Math Institutes Create Positions for 45 Recent Ph.D. Recipients

May 13, 2009

The seven NSF mathematical sciences research institutes have banded together to create and support 45 new two-year positions for recent Ph.D. recipients (postdocs).

"These positions not only refine the research skills of new Ph.D.s, but provide them with opportunities to apply their training in other settings," said Russ Caflisch, Director of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM), in Los Angeles. "The role of research along with teaching or industry mentors and professional development workshops reinforces the Institutes' commitment to ensuring the continued success of these young people in the work force."

One position supported by IPAM, for instance, involves research on image processing and model development in collaboration with scientists studying the effect of placenta structure on fetal development.

Another position, backed by the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (University of Minnesota), involves applying partial differential equations to manufacturing techniques at the General Motors Research Center, in Warren, Mich.

The research areas of the new postdocs by the American Institute of Mathematics (Palo Alto) are in number theory, representation theory, algebraic geometry, and contact topology. In addition to doing research, these postdocs will also teach at community colleges and universities in the California State system.

"These new researchers are primed to make significant contributions to their fields," predicted Peter March, Director of NSF's Division of Mathematical Sciences.

The NSF-affiliated mathematics institutes are: American Institute of Mathematics (Palo Alto); Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton); Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (Minneapolis); Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (Los Angeles); Mathematical Biosciences Institute (Columbus, Ohio); Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (Berkeley); and Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (Research Triangle Park, N.C.).