News and events at Department of Mathematics
DMP thesis defense: James Harbour
Event date: 2025/04/29
James Harbour will defend the DMP thesis on Tuesday, April 29th. The title is
Discrete measured groupoid von Neumann algebras via the Gaussian deformation
- Date: April 29th, 2025
- Time: 11:00 am
- Location: Ker 111
Everyone is invited to attend.
Masters thesis defense: Samir Fridhi
Event date: 2025/04/25
Samir Fridhi will defend the Master’s thesis on Friday, April 25th. The title is
Tate’s Thesis
- Date: April 25th, 2025
- Time: 5:00 pm
- Location: Kerchof 111
Everyone is invited to attend.
Thesis defense: Aoran Wu
Event date: 2025/04/25
Aoran Wu will defend the Ph.D. thesis on Friday, April 25. The title is
“Von Neumann orbit equivalence”.
- Date: Friday, April 25
- Time: 2:00 pm
- Place: Kerchof 326
Everyone is cordially invited to attend.
Thesis defense: Mojdeh Tarighat Feller
Event date: 2025/04/25
Mojdeh Tarighat Feller will defend the Ph.D. thesis on Friday, April 25th. The title is
Products of Closed k-Schur Katalan Functions
- Date: April 25th, 2025
- Time: 1:30 pm
- Location: Zoom
For Zoom link, please reach out to Jennifer Morse .
Everyone is invited to attend.
Louisa Liles Selected as MOST Fellow at the National Museum of Mathematics
2025/04/21
Ph.D. student Louisa Liles has been selected as a MOST (Mathematics Outreach Seminar and Training) Fellow with the National Museum of Mathematics in New York. This selective program, funded by the Simons Foundation, develops female mathematicians’ ability to share their knowledge and research with the general public in an engaging way. As part of the fellowship, Louisa will attend a workshop at the museum this summer and return in 2026 to give a public lecture. She will also present to middle and high school students in the community, serving as a role model for young women interested in STEM.
2025 Mathematics Final Exercises Ceremony
Event date: 2025/05/17
Final Exercises for the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences will take place on Saturday, May 17, 2025 on the Lawn.
The Mathematics Department Diploma Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the Pavilion I, Lower Garden from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
FAQ
Will I be included in the math graduation ceremony if math is my second major? Yes, all students who are graduating with a major in mathematics, whether it is their primary or secondary major, are invited to participate in the Mathematics Department Diploma Ceremony.
Are tickets required for the math ceremony? No, tickets are not required for the Mathematics Department Diploma Ceremony. Family and friends are welcome to attend.
For more information about university-wide graduation events, please visit the Office of Major Events website.
J.D. Quigley Awarded NSF CAREER Grant
2025/04/18
Congratulations to J.D. Quigley on receiving a prestigious NSF CAREER grant!
Professor Quigley’s research focuses on homotopy theory, algebraic topology, and K-theory. He joined the UVA Mathematics Department in 2023.
Faculty Win UVa Learning Design and Technology Grants
2025/04/18
Congratulations to several faculty for winning grants from UVa’s Learning Design and Technology:
Brianna Kurtz (lead) and Evangelos Dimou: Changing the Look of Undergraduate Mathematics Education: Training Future GTA’s in Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Best Practices
Daniel James (lead) and Bakhyt Aitzhanova: Enhancing Transparency in Introductory Calculus Through Innovative OER & Generative AI
2025 Graduate Teaching Award Recipients
2025/04/15
The Department of Mathematics is proud to recognize four outstanding graduate student instructors for their teaching excellence:
- Michael Wills has been awarded the All-University Graduate Teaching Award
- Zivile Puospekaite received the Outstanding Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
- Raul Hernandez received the Outstanding Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
- Eleftherios Chatzitheodoridis received the Outstanding Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
Congratulations to all recipients! Their dedication, passion for mathematics, and authentic teaching approaches have made a significant impact on their students.
Catherine Cossaboom: DMP Thesis Defense
Event date: 2025/04/22
Catherine Cossaboom will defend the Distinguished Major Thesis on Tuesday, April 22 under the direction of advisor Ken Ono. The title is
“Distribution of Primes in Short Intervals”.
- Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
- Time: 9:00 am
- Place: Kerchof 111
2025 Undergraduate Award Winners
2025/04/10
The Mathematics Department is pleased to announce the following prize winners for the 2024-2025 year:
- E.J. McShane Prize:
- Catherine Cossaboom
- James Harbour
- Edwin E. Floyd Prize:
- Samuel Lichtman
- Luke Moyar
UVA Math Tournament (UVAMT)
Event date: 2025/04/19
The University of Virginia Math Competition for high schoolers will be held on April 19, 2025 in Wilson Hall 325. Problems are written by UVA top Putnam scorers, and events include an individual & team round, optimization round, and game round.
Details and registration can be found at this link.
AWM/Math Club Colloquium: Caitlin Leverson (Bard College)
Event date: 2025/04/17
“A Friendly Introduction to Lagrangian Realizations of Ribbon Cobordisms”
On Thursday, April 17, 2025, we are excited to host the second AWM/Math Club Colloquium by Professor Caitlin Leverson, a topologist from Bard College, at 3:45 PM in New Cabell 058. The talk is intended to be accessible to undergraduates.
Michael Wills wins All-University Graduate Teaching Award
2025/04/08
We are pleased to announce that Michael Wills has been awarded one of this year’s All-University Graduate Teaching Awards. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!
Thesis defense: Louisa Liles
Event date: 2025/04/11
Louisa Liles will defend the Ph.D. thesis on Friday, April 11th, at 9:30 am in New Cabell Hall, Room 323.
Quantum invariants and their connections with Thompson’s groups F and T
Everyone is invited to attend.
Ken Ono honored with Romanian Academy membership and as Cozzarelli Prize finalist
2025/03/25
Ken Ono has been elected as an Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy of Sciences.
Additionally, Ono has been named a runner-up for the 2024 Cozzarelli Prize in the physical sciences, awarded by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Ono coauthored the recognized work with Will Craig, a former UVA grad student, and Jan-Willem van Ittersum from University of Cologne.
Thesis defense: Miika Tuominen
Event date: 2025/03/24
Miika Tuominen will defend the thesis on Monday, March 24. The title is
“Completions and DK-equivalences of Θn-spaces”.
- Date: Monday, March 24, 2025
- Time: 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
- Place: Ridley Hall 179
Math Major Declaration Party
Event date: 2025/03/21
We’re hosting a Math Major Declaration Event for prospective math majors on Friday March 21 from 2-4pm in Kerchof 314, where faculty will be available to discuss major plans and share information about our program opportunities including undergraduate research, the distinguished major program, directed reading program, geometry lab, community outreach, and student organizations, with refreshments provided.
Thesis defense: Wojciech Tralle
Event date: 2025/03/19
Wojciech Tralle will defend the thesis on Wednesday, March 19. The title is
“Almost strong approximation in reductive groups”.
- Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
- Time: 3:30 pm
- Place: Kerchof 111
- Committee: M. Ershov, V. Gazaki, I. Klich, A. Rapinchuk
Everyone is invited to attend.
Daniel James receives 2025 All-University Teaching Award
2025/03/12
We are pleased to announce that Daniel James has been named a recipient of a 2025 All-University Teaching Award. This prestigious award recognizes “the most dedicated, passionate, creative, and equity-minded instructors who significantly and meaningfully contribute to the University’s teaching mission.” Please join us in congratulating Daniel on this well-deserved recognition!
Paper recognized as finalist for PNAS Cozzarelli Prize
2025/03/11
Ken Ono’s 2024 PNAS paper “Integer partitions detect the primes” with former UVA student William Craig and collaborator Jan-Willem van Ittersum has been recognized as a finalist for the Cozzarelli Prize. The paper was selected as a runner-up in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics category from among 3,200 papers published in PNAS last year. This marks the first time a paper in pure mathematics has been recognized by this prestigious award since 2005.
Alejandro De Las Penas Castano receives the Jefferson Dissertation Year Fellowship
2025/03/11
Congratulations to Alejandro who has been awarded the prestigious Jefferson Dissertation Year Fellowship!
Mid-Atlantic Topology Conference 2025
Event start date: 2025/03/22
The Mid-Atlantic Topology Conference 2025 (MATC-25) will be held at the University of Virginia from March 22-23, 2025, celebrating Nicholas Kuhn ‘s 70th birthday!
Jordan Ellenberg - Virginia Mathematics Lectures - March 4-5, 2025
Event start date: 2025/03/04
Jordan Ellenberg (University of Wisconsin)
Jordan Ellenberg will deliver the Virginia Mathematics Lectures on March 4-5, 2025.
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Lecture 1: Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 5-6pm, Wilson 402
Three is harder than two
(Abstract is below)
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Lecture 2: Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 5-6pm, Wilson 402
What does machine learning have to offer pure mathematics?
(Abstract is below)