Mathematics department announces Spring 2020 Awards
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas mathematics department recently recognized its undergraduate and graduate students and faculty for outstanding academic and teaching achievements. Usually these awards are presented at the department’s annual honors banquet, but due to COVID-19 concerns, the banquet was not held this year.
Students received over $137,000 in awards and scholarships. Funds for the awards and scholarships are administered through the KU Endowment Association.
The Kansas Algebra Program recognized two student employees: Hannah Bachman, a senior in biochemistry from Wichita, and Claire Bexten, a senior in civil engineering from Omaha, Nebraska, for their outstanding contributions to teaching, tutoring and extra duties.
The R.D. Brown Award for Undergraduate Excellence was given to Pierce Giffin, a senior in mathematics and physics from Leawood. This award was established in memory of Professor Robert Brown by gifts from his family and friends to provide awards for a senior majoring in mathematics who has demonstrated the most impressive overall achievement in the field of mathematics during his or her undergraduate career. Brown was a faculty member from 1963 to 2009 and served as associate chair and director of undergraduate studies.
John Byrne, a senior in mathematics and economics from Overland Park; Drake Clark, a senior in mathematics and computer engineering from Lenexa, and Jack Johnston, a senior in mathematics, economics and physics from Overland Park, received a cash award to recognize their outstanding performance on the William Lowell Putnam Competition. This is a mathematics competition open to all regularly enrolled undergraduates in colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.
KU's math department annually recognizes outstanding graduate students:
- Mikal Nelson, Bloomington, Minnesota, received the Florence Black Award for Excellence in Teaching by a graduate student. The award was established in memory of Black, a faculty member who served from 1918 to 1960.
- Panqui Xia, Qianjiang, China, received the John Bunce Award. The Bunce award commemorates a KU math professor who served from 1970 to 1991 and his extraordinary concern for the welfare and intellectual development of graduate students.
- Hamid Mofidi, Tehran, Iran, and Amanda Wilkens, Grafton, Wisconsin, each received the Paul F. Conrad Graduate Scholarship. This award is given in Conrad's memory to provide awards for deserving graduate students in mathematics. In 1981, Conrad was the first Henry J. Bischoff Professor of Mathematics at KU.
- Aaron Barrett, Abilene, received the Ralph Byers Student Award. This award is presented to outstanding graduate students in numerical analysis in memory of Professor Ralph Byers. Byers was a faculty member in the department from 1987 to 2007.
- The recipients of the Charles J. and Mary Pat Himmelberg Graduate Student Award are Jayan Mukherjee, Kolkata, India, Wesley Perkins, Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Debaditya Raychaudhury, Kolkata, India. This award was established by a gift from the family of Charlie and Mary Pat Himmelberg. The award is used to support graduate students with merit in the mathematics department. Himmelberg was a faculty member of the department from 1959 to 2005 and served as chairman for more than 20 years.
Faculty annual teaching awards:
- Mathew Johnson, associate professor of mathematics, received the G. Baley Price award for Excellence in Teaching, awarded by the Mathematics Graduate Student Organization. This award is given to a faculty member who displays the greatest ability and effectiveness in teaching graduate math courses and is selected by the math graduate students.
- Daniel Hernández, associate professor of mathematics, was awarded the Morrison Foundation Teaching Award. This award was established in 2008 by the Don and Pat Morrison Foundation to recognize outstanding teaching in mathematics.
- David Nualart, professor of mathematics, received the Max Wells Teaching Award in recognition of outstanding or exemplary teaching in the field of mathematics by a KU faculty member in mathematics.
Undergraduate scholarships:
Undergraduate scholarships for are awarded to math majors and non-majors with a strong concentration in math classes based on merit. Graduate summer scholarships are awarded to mathematics graduate students who have passed both qualifying exams and are awarded so advanced graduate students can concentrate on research and prepare for their preliminary oral comprehensive exam.
Undergraduate Scholarship Awards |
Academic Year 2020-2021 |
Muhammad Ahsan (Islamabad, Pakistan) | Black-Babcock Scholar |
Zachary Atkins (Lansing) | Wealthy Babcock / T.P. and Saroja Srinivasan Scholar |
Sofia Berrospi (Jamesburg, N.J.) | Joan Kirkham Scholarship for Women in Mathematics Scholar |
Jared Bramble (Tonganoxie) | Rollin S. Wade Memorial Scholar |
Jordan Bramble (Tonganoxie) | Joan Kirkham Scholarship for Women in Mathematics Scholar |
Morgan Cassidy (Columbus) | Edith S. Kornbleet Scholar |
John Childress (Kansas City) | Albert F. Zernickow-Barbara Kile - T.P. and Saroja Srinivasan Scholar |
Alaura Custard (Overland Park) | Joan Kirkham Scholarship for Women in Mathematics Scholar |
Claire Dopp (Olathe) | Wealthy Babcock Scholar |
Myra Dotzel (Chesterfield, Missouri) | Joan Kirkham Scholarship for Women in Mathematics Scholar |
Jonathan Downs (Fort Leavenworth) | Rollin S. Wade Scholar |
Grant Gollier (Lawrence) | Black-Babcock / Rollin S. Wade Scholar |
Mitchell Harger (McPherson) | Charles Ashton / Charles Hobb Scholar |
Cameron Harris (Overland Park) | T.P. and Saroja Srinivasan Scholar |
John Higgins (Olathe) | Rollin S. Wade Memorial Scholar |
Taylor Himmelhoch (Highland Park, IL) | Black-Babcock / Joan Kirkham Scholar |
Jack Johnston (Overland Park) | Charles H. Ashton Scholar |
Gregory Landgraf (Garden City) | Black-Babcock Scholar |
Ryan Lundquist (Olathe) | Black-Babcock Scholar |
Noah Mohabbat (Overland Park) | Edith S. Kornbleet Scholar |
Jui Nagarkar (Overland Park) | Black-Babcock Scholar |
Maksym Patiiuk (Volyn Oblast, Ukraine) | Charles Ashton / Edith Kornbleet Scholar |
Florencio Perez (Emporia) | Albert F. Zernickow-Barbara Kile / T.P. and Saroja Srinivasan Scholar |
Daniel Schmidt (Olathe) | Black-Babcock / Rollin S. Wade Scholar |
Michael Svoren (Overland Park) | Black-Babcock Scholar |
Evan Whited (Overland Park) | Edith S. Kornbleet Scholar |
Ariel Wyatt (Manhattan) | Joan Kirkham Scholarship for Women in Mathematics Scholar |
Graduate Scholarship Awards |
Summer 2020 |
Trevor Arrigoni (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar / May Landis |
Dylan Beck (Battlefield, Missouri) | Rashleigh Family Scholar |
Raul Bolanos (Puntarenas, Costa Rica) | Kirkham Opportunity Scholar |
Mark Denker (Garland, Texas) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Souvik Dey (Barrackpore, India) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Ryan Frier (Emporia) | U.G. Mitchell / Kirkham Opportunity Scholar |
Harrison Gaebler (Bloomington, Indiana) | Rashleigh Family Scholar |
Sien Gong (Suyuan Village, China) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Lucian Grand (Madison, Wisconsin) | Kirkham Opportunity Scholar |
Vishnu Iyer (Cochin, India) | May Landis Scholar |
Kevin Marshall (Holton) | U.G. Mitchell / Florence Black Scholar |
Bibekananda Mishra (Balasore, India) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Jayan Mukherjee (Kolkata, India) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Adam Pascoe (Springfield, Missouri) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Wesley Perkins (Jonesboro, Arkansas) | Elbert Walker Scholar |
John Portin (Vancouver, Washington) | May Landis Scholar |
Abba Ramadan (Kano, Nigeria) | U.G. Mitchell / Elbert Walker Scholar |
Debaditya Raychaudhury (Kolkata, India) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Bhargobjyoti Saikia (Jorhat, India) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Majid Sofiani (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Prashanth Sridhar (Chennai, India) | May Landis Scholar |
Yanru Su (Taikang, China) | Kirkham Scholarship for Women Scholar |
Ning Wan (Bengbu, China) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Xiang Xu (Zheng Zhou, China) | U.G. Mitchell / Kirkham Opportunity Scholar |
Yi Yan (Olathe) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Mehmet Yenisey (Istanbul, Turkey) | U.G. Mitchell Scholar |
Graduate Research Assistants | Summer 2020 |
Sefika Kuzgun (Sakarya, Turkey) | |
Pangqiu Xia (Qianjiang, China) | |
Jinjin Zhang (Shanghai, China) |