News and events at Department of Mathematics
Juraj Földes to Help Lead National Predictive Science Center
2025/11/18
Associate Professor Juraj Földes will help provide the mathematical foundation for UVA’s new SAGEST Predictive Simulation Center, part of a $16 million U.S. Department of Energy initiative to advance high-performance simulation science. The multi-university center will focus on making computer models of complex physical systems more accurate and dependable.
Professor Földes will assist in the verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification core of the center, providing mathematical analysis to support predictability.
Virginia Topology Conference 2025
Event start date: 2025/12/10
The Virginia Topology Conference 2025: New Developments in 4-Manifold Topology will be held on December 10-11, 2025, at the University of Virginia, Department of Mathematics, Charlottesville, VA.
See the departmental page and the conference website for more information.
Rich Schwartz - Virginia Mathematics Lectures - March 23-25, 2026
Event start date: 2026/03/23
Rich Schwartz (Brown University)
Rich Schwartz will deliver the Virginia Mathematics Lectures on March 23-25, 2026.
- Lecture 1: Monday, March 23, 2026
- Lecture 2: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
- Lecture 3: Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Mary Ann Pitts Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professorship
2025/09/16
The Department of Mathematics at the University of Virginia invites applications for the inaugural Mary Ann Pitts Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professorship in Mathematics, beginning August 10, 2026.
We seek exceptional candidates with a distinguished research profile in any area aligned with the department’s strengths. Ideal candidates will also demonstrate excellence in teaching, mentoring, and engagement with the department and university community.
Jennifer Morse Invited to Speak at ICM 2026
2025/09/08
Mathematics professor Jennifer Morse will be an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia in July 2026. Held every four years, the ICM is the premier mathematics conference in the world and is the setting for the awarding of the Gauss Prize, the Chern Medal, the IMU Abacus Medal, and the Fields Medal.
A new UVA Arts & Sciences article highlights how Professor Morse is being recognized for her groundbreaking work in algebraic combinatorics, including solving a problem she first encountered over 20 years ago as a graduate student.
Department Tea Time Resumes
2025/08/27
The Mathematics Department will hold a special welcome reception this Thursday, August 29, at 3:15 PM in Kerchof 314 (Math Lounge), and resume regular tea time on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:15 PM in the Math Lounge.
This Thursday, we will
- Welcome all faculty, staff, and students back for the new academic year
- Introduce new department members
- Honor departing staff members Katie Coleman and Gina DiGuilio
All members of the department community are warmly invited to attend this Thursday, and each Tuesday and Thursday at 3:15 PM in the Math Lounge. We look forward to seeing everyone.
New Math Room Booking System (MRBS) Is Live
2025/08/15
The Department of Mathematics has launched a new Meeting Room Booking System (MRBS) to manage all departmental room reservations. Bookings made through MRBS are official—the department office uses this calendar as the authoritative source for scheduling.
- You should have received a link to create your MRBS username and password.
- Anyone may view the calendar without logging in.
- Logged-in users may create up to five non-recurring bookings.
- To request a recurring booking (e.g., weekly meetings or a course pattern), please contact the Mathematics Department office.
Links
- View the calendar (no login required) at the link on the right of the main page: MRBS Main Calendar
- How to book / FAQs: MRBS Help
Contact
- Department Office: Kerchof Hall, Room 216
- Technical Support: Leo Petrov — petrov@virginia.edu
Please use MRBS for all room requests going forward. This will keep our shared spaces organized and ensure that schedules are accurate and up to date.
Felipe Flores Awarded Inaugural Simons Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
2025/07/31
Congratulations to Felipe Flores Llarena on being awarded an inaugural Simons Foundation Dissertation Fellowship! Felipe is among the first class of recipients of this prestigious new fellowship program.
Thesis defense: Valentina Zapata Castro
Event date: 2025/07/28
Valentina Zapata Castro will defend the Ph.D. thesis on Monday, July 28. The title is
“Segal Theta_2-monoids as monoidal (infty,1)-categories”.
The defense will be held at Kerchof 111 at 11:00 am.
Everyone is invited to attend.
Ravi Vakil - Virginia Mathematics Lectures - September 8-10, 2025
Event start date: 2025/09/08
Ravi Vakil (Stanford University and AMS)
- Lecture 1 - The Mathematics of Doodling: Monday, September 8, 2025 | 5-6pm | Wilson 402
- Lecture 2 - Topology from Algebraic Geometry: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 | 5-6pm | Wilson 402
- Town Hall with the AMS President: Wednesday, September 10, 2025 | 3:30-5pm | Minor 125
Thesis defense: Matthew McCarthy
Event date: 2025/07/12
Matthew McCarthy will defend the Ph.D. thesis on Friday, July 12. The title is
“Connectedness Properties of some Subcomplexes of Twin Buildings and Their Group Theoretic Applications”.
The defense will be held at Kerchof 111 at 3:30 pm.
Everyone is invited to attend.
Thesis defense: Kian Aik Cheong
Event date: 2025/06/30
Kian Aik Cheong will defend the Ph.D. thesis on Monday, June 30. The title is
“Explicit Kummer theory for some 2-dimensional formal group laws”.
The defense will be held at Kerchof 317 at 10:00 am. The defense will be in hybrid format. For those interested, the Zoom link is: https://virginia.zoom.us/my/valiagazzoomspace
Everyone is invited to attend.
Paper recognized as finalist for PNAS Cozzarelli Prize
2025/06/17
Ken Ono’s 2024 paper “Integer partitions detect the primes” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 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.
An article describing this work appeared in Scientific American in June 2025.
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.
Riverside Workshop on Geometric Group Theory at UVA
Event date: 2025/05/09
The University of Virginia will host a workshop for early career mathematicians working in geometric group theory on May 9-12, 2025. The workshop will feature three minicourse series by Harrison Bray (George Mason), Didac Martinez-Granado (Luxembourg/NUS), and Jenya Sapir (Binghamton), with introductory talks by Madeline Horton, Meenakshy Jyothis, and Aisha Mechery. The talks are aimed at graduate students and postdocs and will be accompanied by discussion sections. Remote access will be available via Zoom.
The workshop is organized by Matthew Gentry Durham (UCR) and Thomas Koberda (UVA), and is supported by NSF grant DMS-2500706.
DMP thesis defense: Nikolas Dillery
Event date: 2025/05/05
Nikolas Dillery will defend the DMP thesis on Monday, May 5. The title is
“Kazhdan’s Property (T): General Results and SL_n(Z)”.
- Date: Monday, May 5
- Time: 3:00 pm
- Place: Kerchof Hall 317
Everyone is cordially invited to attend.
Master thesis defense: Declan Stacy
Event date: 2025/04/30
Declan Stacy will defend the Master thesis on Wednesday, April 30. The title is
“Stochastic Persistence in Infinite Dimensions”.
- Date: Wednesday, April 30
- Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Place: Kerchof Hall 111
Everyone is invited to attend.
DMP thesis defense: Liran Li
Event date: 2025/04/30
Liran Li will defend the Distinguished Major Thesis on Wednesday, April 30 titled
“Automatic groups: a brief introduction”.
- Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Time: 11:30 am
- Place: New Cabell 027
Everyone is invited to attend.
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 317
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.
Sara Maloni Awarded 2025 Simons Fellowship
2025/04/20
Sara Maloni has been awarded a prestigious 2025 Simons Fellowship in Mathematics. The Simons Fellows program extends academic leaves from one term to a full year, enabling recipients to focus solely on research for the long periods often necessary for significant advances. Professor Maloni is one of approximately 50 mathematicians nationwide selected for this honor.