Math Hires 1st Berger-Leighton Professor of Mathematics

This spring, the Brandeis Department of Mathematics completed their search for the first Berger-Leighton Professor of Mathematics with the hiring of Dr. Daniel Álvarez-Gavela, currently an Assistant Professor at MIT. Dr. Álvarez-Gavela will be joining Brandeis in July 2024, after staying for one more year at MIT.

This new tenure-track faculty position is the result of the generous gift by Bonnie Berger ’83, a former Brandeis trustee and the Simons Professor of Mathematics at MIT, and her husband, Dr. Tom Leighton, Professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT and CEO and cofounder of Akamai Technologies. Brandeis Mathematics Chair Olivier Bernardi had this to say about the hire: “Dr. Álvarez-Gavela is a superb scholar, and an individual who embodies all the qualities that Brandeis ought to represent. Dr. Álvarez-Gavela is already collaborating with Brandeis Professor Kiyoshi Igusa on an ambitious research project aimed at importing sophisticated algebraic results (first developed by Prof. Igusa and his collaborators), to bear fruition in the context of symplectic geometry. The Math Department was unanimously enthusiastic about Dr. Álvarez-Gavela and excited to see him come and develop at Brandeis, and contribute to the renewal of the Department.”

Eva Silverstein is 2023 Eisenbud Lectures speaker

The Mathematics department is pleased to announce that this year’s speaker for the Eisenbud Lectures in Mathematics and Physics is Eva Silverstein of Stanford University. The lectures will take place at Brandeis University from March 28^th – March 30^th. The Eisenbud Lectures are the result of a generous donation by Leonard and Ruth-Jean Eisenbud intended for a yearly set of lectures by an eminent physicist or mathematician working close to the interface of the two subjects.

Professor Silverstein is an eminent theoretical physicist who has done creative, pioneering and influential work in string theory, quantum field theory, and both conceptual and observational aspects of cosmology. She was a Sloan Fellow and a MacArthur Fellow; she is currently a Simons investigator; a fellow of the American Physics Society; and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science.

Silverstein is a fascinating speaker, and these lectures promise to be enlightening and entertaining in equal measure. Here’s the lecture schedule (refreshments will be available before each talk):

• Tuesday, March 28th at 4pm in Abelson 131: “The accelerating universe and rigid Einstein manifolds”.  For Zoom link, please contact Catherine Broderick.
• Wednesday, March 29th at 11am in Abelson 333: “The accelerating universe and integrable deformations of quantum field theories”
• Thursday, March 30th at 10am in Abelson 333: “Optimization and sampling from energy-conserving Hamiltonian dynamical systems”

There will be a reception held on campus at Feldberg Lounge in the Hassenfeld Building after the first colloquium on Tuesday, March 28th.  All are invited to attend.

Prof. Albion Lawrence and Prof. Bong Lian are hosting the 2023 lecture series.

Brandeis students ranked well at the Putnam Math Competition

The Brandeis team did very well at the Putnam Mathematics Competition this year. The Brandeis team ranked 39 out of 456 institutions! This is a great result, especially given that small institutions are naturally at a disadvantage in such rankings.

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is hosted by the Mathematics Association of American (MAA). It is an annual competition that began in 1938 for undergraduate college students from the US and Canada. The event consists of two 3-hour sessions where students work individually to solve six mathematical problems. It is famous for the intricate mathematical puzzles it proposes, whose solutions require imagination and inventiveness.

Eight Brandeis students participated in the weekly competitions at Brandeis, with Ben Kamen, Issac Berger and Phong Pham going on to compose the Brandeis Team at the national competition. Student Ben Kamen received an honorable mention since he scored 58th out of 3415 participants. The other Brandeis students also did very well.

Congratulations to the Brandeis team and all participants, and a great thank you to the Putnam coaches Kiyoshi Igusa, Professor of Mathematics and PhD student Tudor Popescu!

Math Receives Gift for Berger-Leighton Endowed Professorship

The entire Mathematics Department at Brandeis feels grateful and deeply honored by the recent gift by Bonnie Berger ’83, a former Brandeis trustee and the Simons Professor of Mathematics at MIT, and her husband, Dr. Tom Leighton, Professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT and CEO and cofounder of Akamai Technologies. This gift is very timely for the Mathematics department, as they are experiencing a generational transition, and look to attract a new generation of scholars that will help shape the direction and reputation of the department for the next decades.

The Brandeis Mathematics Department has an illustrious history, and many prominent mathematicians have flourished at Brandeis. The Berger-Leighton Endowed Professorship will be a crucial tool to renew this tradition of excellence. They will aim at hiring new faculty of the highest caliber, which will serve as anchors for future research groups within the department and beyond.

Brandeis prides itself in having a faculty body that both radiates internationally and takes good care of its students internally. The Mathematics department is a prime example of this aspiration, and they are excited that the Berger-Leighton Endowed Professorship will help them achieve this vision. The first recipient of the Endowed Professorship will be hired this year. The department has an abundance of exceptional candidates. They are looking forward to welcoming a new colleague soon, and helping them bloom and become an influential mathematician.

Additional information: Brandeis Alumni, Friends and Families

Maurice Auslander Distinguished Lectures & International Conference to be held 10/26-10/30

The Mathematics Department of Northeastern University is organizing the 2022 Maurice Auslander Distinguished Lectures and International Conference which will take place at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The Maurice Auslander Distinguished Lectures is going to be held from October 29-30. The International Conference runs October 26-30.

The conference series honors the legacy of the renowned late mathematician Maurice Auslander whose research in the areas of representation theory, commutative algebra and category theory has had a tremendous impact on mathematics. The conference series is one of the premier events in Algebra, gathering a large number of prominent researchers and early career mathematicians, including many minority and female mathematicians. It is supported by the COS and Math Department of Northeastern, the NSF and the Mathematics Department of Brandeis University. The Distinguished Lectures are supported by the contributions of Bernice Auslander.

Registration fee is $100. To register: contact Kiyoshi Igusa (igusa@brandeis.edu).