News Archive

Mathematics – CFS Professional Teaching Faculty Position Open

The BYU Department of Mathematics invites applications for a CFS-track professional faculty position at any academic rank to begin in August 2021. The application deadline is October 15, 2020.

Brigham Young University (BYU) requires all applicants to use its own application system (YJobs). AN APPLICATION TO MATHJOBS IS NOT AN APPLICATION TO BYU. The following link will take you to the advertised position on YJobs and MathJobs:

YJobs Posting 90970

MathJobs Posting 15991 (Click on the “Apply” link near the top of the page beside Position Description.)

You will be required to upload a cover letter and CV on BYU’s site, and to list the contact information for three recommenders on the faculty application on YJobs.

Required Degree: PhD in mathematics. Required degree must be completed by the start date.

Experience: Only candidates with significant experience teaching mathematics at the university level should apply.

Duties/Expectations:

  • Position expectations are 70% teaching and 30% service.
  • Teaching duties will include teaching lower and upper division undergraduate mathematics courses including large-lecture calculus.
  • Teaching and service expectations include the design and coordination of lower-level undergraduate courses.

Document(s) required at the time of application:

  • Attach your Curriculum Vitae and cover letter to the faculty application.
  • Teaching Portfolio. The teaching portfolio should include a teaching statement, record of previous teaching, record of previous service, and previous student ratings. The applicant may also include other material in the teaching portfolio that demonstrates that the applicant will meet the duties and expectations of the job. The teaching portfolio should be uploaded as a single PDF onto the application on MathJobs.org.

Information required at the time of application:

  • Have each recommender upload a letter of recommendation on MathJobs.org. The letter should address the applicant’s teaching and service. The letter need not address the applicant’s research.

BYU is an equal opportunity employer. Preference is given to qualified candidates who are members in good standing of the affiliated church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

If you have any difficulty with the application process or if you have additional questions, please call or email Lonette Stoddard (lonettes@byu.edu, 801-422-2062), or you may write to

TMCB Closed until Further Notice

Most campus buildings are closed and accessible only to those who have BYU ID card access. The TMCB is one of those buildings and will remain locked until further notice.

If you have any questions about this, please contact the department secretary, Lonette Stoddard, at 801-422-2062 or lonettes@byu.edu

The members of the Department of Mathematics hope that everyone is doing well and keeping safe!

Pi Day T-Shirts

Happy Pi Day!

Colloquium: Margaret Beck (Boston University)

Speaker: Margaret Beck

Title: Spectral stability and spatial dynamics in partial differential equations

Abstract: Understanding the spectral stability of solutions to partial differential equations is an important step in predicting long-time dynamics. Recently, it has been shown that a topological invariant known as the Maslov Index can play an important role in determining spectral stability for systems that have a symplectic structure. Moreover, this perspective has lead to a framework for developing a spatial dynamics in multiple spatial dimensions. In this talk, the notions of spectral stability, the Maslov Index, and multidimensional spatial dynamics will be introduced and an overview of recent results will be given.

Retired Faculty Luncheon

Focus on Math: Pallavi Dani (Louisiana State University)

Title: Crystallographic groups

Abstract: Wallpapers are formed by repeating the same picture in a regular, periodic pattern. Have you ever wondered how many different wallpaper patterns are possible? Just a handful, or a very large number, or infinitely many? In this talk we will explore the answer to this question by considering the symmetries of wallpapers. Such symmetries make up the so-called crystallographic groups, and we will discuss their classification, as well as their connection to modern mathematics.

Biography: Dr. Pallavi Dani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Louisiana State University. She grew up in Mumbai, India and came to the United States to enter a doctoral program. She obtained her PhD from the University of Chicago in 2005. After brief postdocs at the University of Oklahoma and Emory University, she arrived at LSU in 2009. Her research has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation. In 2016 she was awarded the Ruth I. Michler Memorial Prize by the Association of Women in Mathematics in recognition of her research. Her work revolves around studying groups, which can be thought of as collections symmetries of spaces, from a geometric perspective.

Passing of Katherine Johnson

NASA mathematician Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, depicted in the movie “Hidden Figures” passed away this morning (Friday, February 24. 2020) at the age of 101. Johnson was a pioneer in space exploration; her work with NASA in mathematics led to the first American orbital spaceflight in 1962. Johnson ran all of the computer equations by hand for this flight, a remarkable feat that NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine stated, “helped our nation enlarge the frontiers of space even as she made huge strides that also opened doors for women and people of color.” Katherine Johnson was an incredible woman, an exceptional mathematician, and an American hero. For more information visit the following websites:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/katherine-johnson-nasa-mathematician-depicted-hidden-figures-dead-101-n1141566

https://www.space.com/katherine-johnson-nasa-hidden-figures-mathematician-dies-at-101.html

NASA Remembers Katherine Johnson

Focus on Math: David Austin (Grand Valley State University)

Speaker: David Austin

Title: A Tale of Trees, Teeth, and Time

Abstract: Adding fractions feels like a cumbersome operation since we need to find a common denominator. What happens instead if we “add” fractions by simply adding their numerators and denominators? We’ll see that this leads to a beautiful construction called the Stern-Brocot tree that opens into a fertile mathematical landscape. Besides connections to important ideas in number theory, this tree has an intriguing application in the history of time-keeping.

Colloquium: Andy Raich (University of Arkansas)

Title: The L2 Theory of the Cauchy-Riemann Operator on Domains in Cn

Abstract: The Cauchy-Riemann operator governs the behavior of holomorphic functions, and the solvability of the Cauchy-Riemann equations is fundamentally different in one and several complex variables. In this talk, I will give an overview of the Cauchy-Riemann equation, its applications, and the current status of the problem.