Message from the Chair

Dear Alumni and Friends of the Mathematics Department,

As another academic year draws to a close and summer comes into full swing, we are delighted to reconnect with you and reflect on the exciting developments within the Math Department. From cutting-edge research and student academic achievements, to new initiatives and faculty milestones, the past year has been one of growth, accomplishments, and community.

Celebrating the Generosity of Our Alumni

We are deeply grateful for the continued support and generosity of our alumni and friends, whose contributions are shaping the future of the Mathematics Department in profound ways.

This year, we are proud to share several impactful new contributions:

• Earlier this spring, the department had the distinct pleasure of celebrating the establishment of the Piziak Endowed Chair in Mathematics, made possible through the generosity of Dr. Robert (Bob) Piziak and Dr. Veronica Piziak. The event brought together faculty, students, and university leadership to honor the Piziaks’ enduring commitment to the Mathematics Department at Baylor University. The endowed chair will serve as a lasting legacy, supporting excellence in teaching and research for generations to come. Read more about the celebration here. We are pleased to announce that a search to fill the Piziak Endowed Chair position is scheduled for the 2025–2026 academic year.
• Through the generosity of Kay L. and Thomas A. Keagy, a new endowed scholarship fund has been established that will begin supporting students in the upcoming academic year. This will help make a Baylor mathematics education more accessible and rewarding.
• We are excited to announce the Dr. Sigrid & Anne Weidenweber Mathematics Fund, recently created in honor of Dr. Marcos Mazari-Armida. This will support research in Group Theory and Mathematical Logic, enriching our department’s scholarly endeavors in these foundational areas.

These new funds will further allow us to recognize academic excellence, support students with financial need, and encourage promising mathematicians across all levels of study. Thanks to the remarkable generosity of our alumni and friends, the Mathematics Department now benefits from a growing number of endowed scholarships and research funds that are making a concrete, tangible difference in the lives of our students. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!

As shared in the previous newsletter, Jim and Lisa Meyerhoff generously established the Lance Littlejohn Scholarship for Graduate Research in Mathematics in honor of Dr. Lance Littlejohn’s impactful leadership and legacy. This year, we had the pleasure of formally celebrating this meaningful gift at a special event held on November 13, and our first recipient was Pedro Takemura. Read more about the celebration here.

We are thrilled to highlight the outstanding success of our first Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, made possible through the charitable contributions of our donor community. Under the mentorship of Dr. Christoph Fischbacher, students Danie Paraiso, Chloe Povey-Rowe, and Brady Zimmerman had the opportunity to engage in original research over the summer of 2024. Their dedication and hard work culminated in the publication of a research paper and scientific presentations at professional conferences, thus marking a significant milestone in their academic journeys. This program provided a transformative experience for the students and underscored the department’s commitment to fostering undergraduate research and scholarly excellence. We are thrilled to share that your support will allow us to continue offering the REU program in the summer of 2025.

New Hires 

The Mathematics Department welcomed three new hires in August 2024: Dr. Matthew Kroesche as a Lecturer, Dr. Adam Christopherson as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, and Ms. Esther Greys and the Undergraduate Program Coordinator. To learn more about them visit here. As this academic year comes to a close, we bid farewell to Dr. Will Erickson, who has been a valued member of our department for the past three years. To read about his experience at Baylor see here.

Remembering Bob Piziak and Mary-Margaret Shoaf

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Professors Emeriti Bob Piziak and Mary-Margaret Shoaf, whose enduring contributions have left an indelible mark on our department and academic community. Throughout their distinguished careers, Bob and Mary exemplified a profound commitment to scholarship, mentorship, and service. Their passion for teaching inspired generations of students, while their research advanced the frontiers of mathematical knowledge. Even in retirement, they remained active voices in departmental life, offering wisdom, encouragement, and a deep sense of collegiality. Their legacy lives on in the countless lives they touched, the programs they helped shape, and the spirit of excellence they instilled in all of us. They will be remembered with great admiration, gratitude, and affection.

Celebrating Academic Excellence in Research and Scholarship

The energy and creativity driving our department’s research comes from many directions—faculty and graduate students tackling new problems, visiting scholars sharing fresh perspectives, and a full calendar of seminars, colloquia, and conferences that brings our community together. These efforts have helped keep our research environment active, collaborative, and full of momentum. This year’s highlights include:

• the election of Dr. Fritz Gesztesy as a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, Mathematics Division (for details visit here);
• Dr. Marius Mitrea honored with a Baylor Outstanding Faculty Award for scholarship for the 2024-2025 academic year (for details visit here);
• a paper co-authored by Dr. Brian Simanek being published in the journal Annals of Mathematics, one of the top mathematics journals in the world;
• securing five new external grants by faculty: one research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded to Dr. Rob Kirby; two grants from the Simons Foundation awarded to Dr. Daniel Herden and Dr. Marcos Mazari-Armida; one NSF grant providing funding for the conference Recent Advances in Harmonic Analysis and Partial Differential Equations, awarded to Dr. Fritz Gesztesy and Dr. Dorina Mitrea; one NSF grant providing funding for future editions of the conference BLAST, awardees including Dr. Daniel Herden and Dr. Marcos Mazari-Armida;
• three one-semester research leaves awarded to Dr. Paul Hagelstein, Dr. Rob Kirby, and Dr. Andrei Martinez-Finkelshtein for Fall 2024/Spring 2025;
• a Nelder Visiting Fellowship awarded to Dr. Rob Kirby to support his visit to the Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, during Spring 2025;
• the 13^th Undergraduate Baylor Lecture Series in Mathematics featuring Dr. Talitha Washington, the Executive Director of Howard University Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics (for details visit here);  
• the 14^th Annual Undergraduate Baylor Lecture Series in Mathematics featuring Dr. Satyan Devadoss, the Fletcher Jones Chair of Applied Mathematics and Professor of Computer Science at the University of San Diego (for details visit here);
• hosting WAECO: A workshop on the occasion of Rami Grossberg’s 70^th birthday, co-organized by Dr. Marcos Mazari-Armida (for details visit here);
• hosting the 7^th Annual SIAM Texas-Louisiana Sectional Meeting at Baylor University, organizers: Dr. Rob Kirby, Dr. Jeonghun Lee, Dr. Ron Morgan, and Dr. Tim Sheng (for more details visit here);
• hosting the Spring 2025 edition of the Brazos Analysis Seminar, organizers: Dr. Tao Mei, Dr. Antonio Ismael Cano Marmol, and Sebastian Vargas-Loaiza (for details visit here);
• hosting the conference Recent Advances in Harmonic Analysis and Partial Differential Equations, honoring the career of Dr. Marius Mitrea, organizers: Dr. Fritz Gesztesy and Dr. Dorina Mitrea (for more details visit here);
• a special public lecture featuring Dr. Edward Burger, President and CEO of St. David's Foundation, organizer: Dr. Lance Littlejohn (for more details visit here);

Teaching with Purpose and Dedication

Our faculty continue to bring energy, creativity, and personal attention into the classroom, motivating and guiding students toward a deeper understanding and confidence in mathematics. Whether teaching foundational courses for non-majors or advanced topics for mathematics majors and graduate students, our faculty are committed to making mathematics accessible, meaningful, and empowering, bringing about those coveted “aha” moments that make teaching so rewarding. Their efforts not only support Baylor’s broader educational mission but also help students see the value of mathematical thinking in a wide range of academic and professional paths. We are proud of the role our department plays in shaping curious, capable, and resilient learners. Highlights in this regard include:

• the efforts of Dr. Ian Grigsby and Dr. Markus Hunziker, in the creation of a new course for business majors, Math for Business Analysis;
• the efforts of Dr. Amy Goodman and Dr. Ian Grigsby to design and implement courses in teaching mathematics to better prepare our Ph.D. students for their future roles as educators;
• the promotion of Dr. Reeve Hunter to Senior Lecturer, effective August 1, 2025;
• the launching of Mathematics Circles at Baylor University, spearheaded by Dr. Christoph Fischbacher, Dr. Mariah Barnes, Dr. Josiah Ireland, and Dr. Matthew Kroesche—an outreach initiative designed to engage middle school students in the Waco area with enriching, hands-on mathematical experiences;
• Dr. Josiah Ireland being a Fellow of the 2024 Summer Faculty Institute organized by ATL, Baylor;
• the success of the “Teaching Seminar”, run by Dr. Reeve Hunter, in creating a forum for debating and sharing classroom teaching practices. 

Further Celebrating Our Students

Congratulations to our graduate students earning their Ph.D.’s in mathematics this year: Indalecio Ruiz-Bolanos, advisor Dr. Daniel Herden; Eduardo Servin Torres, advisor Dr. Qin Sheng; Guanjie Huang, advisor Dr. Markus Hunziker; and Isaac Echols, advisor Dr. Jon Harrison (more information here). In addition, three of our graduate students earned a Master’s degree: Katherine Harveson, Christian Nwaeme, and Ishara Saparamadu. 

We are proud of this year’s undergraduate departmental award recipients: Clare Pruss (Beth Wilson Award), Rita Dicarlo (read about her experience at Baylor here), Matthew Freeman, Danielle Paraiso, and Brady Zimmerman (Outstanding Mathematics Major Award) and Kendall Ladtkow (Outstanding Mathematics Education Major Award). These students were recognized at our traditional end-of-semester luncheon  together with this year’s Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award recipients: Drew Anderson, Mitch Minyard, Betty Montero, and Indalecio Ruiz-Bolanos (for details visit here).  

As in the past, the Möbius Mathematics Society brought energy and school spirit to the Homecoming festivities. For further insights read here.

Graduate Student Appreciation Week is a meaningful opportunity to recognize the dedication to research, teaching, and service, of our graduate students, and to acknowledge the important role they play in enriching the intellectual life of the department. For more about this event visit here. Additional information, regarding the Graduate Student Seminar, is included here: Fall 2024, Spring 2025.

Final Thoughts

After serving for six years as Chair of the Math Department, I am stepping down at the end of July. Reflecting on this period of my professional life, I take special pride in what we have accomplished together. Guiding the department through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and witnessing Baylor University’s elevation to R1 status are some of the defining moments that come to mind. It has been an honor to serve during a time of resilience, growth, and academic distinction – thank you all!

Last Fall, while attending a mathematical conference at Chapman University, in Orange County, California, I had a moment to stroll through the beautifully manicured campus and came upon a statue erected in honor of the university’s founder. The inscription, which struck a chord with me, seems quite fitting for the occasion, as it reads:

I can liken life before you… to that of ship with its prow pointed toward the great ocean as it leaves the harbor for the distant shore. Storm may come, and they will, for no ship ever sailed the seas but had to face the storm. If it is strong from keel to top, from bow to stern, well maintained and intelligently directed, it rides the storm and goes on its way. So you will meet obstacles, storms. If you are strong in faith, clear headed, honest, trusting for divine guidance and with character built on the solid rock, you will meet all troubles in life victoriously. Charles C. Chapman

Dr. Dorina Mitrea