Faculty
New Assistant Professor - Carl Wang-Erickson
I did my PhD in mathematics at Harvard University with Mark Kisin, finishing in 2013. Before starting at Pitt, I held postdoctoral positions at Brandeis University and Imperial College London. My research interests are in number theory, especially understanding how Galois representations relate to automorphic forms and to arithmetic questions. I enjoy applying tools of algebra and algebraic geometry to these issues: moduli problems, deformation theory, and homotopical algebra. In teaching, I am enjoying using category theory to introduce algebraic thinking.
New Graduate Director - Piotr Hajlasz
As Graduate Director, I would especially like to welcome our new graduate students!
Let me introduce myself briefly. I received my PhD in Mathematics at the University of Warsaw in 1994. I became an assistant professor and then an associate professor there, before accepting a tenure track position at the University of Pittsburgh in 2004. I immediately fell in love with the city of Pittsburgh and with this department. Coming here was one of the best decisions of my life!
This year has been especially exciting for me since I have been appointed as the new Graduate Director starting this fall. Aside from working on my own research, I am very invested in the success and development of the many young people around me, which is one of the reasons I decided to take on this position. Our department, with its world-class researchers covering a wide range of areas in both pure and applied mathematics, allows for unlimited opportunities for graduate students. I want to do my best to help students benefit from these opportunities and become successful mathematicians.
I am still acclimating to my new responsibilities as I am transitioning into this role, and I ask that you be patient and forgiving. However, it is important that you know that your success and happiness are what I value most. Once I mentioned to a colleague that I have seven children: two of my own and five graduate students. I truly care about all the students in our program and hope to develop the support and mentorship you need! In particular, many rules and procedures in our graduate school were created a long time ago and are in need of revision. Please, share with me any of your ideas and concerns. I am open to all comments and complaints!
Again, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our new graduate students and hope that everyone is having a wonderful fall semester so far!
Sincerely,
Piotr Hajlasz
Featured Research - Professor Ming Chen
Despite their ubiquity and importance in physics and engineering, water waves remain very difficult to analyze or to predict, largely because of the presence of the unknown, time-varying fluid domain and the nonlinear way the spatiotemporal patterns affect the transport of energy and fluid particles. While many analytical tools currently exist for studying water waves of small amplitude, Dr. Chen focuses on developing new machinery to construct large-amplitude waves and to investigate their ability to persist under small perturbations. Another objective of his work is to understand how energy evolves in response to the interaction between a fluid and a solid. Results from this project will advance the mathematical theory of water waves and contribute to understanding of other mathematical models in fluid mechanics and other related branches of applied science and engineering. This research also involves training and collaboration with graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.