Athens, Ga. – Five University of Georgia faculty members are among mathematical scientists from around the world named Fellows of the American Mathematical Society for 2013, the program’s initial year. The inaugural class of 1,119 Fellows represents more than 600 institutions, with the number of AMS Fellows targeted at 5 percent of the total membership.
“The mathematics department at UGA is internationally recognized for its strong tradition of inquiry and creative research in fundamental areas of mathematics,” said Malcolm Adams, professor and head of the department of mathematics. “This is built on the strength of its faculty members together with an atmosphere of open discussion and collaboration. That we are so well-represented in this inaugural group of AMS Fellows, from emeriti faculty to those in mid-career, is a testament to the hard work and dedication of these individuals.”
“The Fellows of the AMS” designation recognizes members who have made outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication and use of mathematics. One of the program’s goals is to create an enlarged class of mathematicians recognized by their peers as distinguished for their contributions to the profession.
The 2013 Fellows from UGA listed below.
Valery Alexeev, David C. Barrow Professor of Mathematics. Alexeev has settled several fundamental problems in algebraic geometry, a field concerned with systems of algebraic equations and their solutions. A dedicated educator, Alexeev has co-organized the UGA math tournament for high school students since 2001 and has participated on the department’s National Science Foundation VIGRE grant to help prepare graduate students for math careers. His awards include a Sloan Foundation fellowship, a 2001 UGA Creative Research Medal and a Distinguished Research Professorship at the UGA. In 2006, he was invited to present his research findings at the International Congress of Mathematicians.
James C. Cantrell, professor emeritus. Cantrell produced fundamental work in geometric topology in the 1960s and 70s. He was a leader of UGA mathematics, serving as department head through a critical period of its growth from the mid 70s to the early 80s. The lecture series created in his honor in 1994 brings distinguished mathematicians to the UGA campus annually.
Jon F. Carlson, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Mathematics. Though retired from teaching, Carlson maintains a vigorous externally funded research program in algebra and computational algebra. He was awarded a Fulbright grant in 1984, a senior research award from the Humboldt Foundation in Germany in 1998 and a UGA Creative Research Medal in 1982. He was a Distinguished Research Professor for the last 10 years of his tenure at UGA, from 1992-2002. In 1990, he was the first member of the UGA department of mathematics to be invited to present a lecture at an International Congress of Mathematicians.
C. Henry Edwards, professor emeritus. Edwards did fundamental work in the field of topology in the 1960s. Later, his research interests turned to the history and teaching of computational mathematics, modern numerical applications, computer algebra systems and scientific graphics. He also is known for authoring several popular undergraduate mathematics texts, many written with David Penney.
Daniel Ken Nakano, Distinguished Research Professor of Mathematics. Nakano is a world leader in algebraic representation theory, an area that includes the study of Lie algebras, algebraic groups and quantum groups. The mathematical constructions in this field are fundamental for understanding the symmetries of nature used in many disciplines, such as chemistry and theoretical physics. Nakano’s work has provided fundamental advances stemming from the creation of new approaches to problems that have stymied many mathematicians. In recognition of his work, he has received a 2007 UGA Creative Research Medal and was appointed Distinguished Research Professor in 2010.
For more on the AMS Fellows, see http://www.ams.org/profession/ams-fellows. For more on the UGA department of mathematics, see http://www.math.uga.edu/.
