planning and recruiting a team of mathematics department volunteers.

“Something I want to emphasize is that the time commitment for volunteers in a program like this is substantial,” he noted. “It’s important that they come regularly to build relationships with the students in the program and help them learn.”

Cerrai, who has previous experience working with prison education programs, stepped up to help Cristofaro-Gardiner lead the new math initiative. She and Alice Oveson, a Ph.D. student in Applied Mathematics & Statistics, and Scientific Computation were the program’s first teachers. Senior mathematics major Joanna Hung and mathematics Ph.D. student Connor Martinez Lockhart agreed to help with tutoring, and Mathematics Assistant Professor Boyu Zhang provided curricular support. 

By the beginning of March, the first UMD math class at the D.C. Jail had begun.

“There are generally 15 to 20 students, we have a small classroom in the jail with a blackboard and we teach the class in person like a regular class,” Cerrai said. “Alice and I go there on Fridays and we stay there for an hour and a half to teach, and then on Mondays the students go there and they do tutoring.”

“We tutor in one-and-a-half hour blocks and the time flies by every time,” Martinez Lockhart explained. “I have always enjoyed teaching, especially in mathematics, and working with incarcerated students has been a wonderful opportunity for me to teach in new ways to new types of students.”

From the beginning, participants in this jail math program have been involved, enthusiastic and eager to learn.

“For these students in the jail, this is really something important. This program is really moving something inside of them,” Cerrai observed. “You can’t imagine the level of commitment and participation that you find in that tiny classroom, it’s incredible.”

“For sure this is something they want to do, these are students who are highly motivated to do this,” Cristofaro-Gardiner added. “In my experience with incarcerated students, the potential is really striking when you teach them. It’s extremely easy to imagine if circumstances were somewhat different that they would just be students in your classroom.”

For Oveson, teaching at the jail has been enlightening and inspiring.

“It has been a transformative experience working with students who are so committed to their education,” Oveson reflected. “It has made me realize how much I take my educational opportunities for granted.

Because inmates at the D.C. Jail generally serve short sentences or get transferred to another facility, learning time is limited. Lesson plans for the math classes aim to give students the most meaningful educational experience possible, based on their knowledge of math and the time they have to participate.

“Students get a certificate for completing the program, but I would say the main thing we want to give them is knowledge,” Cristofaro-Gardiner noted. “Since it’s part of the College Bridge Program, we’re teaching them pre-college material, things like exponents, whole numbers and fractions. We want them to have this knowledge so they can thrive in college classes and use these skills to improve their lives.”

Cristofaro-Gardiner believes that in addition to the benefits for incarcerated students and the volunteers who work with them, the new math initiative can contribute to an even bigger mission.

“I think this program is a really good thing from the point of equity and fairness,” he said. “The number of people behind bars in this country is huge, and if we’re not reaching them, it’s a really big missed opportunity.”

A successful start

Thanks to the success of the first inmate math class, plans are underway to teach another class at the D.C. Jail in the fall. The hope is that with enough interest and volunteer help from math department students, faculty and staff members, the program will continue and even expand in the years ahead. 

“This is something that is so rewarding for us,” Cerrai said. “I think it’s something everyone should do.”

“Working with this program has taught me so much,” Oveson added. “Getting to work with these students has been an absolute privilege.”

It’s all about making a difference—teaching math and changing lives, one incarcerated student at a time.

“If you can have a real impact in one, three, five people’s lives, just imagine, I mean that’s huge,” Cristofaro-Gardiner explained. “A lot of these students have not had enough positive educational opportunities and if you can give them some sense of the importance and joy of education and help them, it’s a fantastic thing.”

Written by Leslie Miller