Newsletter Archives - Page 2 of 2

Graduate Student Excels in Research, Teaching

October 18, 2024 by Logan Judy

Joshua Siktar pursued his interests in both mathematical analysis and computational mathematics while earning his PhD at UT, completing the degree this year.

Siktar entered the program in the fall of 2019 and worked with two advisors, Professors Tadele Mengesha and Abner Salgado.

He wrote his doctoral thesis on some aspects of the mathematical and numerical analysis of a contemporary nonlocal model of the deformation of elastic solids.

The model involves integral equations, instead of the commonly used differential equations, and it is found to be effective in modeling the emergence of singularities, such as fractures and cracks, in materials when material bodies are subjected to an external force.

His main research focus was on the optimal control and optimal design of such models that appear in solid mechanics. In his first project, he analyzed the mathematical framework that leads to obtaining an optimal external force, used as a control, that produces an optimal displacement field that is the closest to a desired field with the minimum possible cost of applying the force. He has demonstrated rigorously that such an optimal pair of force and displacement fields exist and are unique. In the event of vanishing nonlocality, he has proved that the limiting fields are also optimal fields for the well-studied classical linearized elasticity model.

Siktar also studied the finite element-based discretization of the problem, where he proved convergence as well as the asymptotic compatibility of the scheme in the event of vanishing nonlocality. The project led to a publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

His second project was on an optimal design problem related to these nonlocal problems. This project is related to the modeling of composite materials where an arrangement of constituent materials is sought that will lead to the designing of a material with particular effective behavior. In analyzing these models, he used a variety of mathematical tools from the calculus of variations, functional and numerical analysis, and differential equations techniques, to name a few.

Siktar’s curiosity and eagerness to learn, the mark of a true researcher and scholar, motivated him to work also with Professor Xiaobing Feng on some problems related to what is known as the Lavrentiev phenomenon in the calculus of variations.

Essentially, this phenomenon appears when trying to minimize functions (energies) of a somewhat nonstandard structure. Minimizing over a slightly smaller set leads to a bigger value than the true minimum. Most physical processes are based on some energy minimization principle. For this reason, being able to identify when this phenomenon occurs and how to mitigate it bears great importance in applications.

In addition to his research, Siktar showed great interest in teaching and mentoring. While at UT he was nominated for several teaching awards, including the Math GTA Teaching Award. He guided undergraduate students in research projects that led to publications in mathematical journals dedicated to undergraduate research.

Siktar, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018, has accepted a postdoctoral position at Texas A&M University.

Message from Department Head Xiaobing Feng

October 18, 2024 by Logan Judy

$Headshot photo of Xiaobing Feng$

Dear friends of the UT Department of Mathematics,

As the 2023-2024 academic year has wound down, let us reflect on a remarkable year and look ahead to the future.

Riding on the momentum of 2022-2023, our department continued to rise along with the university’s rise. We had another phenomenal year of growth. We hired one full professor, one associate professor, and one assistant professor. Twelve new full-time lecturers joined our department, adding needed teaching power for service math courses. Two full-time staff members also joined our department to manage the Testing Support Center and the Math Place, providing critically important service for our instructors and all University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students. The department welcomed a record 34 graduate students, and the total number of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) has exceeded 100. Finally, incoming math majors increased from 30 to 40, and math honors jumped from 17 to 28. With a new actuarial science program, it is expected that math majors will significantly increase in the next few years.

As the university grows, so does the Department of Mathematics. While building on the department’s strengths in both pure and applied mathematical research and graduate education, we have been investing in future growth in cutting-edge and impactful areas such as artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning, by hiring more faculty in those areas. Moreover, we have been collaborating with other departments within the College of Arts and Sciences (such as physics, chemistry, and biology) and units outside the college or university (e.g., industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, health sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, the UT Institute of Agriculture, the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Bredesen Center, and Oak Ridge National Lab) for interdisciplinary research and projects.

Mathematics, which is the language of sciences, engineering/technology, and economics/finance, is ubiquitous and plays an increasing role in modern sciences, engineering, industry, and society. We believe that a strong Department of Mathematics is a necessity for the university and are dedicated to actively contributing to the realization of UT’s strategic vision. Through outstanding research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and unwavering commitment to transformational education, our goal is to continue to shape the future of mathematics and inspire new generations of scholars.

The past year also was marked by a comprehensive Academic Program Review (APR), which occurs once every 10 years. Although the onsite review by an external committee took only three days, its preparation spanned over six months by our departmental APR committee.

The goal of a comprehensive APR is for the university to evaluate the department’s effectiveness in teaching, research/creative activity, and service. It also provides the department opportunities for self-study and analysis about what it has done and to plan for the future. Moreover, it provides a valuable opportunity for the department administration to discuss with the college and university administrations the department’s concerns, needs, and vision, and seek their help to achieve the department’s goals and mission.

An external APR committee came to UT from March 31–April 2, 2024, submitted an evaluation report, and made constructive recommendations. Here are a few excerpts:

“The department has clearly demonstrated a willingness and an ability to serve the mission of the university. No other department on campus has served the university to this degree ….”
“Despite its stretched resources, the tenure-line faculty, lecturers, and GTAs do an excellent job handling increased enrollments and serving the many undergraduates that take mathematics courses at UT. The commitment to teaching and to the department as a whole, and the overall morale of the lecturers, is striking.”
“The (math department) tenure-line faculty research contributions are world-class and have an impact in a variety of areas of mathematics and its application.” “The mathematical biology program, which started on campus 30 years ago and ultimately resulted in securing a major NSF center in NIMBioS, was one of campus’s crown jewels.”

The APR committee’s report was overall positive, objective, and constructive. Our department will collaborate with the college and university administrations to implement recommendations from the report in the next few years. For example, the department will create a course scheduling manager post to improve the efficiency in making teaching assignments and develop policies for incentivizing faculty to obtain external research grants and advise graduate students to write theses and dissertations.

In the pages that follow, you will find selected profiles of our faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate math majors, as well as information about our Board of Visitors. I hope you enjoy reading about the many wonderful things that happened in our department over the past year.

With gratitude and best wishes,

Xiaobing Feng
Professor and head

Growing Enrollment, Programs, Expertise, and Reach

October 18, 2024 by Logan Judy

The Department of Mathematics has seen remarkable growth alongside the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, teaching a record number of students in the 2023-2024 academic year and building on phenomenal growth the year before.

With 37 tenure-line faculty, 38 full-time lecturers, more than 100 graduate students, and 10 full-time staff members, the department is the largest on the Knoxville campus by far.

Enrollment in lower-division math courses hit 18,600 in the past academic year, an increase of 3,700 from 2021-22. Ten graduate students received PhDs and 22 earned master’s degrees. Meanwhile, the department welcomed 34 new graduate students, a record number.

The department added three new tenure-line faculty members whose research areas include probability, topology, and math biology. It also welcomed eight full-time lecturers, all with doctorates, with five in new positions.

Starting in the fall of 2024, students have a new option to complete a math major with an actuarial science concentration. Professor Qiang Wu, an associate of the Society of Actuaries, joined the department to lead the program.

“Student interest is already growing, and over the last year, several students successfully passed actuarial exams or completed internships,” said Professor Joan Lind, associate head of the department for math majors and minors.

This fall the department also launched a new undergraduate research forum, the Knox Math Lab.

“This forum will allow us to better facilitate undergraduate research by supporting faculty, utilizing graduate students as mentors, and providing more opportunities and clearer pathways for undergraduate students to engage in math research,” Lind said.

The Math Honors Program, a nationally competitive program for highly motivated and mathematically gifted undergraduate students, also has seen a significant increase. Nearly 30 students were in the program during the 2023-2024 academic year, with about 10 expected to graduate in 2024-25.

The graduate program continued to expand, with a total of 102 graduate teaching assistants in the fall of 2023. Grants, fellowships, and self-supported students brought the total to 117 graduate students in the on-campus program.

“We are proud of the diversity of students we have from around the world,” said Professor Tim Schulze, director of graduate studies and associate head for research and development. “We have recently welcomed students from China, the Dominican Republic, India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.”

Recent graduate students have accepted jobs in academia, industry, and government offices, including the Department of Defense, Major League Baseball, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

With the movement of the Master of Mathematics to a fully online program in recent years, it is drawing enrollment from teachers across the country seeking to expand their mathematical training.

Enrollment in Lower Division Courses

18,600

Graduate Degrees Awarded

10 Doctors of Mathematics
17 Masters of Science
5 Masters of Mathematics

Faculty and Staff

37 tenure-line faculty
38 full-time lecturers
102 graduate teaching assistants
10 full-time staff members

Graduate Program Development

May 15, 2024 by Logan Judy

The UT mathematics graduate program awarded 28 Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) to new students in fall 2022, bringing the total number of GTAs in the program to 88. Grants and fellowships supported an additional nine students. Including our self-supported students, we currently have over 100 graduate students in our program. Going forward, the department aims to increase the number of supported GTA lines to 100, which has already been approved by the college. This represents substantial growth over the last few years.

The department awarded 12 PhD, 19 MS, and 15 MM degrees in 2022-23. Our students accepted jobs in the academia, industry, and government offices, including the Department of Defense, ORNL, Eastman Chemical, Austin Peay State Univ, and various post-docs.

The Master of Mathematics (MM) program was established in the 1960’s by UT mathematics faculty to support teachers by expanding the breadth and depth of their mathematical training. In recent years the MM degree has moved to a fully online program and is seeing increased growth with enrollment of teachers from across the country. This past year, 15 students earned their Master of Mathematics degrees.

Our graduate students are involved with a variety of organizations. They hold positions within the Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM), Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). These local chapters participate in a range of activities from organizing events, conferences, and workshops; giving presentations; and traveling to events sponsored by these organizations.

The graduate program is also proud of the diversity of students we have from around the world: we have recently welcomed students from Bangladesh, China, Columbia, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and Vietnam. We are currently recruiting students for fall 2023. Four of our prospective students recently received endowed fellowships from the Graduate School, including Andrew Gannon, who has accepted a J. Wallace and Katie Dean Graduate Fellowship, and Sunday Bulus, who has accepted a Rowland Family Scholarship.

About nine years ago, the Math Graduate Student Council (MGSC) was created to represent all math graduate students and to help communicate with the department administration. This organization is composed of students elected by their peers from within the department. These students organize professional development events, graduate student group outings, and act as a liaison between the students and the departmental administration. They also host our annual apparel sale where a design, usually created by one of our students, is put on a shirt, hat, etc., and then offered for sale to the department.

Another positive development is that, thanks to the new budget model (i.e., BAM), the college has decided to give both incoming and existing graduate students a relatively large pay raises in FY2024, this will have a significant positive impact on the department’s graduate student recruiting and on student well-being and morale. The department appreciates the college’s continuing support for and investment in our graduate students.

Enhancing the Major-Minor Experience

May 15, 2024 by Logan Judy

$Kristina Wilson headshot photo$

During the past couple years, we’ve been working to enhance the experience for our math majors and minors by promoting career development, research opportunities, and community.

To provide space for more career conversations, we created a new 1-credit course to explore opportunities and resources for a math major at UT as well as career directions. For me, the highlight of the course are the amazing alumni speakers who share their experiences and advice with our students.

Last fall we also launched our new Math Major Alumni Spotlight program to showcase our math alumni and the variety of career paths they have taken. Our fall 2022 spotlights featured Margaret McDaniel, who is an immunology researcher at University of Washington, Kelly McKeethan, who is a Senior Actuary at Frontdoor, and Helene Rodzevicius, who is Assistant Vice President and Credit Analyst at Mountain Commerce Bank. (If you are a math major alum who would like to participate, please get in touch!)

To promote community, we host a weekly math major social hour. This event has really taken off this year now that covid restrictions have eased and we are able to provide food. We’re also creating opportunities for mathematical fun, such as sending a team of math majors to compete in a math jeopardy competition at a regional conference.

Further, our new UT Puzzler debuted this fall, which is a biweekly problem solving challenge open to anyone at the university. So far, we’ve had submissions from 40 different students, with math major Philip Rosenbalm leading the pack with a correct solution to every UT Puzzler so far. Try your hand at the first UT Puzzler below.

Lastly, we continue to promote undergraduate research in mathematics. This semester, thanks to funding from the Office of Undergraduate Research, we offered a paid position to Kristina Wilson (see photo) as the spring 23 math department research assistant. She is working with Professor Ioannis Sgouralis to develop specialized numerical integration schemes for machine learning and the analysis of biochemistry data.

Moving Forward

May 15, 2024 by Logan Judy

One year ago, the mathematics department at UT was in the process of searching for a new department head. It was a great honor for me to be given the opportunity to serve the department in the headship role after being at UT for almost thirty years. Now, after almost eight months since becoming the department head on August 1, 2022, I would like to take a moment to update everyone on some recent developments and events in the department, as well as look forward to where we might be heading.

Teaching is one of the primary responsibilities and missions of the mathematics department, as we teach the entire campus with an enormous number of credit hours. Due to record enrollment, our teaching manpower was stretched beyond our limit in fall 2022. However, with some creative measures and assistance from the dean and provost, the department was able to manage the crisis and ensure that every student was taught without one left uncovered. The department is in better shape in spring 2023, and with many new TT/T and non-TT faculty joining our department in fall 2023, the future looks bright.

Another primary responsibility and mission of the math department in a flagship university like UT is training and advising graduate students. Currently, the department has 88 graduate teaching assistant lines in spring 2023. Thanks to the college’s support, that number will grow to 100 in fall 2023. However, the large influx of new graduate students puts a significant pressure on the department, specifically the TT/T faculty, to direct them and fulfill our commitments to those students, and mentor them to become competent instructors to teach for the university. With the help of a group of dedicated faculty members, the department was able to develop a new GTA Teaching Advising Program that improves/replaces the eight-year-old GTA Mentorship Program. The pilot experience in fall 2022 showed that the new program largely works well, and further tweaks and improvements will be implemented in fall 2023, so the future looks bright.

Research is another primary responsibility and mission of the math department, and many of the faculty cherish and are proud of it. Most of the TT/T faculty have been actively pursuing scholarly research via publications and presentations, and many have been supported by external grants. About 43% of the faculty had external funding in 2023FY, which is up from 31% in FY2021, a great improvement. Among many bright spots, perhaps the brightest was the success of a multi-million-dollar UT cluster hiring proposal on Science-Informed AI, a multi-college and multi-department effort led by Professor Vasileios Maroulas. This is the only winning proposal by the College of Arts and Sciences in the competition and provides critical faculty lines and resources that potentially will put the UT on the map as a leader in AI and machine learning research. Along with the continuous strong traditional mathematical research output of the department, the future looks bright.

Over the past few years, the TT/T faculty of our department has experienced a significant decrease due to retirements and resignations. However, I am pleased to report that the trend has stopped at the end of FY22, and we have made progress. With the support of the college, we were able to conduct three successful TT faculty searches in FY 2023, filling positions in mathematical biology, probability, and topology. I extend my gratitude to the search committees for their hard work and to the committee chairs (Professors Suzanne Lenhart, Jan Rosinski, and Mike Frazier) for their excellent leadership. Additionally, we are already in the process of hiring two senior tenured faculty members through the Science-Informed AI cluster, and the college has approved our request for eight new non-TT faculty positions. In conjunction with previously approved but unfilled positions, we are currently searching to fill 12 non-TT faculty positions. These developments will significantly increase and improve our department’s manpower. With expected changes to take effect in fall 2023 and beyond, the future looks bright.

While shared governance requires our faculty to perform various service responsibilities for the department, college, university, and profession, it is unfortunate that the trend for service load is increasing. This means our faculty will likely carry heavier service responsibilities in the future. Balancing teaching, research, advising, and services will continue to be a challenge, and this challenge may increase.

Our dedicated staff plays a critical role in keeping the department running smoothly, and the COVID pandemic has made us even more appreciative of their services. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their ongoing support to the faculty, students, and university.

For the first time in over five years, our department will be publishing a newsletter. With COVID behind us and a gradual return to normalcy, we hope the newsletter will serve as a means to connect with all of you and enable us to tell our story to the university community and beyond.

Xiaobing Feng

Our Honor Students

May 15, 2024 by Logan Judy

$Ye He headshot photo$

Ye He is a senior mathematics student in the math honors concentration. After consulting with her professors in her sophomore year, Ye switched to the mathematics major from her previous major in electrical engineering. This allowed her to pursue high-level mathematics classes such as topology and abstract algebra.

“In these higher-level math courses, I was trained to solve more complicated and abstract problems, which I think is beneficial to develop my problem-solving skills as well as mindset.”

Ye wrote her honors thesis under the supervision of Professor Joan Lind, on the topic of Spanning Trees in Graph Theory. After graduation, Ye plans to continue with a doctoral degree in statistics. She already has several offers from excellent universities.

$Gesa Nestler headshot photo$

Gesa Nestler is a senior mathematics student in the honors concentration, with a minor in physics. In her four years at UT, Gesa had the chance to take a wide range of courses including graduate level sequences in analysis and algebra. She was also very active in research, and was awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience at Pomona College. Her poster on Galois Groups of Fields Generated by Points of Curves, which was based on her summer research, was awarded an Honorable Mention at the MAA MathFest 2022 in Philadelphia. During the past year, Gesa wrote an honors thesis on modular forms and knot theory under the supervision of Professor Marie Jameson.

“Something I would like to say about my academic experience at UT is that my teachers were very approachable and dedicated to helping students understand the course material, and this really helped me in my classes and prepared me for my Undergraduate Research Experience.”

After graduation, Gesa will pursue a doctoral degree in mathematics at Duke University.

$Spencer Catron headshot photo$

Spencer Catron is a senior mathematics student in the honors concentration. Spencer started taking classes at UT while still in high school, being one of our top students in 300-level courses. During his undergraduate career at UT, Spencer took very advanced mathematics courses, including 600-level graduate courses. He also worked on research in math biology under the mentorship of Professor Suzanne Lenhart, and later wrote a thesis in differential geometry under the supervision of Professor Theodora Bourni. After graduation Spencer will pursue a doctoral degree in mathematics.

“My most memorable experiences were taking the honors analysis sequence and the graduate real/complex sequence my freshman and then sophomore years. These courses were the first times I experienced problems that the proofs were not necessarily natural or easy. Most of the problems were, in fact, quite the opposite. This was the case especially for the graduate sequence taught by Dr. Vellis. There were many nights that spring sophomore semester I remember not sleeping because I got caught up in the homework problems. I remember completing homework that I thought were perfect to receive 4/10s and so on. This is all to say that these sequences humbled me by quite a large bit, and I appreciate them for that. You do not really know who you are until you hit a brick wall. I would also like to say that I am really going to miss this department. I have thoroughly enjoyed the professors and students that I have grown close to these last few years. You all will remain in my heart always.”

Math’s Crucial Mission

May 15, 2024 by Logan Judy

The mathematics department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has a crucial mission to impart mathematical knowledge and skills to every UT student. This mission is integral to the academic success of students across all disciplines, as mathematics forms the foundation of many fields of study. In recent years, the department has taken several significant steps to fulfill this mission.

One of the most notable developments has been the record enrollment in lower division math classes. In fall 2022, the department saw an increase of approximately 1,700 students taking math classes, with Math 119 and Math 123 experiencing the largest increase. This surge in enrollment has been met with exceptional efforts from the math lecturers who have stepped up to teach additional classes. This increase in enrollment highlights the importance of mathematics education, and the mathematics department is committed to continue providing the best possible instruction to UT students.

To further support its teaching mission, the mathematics department has launched a new program, the GTA (Graduate Teaching Assistants) Teaching Advising Program because almost all mathematics graduate students teach part-time for the department and university. The program aims to provide guidance and advising to GTAs in the department and equip them with the necessary tools, techniques, and pedagogies to enhance their teaching abilities and engage with students in a more meaningful way. By empowering GTAs, the department can improve the overall quality of instruction and enhance the learning experience for UT students.

Additionally, the mathematics department has collaborated with the College of Engineering to develop new 200-level math courses tailored to engineering students. This partnership is a significant step forward in enhancing the interdisciplinary learning experience for UT students. The pilot course is currently offered in the spring 2023 semester and will equip engineering students with the necessary mathematical skills to succeed in their field. By tailoring courses to specific disciplines, the mathematics department is demonstrating its commitment to providing relevant and practical instruction to students across all majors.

In conclusion, the mathematics department plays a critical role in ensuring that every UT student acquires essential mathematical knowledge and skills. The department has taken significant steps to fulfill this mission, including an increase in enrollment in lower division math classes, launching the GTA Teaching Advising Program, and collaborating with the College of Engineering to develop new math courses. These efforts demonstrate the department’s commitment to providing high-quality instruction and preparing UT students for academic success.