Recent awards
Past undergraduate awards (McShane, Floyd, and Putnam prizes)
Huanchen Bao Receives Multiple ICCM Awards
January 6, 2026
UVA Mathematics PhD alumnus Huanchen Bao has received three prestigious awards at the International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians (ICCM 2025), held in Shanghai, including the ICCM Best Paper Silver Award for the paper “Canonical bases arising from quantum symmetric pairs of Kac-Moody type” (Compos. Math. 157, 2021), joint with Weiqiang Wang .
Bao also received the ICCM Silver Medal of Mathematics and the ICCM Best Paper Gold Award (joint with Xuhua He).
Huanchen Bao is currently an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore.
Felipe Flores Awarded Inaugural Simons Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
July 31, 2025
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.
Paper recognized as finalist for PNAS Cozzarelli Prize
June 17, 2025
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.
Louisa Liles Selected as MOST Fellow at the National Museum of Mathematics
April 21, 2025
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
April 20, 2025
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.
J.D. Quigley Awarded NSF CAREER Grant
April 18, 2025
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. Read more in the College of Arts & Sciences article
Faculty Win UVa Learning Design and Technology Grants
April 18, 2025
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
April 15, 2025
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.
2025 Undergraduate Award Winners
April 10, 2025
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
Michael Wills wins All-University Graduate Teaching Award
April 8, 2025
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!
Ken Ono honored with Academy of Romanian Scientists membership and as Cozzarelli Prize finalist
March 25, 2025
Ken Ono has been elected as an Honorary Member of the Academy of Romanian Scientists.
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.
Daniel James receives 2025 All-University Teaching Award
March 12, 2025
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!
Alejandro De Las Penas Castano receives the Jefferson Dissertation Year Fellowship
March 11, 2025
Congratulations to Alejandro who has been awarded the prestigious Jefferson Dissertation Year Fellowship!
Sara Maloni Receives 2024 Frontiers of Science Award
February 27, 2025
Sara Maloni has been awarded the 2024 Frontiers of Science Award in Mathematics at the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) held in July 2024. The award recognizes her paper “Polyhedra inscribed in a quadric,” published in Inventiones Mathematicae in 2020, which was a collaboration with Jeff Danciger (University of Texas, Austin) and Jean-Marc Schlenker (University of Luxembourg).
About the award: The International Congress of Basic Science honors top research with an emphasis on achievements from the past ten years that demonstrate excellence and outstanding scholarly value. Scientific works selected for the 2024 awards must have been published in the last 10 years, be of the highest scientific value and originality, have made a significant impact in their field, and been recognized by scholars in the area.
Catherine Cossaboom Awarded Marshall Scholarship to Study at Oxford
December 21, 2024
Fourth-year mathematics and cognitive science major Catherine Cossaboom has been awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford. The Marshall Scholarship, offered to about 50 students nationally each year across all fields, provides full funding for graduate study in the United Kingdom.
Thomas Koberda Elected Fellow of the American Mathematical Society
November 23, 2024
University of Virginia professor of mathematics Thomas Koberda has been elected as a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, one of the most prestigious honors in the field. Recognized for his significant contributions to group theory, topology, and mathematical logic, Koberda joins an elite group of mathematicians whose work has profoundly advanced the discipline.
2025 Alice T. Schafer Prize Winners Announced
November 20, 2024
Marie-Hélène Tomé, a participant in the 2023 REU program in number theory at the University of Virginia, has been named one of the winners of the 2025 Alice T. Schafer Prize for Excellence in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Woman. The REU program was organized by Professor Ken Ono. Congratulations to Marie-Hélène Tomé for this outstanding achievement!
The Alice T. Schafer Prize is awarded annually to recognize the exceptional contributions of undergraduate women in mathematics. The awards will be presented at the annual AMS meeting in January. More details can be found here.
GTA Teaching Awards
June 27, 2024
We are pleased to recognize Louisa Liles and Valentina Zapata Castro for winning the 2023-24 Outstanding Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. Congratulations!
Thomas Koberda Receives Shannon Mid-Career Fellowship
June 7, 2024
Thomas Koberda has been awarded a Shannon Mid-Career Fellowship by the Provost’s office, starting fall 2024. Congratulations!
More information and a list of 2023 Fellows is here
Catherine Cossaboom is Awarded Goldwater Scholarship
April 17, 2024
Catherine Cossaboom, a third-year math (and cognitive science) major, has been awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, one of only two recipients this year at UVa and among 508 nationwide. Here is the UVA Today article. Congratulations, Catherine!
Darien Farnham Wins NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
April 8, 2024
Congratulations to Darien Farnham, who has won an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!
Valia Gazaki Wins 2024 Alumni Board of Trustees Teaching Award
April 2, 2024
Valia Gazaki was awarded the 2024 Alumni Board of Trustees Teaching Award, selected from nominees across the University.
David Chasteen-Boyd wins an All-University Graduate Teaching Award
April 1, 2024
We are happy to announce that David Chasteen-Boyd, a graduate student, is one of this year’s All-University Graduate Teaching Award winners. This award honors students from all disciplines who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in undergraduate instruction and includes a $500 prize.
UVA Math PhD Weinan Zhang Wins 2023 ICCM Best Thesis Gold Prize
March 20, 2024
2023 UVA math PhD Weinan Zhang, now a postdoc at the University of Hong Kong, will be awarded a Gold Prize for the 2023 ICCM Best Thesis Award, established by S.-T. Yau. The award, which comes with a prize of 50,000 RMB, recognizes the best PhD thesis in mathematics by a student of Chinese descent.
Ken Ono elected to the Indian Academy of Sciences
March 20, 2024
Ken Ono has been elected an Honorary Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences starting 2024.
Thomas Koberda Receives Simons Fellowship
March 20, 2024
This spring, Thomas Koberda was awarded a prestigious Simons Fellowship to support his research. 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 research advances. Congratulations!
Louisa Liles Awarded the Roselle-Huneke Prize
March 2, 2024
Our Ph.D. student, Louisa Liles, has been honored with the Roselle-Huneke Award (similar to the usual Dissertation Fellowships, but specifically for mathematics students). The award not only recognizes Louisa’s exceptional work in quantum topology and knot invariants but also provides support for ongoing research.
Lam Nguyen receives NSF Graduate Fellowship
August 19, 2023
One of our incoming first-year graduate students, Lam Nguyen, has been awarded an NSF scholarship. Lam hopes to explore hyperbolic geometry and study groups acting on hyperbolic space under the guidance of Prof. Maloni. We warmly congratulate Lam on this significant accomplishment and look forward to witnessing his contributions to the field.
David Winters gets Graduate Fellowship
May 31, 2023
We are thrilled to announce that our Masters student, David Winters, has secured second place among the recipients of the Terrill Graduate Fellowship. The Phi Sigma Kappa Foundation sponsors this scholarship competition and will supplement David’s student fellowship that he will receive from Georgia Tech. David will be continuing his Ph.D. studies in mathematics at Georgia Tech.
David recently graduated from the University of Virginia, where he earned a Master’s degree in Mathematics. His thesis, “4-dimensional 2-handlebodies and topological invariants,” was completed and successfully defended under the guidance of You Qi.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to David on this achievement and wish him every success as he continues his academic journey.
2023 Undergraduate Award Winners
April 26, 2023
The Mathematics Department is pleased to announce the following prize winners for the 2022-2023 year:
- E.J. McShane Prize:
- Zachary Carlini
- Edwin E. Floyd Prize:
- Catherine Cossaboom
- Samuel Goldberg
- Tanner Leonard
- Harry (Jicheng) Li
- Declan Stacy
Zac Carlini Awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship and McShane Prize
April 26, 2023
Our graduating senior undergrad, Zac Carlini, has won an NSF Graduate Fellowship and will be attending Yale graduate school in mathematics. Additionally, Zac has been awarded the McShane Prize this year.
Zac’s DMP thesis consists of two research papers, one on i-quantum groups and another on Kazhdan-Lusztig bases for Hecke algebra modules. His work on i-quantum groups provides a new formulation and short conceptual proof to the Serre relations and Serre-Lusztig relations.
We are incredibly proud of Zac’s achievements and look forward to following his continued success at Yale. Congratulations, Zac!