June 2008

Note From The Chair

2007-2008 has been an exciting year for the Department of Mathematics at Lehigh.  It has also been a challenging year for me.  I started my job as the chair of department July 1, 2007.  Professor Steven Weintraub was the chair of the department for the last six years. He kept the department on the right course. I would like to thank the faculty and staff of the department for working with me closely and creating a great environment to learn mathematical sciences on campus.  During the coming year, we are committed to create an even better academic environment for our students.

Wei-Min Huang
Professor and Chair
Department of Mathematics
Lehigh University

Promotions

Linghai Zhang was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in spring 2008. Linghai received a B.S. from Beijing Normal University in 1986, with major in Mathematics. He received his PhD in 1999 from Ohio State University.  Linghai has published 17 papers after his Ph.D. in 1999 and 5 of them since 2005. Linghai's research is mainly on mathematical problems arising out of biological systems and nolinear PDF. Linghai has developed a close relationship with faculty in Lehigh’s Department of Bioligical Science.

Terrence Napier was promoted to Professor in spring 2007. Terry received his B.S. from University of Notre Dame in 1982, and Ph.D. from University of Chicago in 1989. He came to Lehigh after three years as an instructor at M.I.T. He is known for publishing long and substantial papers.  Professor Napier mainly works on several complex variables and differential geometry. His research had been supported by N.S.F. research grants.

Student Awards

Students who received 2007-2008 mathematics awards:
a.    Mathematics Faculty Award: Matthew Judell
b.    Elisha P. Wilbur Mathematics Prize: Daniel Faro, Shannon Fitpatrick,  Kara Godshalk, Elyka Gozali
c.    C.-C. Hsiung Award: Matthew Sheperd
d.    Thornburg Mathematics Prize: Timur Nezhmetdinov
The Faculty Award is given to the outstanding junior math major. The Thornburg Prize is given to the graduating student with outstanding performance in advanced math courses.  The Hsiung Award is given to the most outstanding student in mathematics or statistics.  The Wilbur prize is given to a student with outstanding performance in freshman mathematics by engineering students.

Special Events

Pitcher Lectures. The 2008 A. Everett Pitcher Lectures were delivered March 17, 18 and 19, by Professor Persi Diaconis, Mary V. Sunseri Professor of Statistics and Mathematics at Stanford University. A. Everett Pitcher was a Professor of Mathematics at Lehigh for 40 years until his retirement.  The Pitcher Lectures are named in his honor, and are funded (as are other important math department activities) by a donation from him and especially by a bequest from his late wife, Theresa Sell Pitcher.  Everett passed away in December 2006 at the age of 94. Our distinguished lecture series, the Pitcher Lectures, was once again held this year.  This time we had Professor Persi Diaconis, Mary V. Sunseri Professor of Statistics and Mathematics at Stanford University, as the speaker. Professor Diaconis is a member of the National Academy of Science.  Professor Diaconis delivered three very exciting lectures.  His first lecture, “The Search for Randomness,” was aimed at a general audience, and was widely attended. We were glad to see our Provost was present and to have our Dean introduce Professor Diaconis to the audiences. His second talk, “What Do We Know about the Metropolis Algorithm?” was aimed at a mathematical audience. His third talk on “The Mathematics of Shuffling Cards” was well received by all and especially the undergraduate students.

Geometry-Topology Conference. JDG sponsors an annual Geometry/Topology conference.  This long-running conference is held two out of every three years at Lehigh and the third year at Harvard.  The most recent conference was held at Harvard University in May 2008.  As always, this conference was well-run, well-attended and generally successful. The lead organizer for these conferences is Professor David Johnson. The next Geometry/Topology conference will most likely be held at Lehigh University in May 2009. This conference is sponsored by the Journal of Differential Geometry, which is published at Lehigh. The conference has also been supported by NSF grants. Professors Cao, Davis, Johnson, and Szczepanski have been involved in obtaining the NSF conference grants. For more information, see our website, or contact David Johnson at dlj0 at Lehigh dor edu.

Analytical Finance Program and Masters In Statistics Progran.

In 1997-8, we instituted a new two-semester 400-level course in Financial Calculus. The first semester covers the basic mathematical concepts behind derivative pricing and portfolio management of derivative securities. It culminates in the Black-Sholes model and also deals with more advanced topics on continuous-time martingales, Brownian motion and Ito calculus. Among the topics in the second semester are interest rate market models, multiple stock n-factor models, and quantitative methods for portfolio management. We are continuing our cooperation with CBE and ISE in the M.S. in the Analytical Finance degree (a 1-year degree program).  Eight students received M.S.A.F. degrees in 2007-2008 academic year.  Professor Vladimir Dobric serves as the co-director from the mathematics department. For more information, contact Professor Vladimir Dobric at vd00 at Lehigh dot edu.

Beginning in Fall semester 1998, we have a new Masters program in Statistics. Prior to this, graduate students studying statistics would receive a degree in mathematics, with no official designation of their specialization in statistics. Many courses in probability and statistics will now be cross-listed between mathematics and statistics. The program will have two tracks, the Statistics track and the Stochastic Modeling track. The program has been running smoothly. For more information about this program, see our web page or contact Wei-Min Huang at wh02 at Lehigh dot edu.

Faculty Retirements

Professor Jerry King retired in 2007.  He taught in Fall 2006 and was on terminal leave in Spring 2007. Professor Jerry King remains active in research. His new book, Mathematics in Ten Lessons: The Grand Tour, is to be published by Prometheus Books in fall 2008. He also gave four invited talks this year.

Faculty Special News

Professor C.-C. Hsiung had a stroke in October 2007. He lived at the HealthCare Center over the Movarian Villege since then. Recently his daughter, Nancy Hsiung, decided to move Professor C.-C. Hsiung to Boston on May 13, 2008, so she can be closer to her father.

Journal of Differential Geometry. 

One of the jewels of the department is the Journal of Differential Geometry (JDG), founded by Professor C.-C. Hsiung and published by Lehigh ever since.  JDG is one of the premier mathematics research journals.  Its visibility and reputation significantly contribute to the visibility and reputation of the Lehigh math department.  Professor C.-C. Hsiung and Professor S.-T. Yau are the Editors-in-chief of JDG.  Professor Huai-Dong Cao serves as Managing Editor of JDG, and the journal is running very smoothly.  JDG is printed and distributed by International Press (IP) under contract with Lehigh.

American Regions Math League

The American Regions Math League is a national high school mathematics team contest that has been taking place each year since 1976. Professor Donald Davis continues his outstanding work with the high school students.  Every year for the past 15 years he has coached a Lehigh Valley team in the American Regions Math League (ARML) competition for high school students.  In 2004-5 he coached two teams, one of which placed first in the country.  In 2005-6 he coached three teams, one of which tied for third in the country.  In 2006-7 he coached four teams, one of which placed second in the country.  This is a truly remarkable achievement on his part.