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Mathematics Students Shine at National Meetings

Posted on: March 15th, 2023 by erabadie

Doctoral candidates present papers, network at American Mathematical Society meetings

Martial Longla (left), associate professor of mathematics, and three Ole Miss doctoral students – Kanchana Madhumali Gamlat Esweda Gamladdalage, Mathias Muia and Mous-Abou Hamadou – attend a three-day American Mathematics Society sectional meeting in Chattanooga in October. Submitted photo

Martial Longla (left), associate professor of mathematics, and three UM doctoral students – Kanchana Madhumali Gamlat Esweda Gamladdalage, Mathias Muia and Mous-Abou Hamadou – attend a three-day American Mathematics Society sectional meeting in Chattanooga in October. Submitted photo

MARCH 12, 2023 BY ERIN GARRETT

The American Mathematical Society has awarded travel grants to several University of Mississippi doctoral students to discuss the advancements made in their mathematics research.

Mous-Abou Hamadou, Mathias Muia and Kanchana Madhumali Gamlat Esweda Gamladdalage presented research in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the AMS Fall Southeastern Sectional Meeting.

Gamladdalage, who is from Polgahawela, Sri Lanka, presented her work in graph theory and combinatorics. Muia and Hamadou gave a talk on their paper that focuses on Markov chains, which is a model that describes the probability of a sequence of events occurring based on the previous event.

The paper studies three types of mixing of copula-based Markov chains and how they are affected by changes in their copulas.

“As a new student here in the U.S., this meeting gave me the opportunity to meet numerous mathematicians coming from different areas,” said Hamadou, from Maroua, Cameroon. “I got the chance to follow their presentations and, as a Ph.D. student, it helped me to find out some hints and ideas for future research projects.”

Mathematics professor Martial Longla (left) and doctoral student Mathias Muia traveled to Boston to attend the Joint Mathematics Meeting in January. Submitted photo

Muia and Gamladdalage also presented with Jamie Hernández Palacios in Boston at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in January. The event, hosted by AMS and other organizations, is the largest mathematics gathering in the world.

“Both conferences helped me build my professional contacts,” Gamladdalage said. “At JMM, I participated in the eighth annual AMS Graduate Student Chapter luncheon. Around 30 other graduate students across the U.S. attended, and Congressman Jerry McNerney spoke with us about the importance of advocating for science funding for mathematics.”

Martial Longla, associate professor of mathematics at UM, is often proud of his graduate students. It is rare for him to watch them present their own published papers at national meetings.

“It’s a testament to their work,” Longla said. “Some people graduate without any published papers and then find a way to publish something from their dissertation.

“To be a co-author while they are in their junior years as Ph.D. students shows that these students work hard and stand out.”

Muia and Gamladdalage gave presentations similar to the ones they gave in Chattanooga. Palacios, from Colima, Mexico, spoke during the analytic number theory session.

“I talked about an ongoing joint work with my adviser, Dr. (Micah) Milinovich,” Palacios said. “We give certain bounds for the gaps between the imaginary part of the nontrivial zeros of higher degree L-functions, using a method that had been first used for the Riemann zeta function, a very important function in our field.”

Muia, from a village called Nzouni in Kenya, is hoping to inspire others as a mathematics researcher and professor.

“Teaching is probably my No. 1 passion,” Muia said. “I like helping students understand mathematics and see its applicability in life.”

Math Professor Awarded National Science Foundation EPSCoR Fellowship

Posted on: February 9th, 2023 by erabadie

Ayla Gafni and doctoral student to learn from ‘Mozart of Math’ at UCLA

Mathematics professor Ayla Gafni teaches a class in Hume Hall. Gafni, who is involved in cutting-edge research in number theory, has been awarded a $210,430 fellowship that will enable her to work with a world-class research group at UCLA. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 BY DEBBIE NELSON AND JASON HALE

Ayla Gafni, assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Mississippi, has been named a research fellow by the National Science Foundation‘s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, known as EPSCoR.

Katherine Bronicki, a UM doctoral student expected to complete her studies in 2026, plans to accompany professor Ayla Gafni to UCLA. Submitted photo

Her fellowship supports extended visits to the University of California at Los Angeles, totaling six months over two years, beginning in April. Gafni plans to spend two summers at UCLA starting next year, accompanied by Katherine Bronicki, a UM doctoral student from Midland, Michigan.

They will collaborate with and gain research expertise in harmonic analysis from professor Terence Tao, who is known as the “Mozart of Math.”

Terence Tao, often called the ‘Mozart of Math’ earned his doctorate at age 20 and was granted tenure at UCLA at 24. UM mathematics professor Ayla Gafni plans to work with Tao on mathematics studies at UCLA as part of her EPSCoR research fellowship. Submitted photo

“This award will provide an incredible opportunity to foster new collaborations with one of the world’s top research groups,” Gafni said. “In doing so, I’ll learn and expand my research expertise in harmonic analysis, an area of mathematics that is currently lacking in the state of Mississippi.”

Tao is considered one of the world’s greatest mathematicians, so conducting research under his supervision means being part of a world-class research group.

“Our research groups in analysis and number theory at the UCLA Department of Mathematics are very much looking forward to working with Dr. Gafni, who brings valuable expertise and fresh perspectives in both fields, and I expect many productive collaborations to emerge during her time with us while supported by the EPSCoR fellowship,” Tao said.

EPSCoR research fellowships are designed to have transformative impacts on the fellows’ careers, and they also improve the research capacity at each fellow’s home institution or state.

The entire active analytic number theory group at UM should benefit from Gafni’s fellowship. One of her requirements is to develop two courses in harmonic analysis, one for undergraduates and another for the graduate level.

The new courses will enhance graduate and undergraduate education as the first of their kind at the university. Both courses will equip Ole Miss students with valuable tools to become more effective mathematicians, scientists, and engineers.

The undergraduate course will be useful to mathematics majors planning to go into industry. It also should interest science and engineering students studying signal processing and data transfers.

Such courses are important to helping students discover a love for mathematics, Bronicki said.

“I came into undergrad as a computer science major,” she said. “In my first semester, I took a ‘discrete math for computer science’ class, and I loved it.

“I realized that I cared more about math than the application that computer science provided, and as I continued, I just really fell in love with the beauty of pure mathematics.”

In its seventh yearly competition cycle, the NSF EPSCoR research fellows program is a competitive “limited submission” opportunity. The fellowship supports early-to-mid-career researchers and provides extended or numerous collaborative visits to private, government or academic research centers that are beyond reasonable commuting distance.

Gafni had to compete and be selected from within the university before being considered by the NSF. She is the third faculty member from the Department of Mathematics to win one of these grants.

The fellowship with Tao is not the first time Gafni has engaged with one of the world’s top mathematicians. Some of her earlier work inspired Manjul Bhargava, winner of a prestigious Fields Medal, to solve a problem that had been open for 80 years.

Gafni is a renowned an innovative researcher who has presented her work worldwide. She has been published by respected journals in her field, and she has authored or co-authored a handful of published papers.

She earned her doctorate from Pennsylvania State University in 2016 and joined the UM faculty in 2019. She received her first research award, a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, in 2020.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2229278.

Professor Awarded CAREER Grant to Study Pure Mathematics

Posted on: January 10th, 2023 by erabadie

$400,000 National Science Foundation grant to fund research of L-functions, high school outreach

A graduate student in the UM Center for Mathematics and Science Education instructs Rebel Upward Bound Institute students during a classroom session in 2018. A $400,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Grant will allow Rizwanur Khan, assistant professor of mathematics, to continue the institute, a summer mentoring program for students in Calhoun and Yalobusha counties. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

DECEMBER 21, 2022 BY CLARA TURNAGE

The mathematics behind prime numbers, which have been studied since the time of the ancient Greeks and which form the foundation of secure data transfer in computer science, is dictated by a highly complex set of objects called L-functions.

Yet the academic world’s understanding of these functions and their utility is still growing, despite being the subject of numerous studies since they were discovered about 200 years ago.

Rizwanur Khan, assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Mississippi, plans to further this study over the next five years using a $400,000 National Science Foundation CAREER grant. Khan is the first professor in the Department of Mathematics to be chosen for an NSF CAREER Mathematics grant, according to the foundation’s records.

The CAREER grant, one of the foundation’s most prestigious awards, supports early-career faculty who can be role models in education and research and further the mission of the department or organization with whom they work.

“The project is focused on the research of ‘L-functions,’ which encode information about some of the most mysterious objects in number theory,” said Khan, who joined the Ole Miss faculty in 2018. “The general goal for any researcher is simply to do interesting research, and I believe that the support from this grant will enable me to do exactly that.”

Rizwanur Khan

L-functions are special mathematical functions with several symmetries that encode information about objects in number theory, such as prime numbers and waves, Khan said. Mathematicians try to decode and extract this information by studying L-functions and their properties.

“The goal of my research will be to make progress on our understanding of L-functions,” Khan said. “This in turn can have applications to our understanding of prime numbers and waves.”

A part of the grant will be used to help continue the Rebel Upward Bound Institute, a summer youth education program for high school students in Calhoun and Yalobusha counties. Through the program, which Khan organizes, students learn to tackle complex problems, such as calculating the circumference of the Earth by following the Walk of Champions and measuring the height of campus buildings using the same mathematics that ancient Egyptians used to measure the Pyramids.

“The really neat thing about this award is that it allows one of the best mathematicians in the world to interact with and inspire Mississippi young adults,” said Talmage James Reid, chair of the Department of Mathematics.

Matthew Zediker, a graduate student from Oxford in the UM mathematics department, assisted Khan with RUBI this past summer. The students met twice a week for four weeks. While the students were at first nervous, they slowly became comfortable with working and asking questions about complex problems, Zediker said.

“It’s important to introduce these opportunities to everyone,” he said. “The value in it is showing them that some of these things that seem impossible or inaccessible aren’t.

“There were a lot of really bright students who thought that they couldn’t do it. When they kept practicing and learned they could, I didn’t realize how fun that aspect of teaching would be.”

Reid described Khan as a calm, supportive professor and “a well-rounded faculty member willing to work on the hardest problems in mathematics while focusing on his undergraduate and graduate students and providing essential outreach to the K-12 community.”

CAREER grants in mathematics are difficult to acquire, as the field is one of the oldest and most-studied in academia, Reid said.

“It’s an area of research that is central in mathematics today,” Reid said. “The NSF CAREER grant puts him in the company of the top mathematicians in the world.”

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 630985.

UM Mathematician Is Internationally Recognized Expert in the Field

Posted on: August 22nd, 2022 by erabadie

French newspaper interviews professor about Galois Theory

Ayla Gafni, UM assistant professor of mathematics, has earned a prestigious Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award to further her mathematics research and classroom instruction. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

Ayla Gafni, an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Mississippi. Photo by Robert Jordan/UM Digital Imaging Services

AUGUST 22, 2022 BY STAFF REPORT

University of Mississippi mathematician Ayla Gafni was interviewed recently by the influential French daily newspaper Le Monde.

“The science section was preparing an article about the recent proof of van der Waerden’s conjecture,” said Gafni, an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics. “The result was a significant breakthrough by Fields medalist Manjul Bhargava.

“My coauthors and I had one of the most recent partial results on the topic before Bhargava’s announcement. The journalist interviewed me for my perspective on the proof as an expert in the field of Galois Theory, a method of applying group theory to the solution of algebraic equations.”

Le Monde featured Gafni providing context for the importance of Bhargava’s result, as well as to explain how he was able to solve a problem that had been open for 80 years.

A translated quote from the article: “In the meantime, Ayla Gafni is delighted that the work of Manjul Bhargava is attracting attention to her area of research. Although she does not hide a small bit of frustration: ‘When Bhargava announced his seminar, my team and I were about to publish our latest results, which took a further step towards solving [the van der Waerden conjecture]. And another independent team was also preparing to publish on the same subject!’ A setback classic in research, when one team is overtaken by another… But which illustrates how promising this field of mathematics and these subjects are!”

“Dr. Gafni is involved in cutting-edge research in number theory and has published in some of the best mathematical journals in the world, such as Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, International Mathematics Research Notices, and Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications,” said Talmage James Reid, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics.

“Her work is internationally acknowledged with presentations given at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and the Hausdorff Institute of Mathematics in Bonn, Germany.”

Gafni, who joined the UM faculty in 2019, is the recipient of a 2020 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, a competitive research grant for young faculty members at Oak Ridge Associated Universities member institutions. She currently holds a Simons Foundation Collaboration Grant. Her research interests include analytic number theory, which focuses on integers, and combinatorics, which is the study of counting arrangements of objects.

Mathematics Professor Wins Competitive Research Award

Posted on: November 2nd, 2020 by erabadie

Ayla Gafni will use grant to further her analytic number theory studies

$Archive Photo: Ayla Gafni, UM assistant professor of mathematics, has earned a prestigious Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award to further her mathematics research and classroom instruction. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services$

Archive Photo: Ayla Gafni, an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Mississippi, has earned a prestigious Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award to further her mathematics research and classroom instruction. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

OCTOBER 27, 2020 BY SHEA STEWART

Ayla Gafni views the solving of complex mathematical problems as deciphering a puzzle or searching for the solution to a centuries-old mystery.

The University of Mississippi mathematics professor fell in love with the abstract science of numbers, quantity and space at a young age. That enthusiasm for mathematics has followed Gafni into her Ole Miss classrooms and propels her research endeavors that, in turn, make her a more effective classroom professor.

“The concepts I teach in my classes are the same tools I use in my research,” said Gafni, an assistant professor of mathematics who joined the faculty in 2019. “I can give the students a deeper context for the abstract material that we’re learning.

“Sometimes students miss the importance of mathematics because they are looking for a real-world application. By showing them the way a mathematician would approach a subject, I try to convince them that real-world applications aren’t the goal. The goal is to start with a simple idea and see how much you can learn just by asking the right questions and taking the logic as far as it will go.”

To help further her mathematics research and enrich her classroom instruction, Gafni recently earned a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, a prestigious competitive research award that provides seed money for junior faculty members.

“This is my first research grant, so it’s a big milestone for me toward establishing my research career,” said Gafni, whose research interests include analytic number theory, which focuses on integers, and combinatorics, which is the study of counting arrangements of objects.

“This award is especially significant because the competition is across all science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields,” she said. “It’s encouraging to know that the abstract problems I like to think about are of interest beyond my little research group and even beyond mathematics.”

Gafni is among 35 award winners chosen from 167 applicants nationally for this year’s round of Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards.

“The Department of Mathematics is proud of Dr. Gafni’s award of a prestigious Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award,” said James Reid, professor and chair of mathematics at UM. “Dr. Gafni is involved in cutting-edge research in number theory and has published in some of the best mathematical journals in the world, such as the Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, Acta Arithmetica and the Journal of Number Theory.

“Her work is internationally acknowledged with presentations occurring at the University of Toronto, Cornell University, the University of Bristol, the University of Warwick and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, California.”

Granted by Oak Ridge Associated Universities, or ORAU, the award provides $5,000 for the one-year grant, with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at UM providing a $5,000 match. The award is open to full-time assistant professors at ORAU member institutions within two years of their tenure-track appointment at the time of application.

“One of ORAU’s historic purposes has been to assist our member universities and their faculty,” wrote Andy Page, ORAU’s president and chief executive officer, in a letter informing Gafni of the award. “This award is clearly in that tradition. It also represents public recognition by your academic peers of the quality and promise of your research.”

Gafni will use her Powe award to study properties of divisor functions in joint work with two colleagues: Steve Gonek, professor and chair of mathematics at the University of Rochester, and Trevor Wooley, Andris A. Zoltners Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Purdue University.

Her research proposal is titled “Correlated Divisor Sums and Moments of the Riemann Zeta Function.”

“A divisor function counts how many ways a number can be split up into a product of integers,” Gafni said. “We study these objects by writing an integral that is equal to what we want to count. We then use advanced calculus to get an estimate for the number of solutions.”

Difficult mathematical problems don’t get solved all at once, Gafni said, but with important open problems, many mathematicians make incremental progress by studying related objects.

“We need a deeper understanding of the behavior of the divisor functions so that we can estimate certain integrals, called moments,” she said. “This will lead to a better understanding of the Riemann zeta function, which in turn would lead to a better understanding of the primes.

“This research project is one small cog in the big machine of analytic number theory.”

Gafni is the second UM mathematics faculty member in four years to receive a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award.

National Science Foundation Names Math Professor as Program Director

Posted on: November 2nd, 2020 by erabadie

Sandra Spiroff will bring university’s academic innovation to government agency

$Sandra Spiroff$

Sandra Spiroff

OCTOBER 8, 2020 BY ABIGAIL MEISEL

The National Science Foundation, the nation’s premier federal agency for the promotion of the progress of science, has appointed Sandra Spiroff, a University of Mississippi professor of mathematics, as program director in the Division of Mathematical Sciences.

This division is housed within the NSF Mathematics and Physical Sciences Directorate.

In this role, which begins this fall, Spiroff will make recommendations about which proposals to fund; influence new directions in the fields of science, engineering and education; support cutting-edge interdisciplinary research; and mentor junior research members.

“I am thrilled with the opportunity presented to me by the National Science Foundation,” Spiroff said. “Being selected as program director validates all of my hard work and perseverance over the past several years.

“I can only hope that my achievement acts as motivation and encouragement to a younger generation pursuing STEM careers, especially those from marginalized groups.”

Spiroff will serve in the NSF’s Rotator Program, designed to close the gap between government, academics and the broader community, which exposes participants to a level of excellence in science that encourages them to elevate their own research upon returning to their university community.

Spiroff joined the Ole Miss faculty in 2008. She earned her doctorate in mathematics from the University of Illinois, is the author of 21 research publications and has held grants from various funding agencies.

Her work focuses on algebraic structures such as groups, rings and modules. Specifically, her research interests lie in the field of commutative algebra.

In 2019, the NSF awarded her a grant to support participants’ travel to the Banff International Research Station for a weeklong workshop. Along with three faculty at other institutions, Spiroff co-organized the Women in Commutative Algebra Workshop at BIRS and helped launch a research network under the purview of the Association for Women in Mathematics.

During her academic career, she has been an advocate for women and minorities in the field of mathematics, working with Donald Cole, former UM assistant to the chancellor for multicultural affairs, in the National and Gulf States Math Alliances to broaden participation in the mathematical sciences.

“Professor Spiroff is an invaluable member of the College of Liberal Arts community as a researcher, teacher and role model,” said Lee Cohen, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “This appointment from the National Science Foundation is well-deserved, and her contribution will enrich scholarship both at the University of Mississippi and across the field of mathematics.”

Two Faculty Members Awarded National Science Foundation Fellowships

Posted on: January 6th, 2020 by erabadie

Duo will use funding to develop their pioneering research in geology and mathematics

Samuel Lisi, UM assistant professor of mathematics, has been awarded a National Science Foundation fellowship to advance his innovative research into a branch of mathematics known as topology. Photo by Shea Stewart/University of Mississippi

JANUARY 6, 2020 BY SHEA STEWART

For the second time in three years, a pair of University of Mississippi professors have been awarded National Science Foundation fellowships to advance their innovative research.

Samuel Lisi, assistant professor of mathematics, and Brian Platt, assistant professor of geology and geological engineering, were awarded funding through a foundation program that provides opportunities for young university investigators to boost their research abilities via extended collaborative visits to research centers across the country.

Lisi, who joined the UM faculty in 2014, will continue his study of a branch of mathematics known as topology with collaborators at Ohio State University. Platt will conduct his research into geological drill core samples from Mississippi at the Continental Scientific Drilling Coordination Office at the University of Minnesota.

“I am very honored and excited to receive this fellowship,” Lisi said. “This is a great opportunity for me to expand my areas of interest and branch out into a new – though related – field of research.

“My colleague, Dr. (Sasa) Kocic, received this award two years ago, and it was a very transformative experience for his work. I have high hopes that this will have a similar impact on my career and work.”

In 2017, Kocic, associate professor of mathematics, and Ryan Garrick, UM associate professor of biology, were awarded fellowships through the same program. Garrick also conducted his fellowship at Ohio State, while Kocic visited the University of California at Irvine.

For Platt, who joined the UM faculty in 2013, the fellowship will help him meet a personal objective.

“When I began working at the University of Mississippi, one of my goals was to establish a research program that used Mississippi geology to address broader-scale climatic and environmental issues,” he said. “To me, receiving this fellowship means that I am well on my way to meeting that goal.”

The National Science Foundation program is funded through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or EPSCoR, program. The Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 4: EPSCoR Research Fellows program allows fellows to “learn new techniques, develop new collaborations or advance existing partnerships, benefit from access to unique equipment and facilities, and/or shift their research toward potentially transformative new directions.”

While enhancing their research trajectories, Lisi and Platt also are expected to use their new knowledge to benefit the university’s research capacity.

Brian Platt, UM assistant professor of geology and geological engineering, is using a National Science Foundation fellowship to research geological drill core samples from Mississippi at the Continental Scientific Drilling Coordination Office in Minnesota. Photo by Shea Stewart/University of Mississippi

“UM is proud of these new awards for Drs. Lisi and Platt,” said Josh Gladden, the university’s vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs. “A unique aspect of these awards is that they help fund collaborative work between faculty across institutions.

“Such collaborations are crucial for all robust research environments and often lead to new ideas and breakthroughs.”

Lisi’s research at Ohio State will focus on topology, which studies the shape of space, and specifically applied symplectic topology, which Lisi describes as “the study of the geometric consequences of conservation of energy.”

“My interest in the field comes, first and foremost, from my interest in the parts of mathematics that are most closely connected to physics,” he said. “The great mathematician Vladimir Arnold said that ‘mathematics is the part of physics where experiments are cheap.’

“I’ve also always loved geometry and geometric problems. Symplectic topology combines these two interests of mine in a beautiful way.”

The award creates a new collaboration between UM and an interdepartmental group at Ohio State called the TGDA group, whose interests span topics in the intersection of topology, geometry, probability, statistics and data analysis. Lisi will work with Ohio State professors Tamal Krishna Dey and Matthew Kahle in opening up a new field of study: probabilistic symplectic topology.

“This collaboration will … build ties between our two institutions, which is beneficial for our graduate and undergraduate students,” said Lisi, as the collaboration will broaden his ability to work with Ole Miss colleagues in engineering and the sciences, and also strengthen UM’s research into topology and dynamics by bringing a new area of expertise to the university and state.

A rock collection purchased by his parents at a garage sale introduced Platt to geology as a boy, and he vividly recalls smashing the pieces of granite with a hammer to try to separate and identify the individual minerals that composed the rocks.

His research is focused on employing geological drill core samples from deep below the Earth that can be used to reconstruct long-term changes in ancient environments and climates.

Platt’s fellowship will allow him and a graduate assistant to make two extended visits to the Continental Scientific Drilling Coordination Office, where they will examine existing core from Mississippi drilled by the UM Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute.

“I plan to learn 14 new techniques for analyzing core; this will produce multiple sets of data spanning up to 360 feet of core,” he said. “The (Mississippi) core contains rocks and sediments from (an epoch) known as the Paleocene, meaning that they are over 56 million years old.

“The time interval sampled by the core preceded several episodes of rapid global warming, which are thought to be the best ancient analogs for projected future climate change. But to properly understand the effects of the ancient warming episodes, we need to know about background climate and environmental conditions before the changes occurred. A result of this project will allow me and my colleagues to interpret what Mississippi was like during the Paleocene.”

Funded by National Science Foundation award No. 1929176 for $190,024, Lisi’s project is titled “Applied Symplectic Topology.” Funded by foundation award No. 1929145 for $174,430, Platt’s project is titled “Establishing Baseline Critical Zone Conditions in Mississippi Prior to the Onset of Paleocene-Eocene Hyperthermals.”

Both projects are projected to run through Nov. 30, 2021.

UM Professors Collaborate with Counterparts Through SEC Grant

Posted on: December 18th, 2019 by erabadie

Faculty Travel Program encourages, supports conference partnerships

DECEMBER 17, 2019 BY SHEA STEWART

Thirteen University of Mississippi professors are taking part in this year’s SEC Faculty Travel Program, strengthening the university’s collaborations with fellow Southeastern Conference institutions and offering UM professors an opportunity to interact with their counterparts.

Established in 2012 by the SEC presidents and chancellors, the program provides financial assistance from the SEC office for participants to travel to other SEC universities to exchange ideas, develop grant proposals, conduct research and deliver lectures or performances.

Travel of the Ole Miss faculty is made possible partly through a $10,000 award from the SEC.

“Being a member of the SEC means more than being in the most competitive athletic conference in the country,” UM Provost Noel Wilkin said. “It also means we are part of a conference made up of excellent research universities that are creating cutting-edge knowledge, developing innovative technologies and providing outstanding educational experiences.

“These travel grants enable our faculty to develop inspiring collaborations across the conference that advance research and creative achievements that otherwise may not occur. As a result, they make our faculty better, make our university stronger and, ultimately, improve what we offer to our students.”

The program has supported the efforts of more than 700 faculty from across the conference since it started. Last year, 10 Ole Miss professors participated in the program.

“We are again excited that the SEC has provided funds that allow our faculty to visit other SEC universities to share their scholarship and collaborate on research and teaching initiatives,” said Donna Strum, UM associate provost.

The 13 UM travelers have visited or will visit a collective total of eight SEC institutions between August 2019 and July 2020. Areas of interest for this year’s Ole Miss class include disciplines from biology and biomedical engineering to science education and secondary education.

Participants from UM for the 2019-20 academic year are:

Joel Amidon, associate professor of secondary education, visiting Vanderbilt University to collaborate on best practices for preparing mathematics teachers
Rich Buchholz, associate professor of biology, visiting the University of Florida to continue a collaboration on explaining the role of sexual ornamentation in the mate selection of birds
Yunhee Chang, associate professor of nutrition and hospitality management, visiting the University of Georgia to conduct a graduate research seminar presentation, conduct a U.S. Department of Agriculture National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey data analysis consultation and collaborate on a manuscript
Lainy Day, associate professor of biology, visiting Louisiana State University to access the LSU Museum of Natural Science’s ornithology collection and X-ray resources to measure endocranial and skeletal properties of avian specimens
Micah Everett, associate professor of music, visiting the University of Alabama to conduct a low brass recital with University of South Carolina trombone professor Michael Wilkinson
Toshikazu Ikuta, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders, visiting the University of Alabama to collaborate on an analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data on language processing and an assessment of entropy processing in language
Samuel Lisi, assistant professor of mathematics, visiting the University of Georgia to explore establishing a new collaboration in homology
Jeremy Meuser, assistant professor of management, visiting the University of Alabama to collaborate on process personality and management models
Tamara Warhol, associate professor of modern languages, visiting the University of Kentucky to present her research on the sociolinguistics of writing to students and collaborate with UK linguistics professor Allison Burkette on a volume in Interdisciplinary Approaches to Language
Thomas Werfel, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, visiting the University of Florida to strengthen a collaboration in immunoengineering and develop a new collaboration in cancer immunotherapy
Brooke Whitworth, assistant professor of science education, visiting Auburn University to collaborate on a research idea involving the intersection of science education, engineering education, and the arts and crafts
Caroline Wigginton, associate professor of English, visiting the University of Tennessee to present on her in-process book at the UT Humanities Center’s Transatlantic Enlightenment seminar and give a talk on best writing practices
Yael Zeira, Croft Institute for International Studies assistant professor of political science and international studies, visiting Vanderbilt University to participate in the Vanderbilt-SEC Workshop on Development and Democracy, where she will present a working paper related to the comparative politics of developing countries

The SEC Faculty Travel Program is one of several academic endeavors designed to support the teaching, research, service and economic development focus of the SEC’s 14 member universities. Past program participants have been invited to present their research at conferences, been awarded competitive grants and secured publications in leading journals.

Successful Campaign Establishes Cole Scholarship

Posted on: November 1st, 2019 by erabadie

Over 260 Donors Help Surpass Goal

Both Dr. Donald Cole and his wife Marcia earned multiple degrees, held leadership roles, and taught at the University of Mississippi. Their children Donald II, William, and Mariah all attended UM.

NOVEMBER 1, 2019 BY ANGELA ATKINS

The Donald Cole Catalyst for Change Scholarship Endowment exceeded its goal by almost $10,000 through an online University of Mississippi fundraising campaign attracting gifts of all sizes.

The Ignite Ole Miss campaign, spearheaded by Ethel Young-Scurlock, director of the African American Studies program, associate professor of English, and senior fellow of the Luckyday Residential College at UM, raised more than $43,000 in two months. The endowment will fund scholarships for African American Studies majors who exhibit leadership qualities, a spirit of service and academic excellence.

Scurlock credited the campaign’s quick success to the deep love she said alumni, students and current and former faculty and staff feel for Cole, whose history of service and leadership at UM spans 50 years. Cole was a student activist in the 1970s, a doctoral student in the 1980s, and a professor and top administrator from the 1990s through his retirement in January 2019. In that time, he influenced generations of students and faculty.

This fall, Cole was inducted into the Ole Miss Alumni Hall of Fame for his accomplishments and contributions to UM.

“So many students have been impacted by Dr. Cole’s leadership and wisdom,” said Senora Miller-Logan, the assistant director of the Luckyday Residential Scholars program at UM and one of the campaign leaders. “It is wonderful to see that many more students will be able to benefit from his legacy because of the generous contributions to the Don Cole Catalyst for Change Scholarship.”

Torie Marion, UM’s assistant director of Alumni Affairs who also served as one the campaign’s leaders, said she was one of those students who Cole inspired, starting when she was a young teen.

“I met Dr. Cole as a sophomore in high school in the summer of 1994 in Weatherford, Oklahoma, for a math and science camp,” Marion said. “It was meeting him, hearing his story and seeing his love for Ole Miss that made me decide to attend our beloved university. He is amazing and such an inspiration to so many students, faculty and staff before and after me.”

Scurlock said the Cole scholarship will attract young people who seek an African American Studies background, understand socio-political engagement, and will pursue careers in business, politics, medicine, law, education, public and international policy, and beyond. Each recipient will take a course on the civil rights history of the university, where they will learn about the men and women who paved the way for them – including Cole.

“Together, we have made history,” Scurlock said. “This fund is going to transform the lives of students, who will then go on to transform the state of Mississippi and bring about positive change. An endowed scholarship guarantees that we will be able to help student leaders and memorialize the work of Dr. Don Cole at UM, long after we are all gone.”

Although the Ignite Ole Miss online campaign has concluded, those individuals and organizations that wish to contribute to the scholarship in Cole’s honor may still do so through the UM Foundation. Visit https://umfoundation.com/ignite and select the Don Cole Catalyst for Change Scholarship from the drop-down menu.

You may also contact Angela Atkins, digital giving officer in University Development, at 662-915-2755 or adm1@olemiss.edu.

From Higher Education, Success Stems

Posted on: October 21st, 2019 by erabadie

Major Gift Honors Faculty, Supports Excellence in STEM Instruction

Dr. Rhett Atkinson (in red) and his wife Elaine (center) established the Doctors Andrew Stefani and Eldon Miller Memorial Chair for STEM Teaching and Research Endowment. Pictured with the Atkinsons are members of the Stefani and Miller families and UM administrators. They are (from left) Roger and Mary Jane Thornton (JoAnn Stefani’s sister and brother-in-law); Denson Hollis, executive director of development; Anne Stefani (Dr. Stefani’s daughter); JoAnn Stefani (Dr. Stefani’s wife); Patrick Booth (Anne Stefani’s husband); UM Chancellor Glenn Boyce; the Atkinsons; Tonya Dalton (Dr. Miller’s daughter); Lee Cohen, dean of the College of Liberal Arts; Christine Reiner (JoAnn Stefani’s sister); and Charles Hussey, associate dean for research and graduate education/professor of chemistry and biochemistry, College of Liberal Arts.

OCTOBER 18, 2019

A University of Mississippi graduate’s major gift will honor two of his favorite professors while also supporting instruction in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

With a gift of $1.5 million, Dr. Rhett Atkinson and his wife, Elaine, established the Doctors Andrew Stefani and Eldon Miller Memorial Chair for STEM Teaching and Research Endowment.

“My wife and I strongly believe in education and academics, and we want to give back to the institution that gave me the background and the tools I needed to be successful,” said Atkinson of Sedona, Arizona, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from Ole Miss in 1970 and 1972 and graduated from the UM School of Medicine in 1979.

The Atkinsons’ gift will provide income to the College of Liberal Arts to support the recruitment and retention of a top-tier scholar who demonstrates outstanding teaching in STEM and is also a productive researcher in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, mathematics, physics or astronomy.

“Lifelong learning and education are the keys to success,” Atkinson said. “We want to see Ole Miss continue to recruit outstanding teachers who can motivate and stimulate students to be interested in learning and encourage them to do their best.”

The endowment honors two such teachers: the late Eldon Miller, a professor in the UM Department of Mathematics for over 35 years, who was chosen Humanities Professor of the Year in 1990 and served as department chair on three occasions. The late Andrew Stefani retired from the university in 1997 as chair and professor emeritus of chemistry.

“Dr. Miller was my favorite math teacher and we got along extremely well. He challenged me to do the best I could and was very supportive. Under his guidance, I received the Alfred Hume Prize, which is awarded to the university’s most outstanding student in mathematics,” said Atkinson who studied organic chemistry under Dr. Stefani.

At one point, when Atkinson was trying to balance coursework with an extracurricular activity — managing his friend Glenn Galey’s campaign to be student body president — both professors “demonstrated the flexibility and caring that is so typical of our university. It’s for this reason I wanted to honor them and promote education at the university by providing a STEM chair in their names.”

Income from the endowment can provide support for salary supplements, research, creative activity, programs and more.

“We are extremely grateful to Rhett and Elaine for their generosity and support. Their gift helps us continue to provide quality educational and transformative opportunities in STEM fields,” said Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks. “It’s encouraging to see alumni who are so positively impacted by their educational experiences that they choose to give back so others may have similar opportunities.”

The new chair comes at an opportune time, with the university planning to build one of the nation’s leading student-centered learning environments for STEM education. Among factors driving plans is the crucial need on the state, regional and national level to increase graduates in STEM fields. The 204,000-square-foot building, which will join the Science District in the heart of campus, has an estimated price tag of $150 million. Private support is being sought for the state-of-the-art facility, which will serve all Ole Miss students with active learning classrooms and labs.

Atkinson grew up in Oxford, Mississippi, where his mother, Dorothy Atkinson, was registrar for the UM Graduate School for many years and his uncle, Rufus Jones, was the university’s first director of development. His aunt, Kittye Strickland, was assistant to then Head Football Coach Johnny Vaught; she later became the first female interim athletic director for NCAA sports at a major university.

In college, Atkinson attended 53 of 55 football games and kept the official statistics for the Rebels for seven years.

“I had great fun and I had the best seat in the stadium with all the chili dogs I could eat!”

Additionally, he was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and president of Sigma Nu fraternity and was named National Sigma Nu Scholar of the Year in 1970. He was also Air Force ROTC Cadet Commander and a Distinguished Cadet.

After leaving the Oxford campus, Atkinson served the U.S. Air Force until 1975 when he also earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Santa Clara (California). While serving in the Air Force, he met his wife, who at the time was a satellite programming engineer.

After medical school, Atkinson interned at St. Mary’s Hospital and Medical Center in San Francisco, California, where he was named Intern of the Year. He then did his residency at Stanford University Hospital and Medical Center in Palo Alto, California.

“Without Elaine, I’d be absolutely nothing; she is the love of my life. My biggest achievements are helping her raise three incredible children and practicing safe, high-quality anesthesia for 38 years at Stanford University Medical Center and in the Palo Alto, California, area,” Atkinson said.

Now, the Atkinsons enjoy outdoor activities in Sedona, including hiking and biking, both on- and off-road. In fact, Rhett Atkinson is a Mountain Bike Patroller with the Red Rock District and a preceptor for a youth mountain bike club. He also volunteers with Friends of Forest, greeting visitors to the national forest around Sedona, and helps maintain and patrol forest trails. Additionally, he helps the AARP provide tax services for low-income elderly.

The Doctors Andrew Stefani and Eldon Miller Memorial Chair for Stem Teaching and Research Endowment is open to gifts from individuals and organizations. Checks may be mailed to the University of Mississippi Foundation, with the endowment noted in the memo line, to 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655. Gifts can also be made online by visiting give.olemiss.edu.

For more information on supporting STEM, contact Denson Hollis, executive director of development, at dhollis@olemiss.edu or 662-915-5092.